• Ben Szalinski
    OCT 07, 2024

    UNLOCKED

    McLaughlin working to hold on to swing district seat against formidable challenger Peterson   

    article-image
    Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills), left, and Barrington Democrat Maria Peterson, right. 

    The Chicago suburbs have continued to trend toward Democrats in recent elections and now the pressure is falling on Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) to hold on to his seat and win a third term representing the northwest suburbs.  

    McLaughlin faces a challenging test, however, from Barrington resident Maria Peterson who is hoping to capitalize on a strong performance in a state senate race in 2022 and force out another suburban House Republican.  

    Peterson, a retired attorney and business owner, nearly ousted then-Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) in 2022, losing by less than 400 votes. Despite Peterson nearly pulling off the upset, McLaughlin told The Daily Line he is confident voters will send him back to Springfield this fall to represent the 52nd House District.  

    “I come with a little bit of a different background as it relates to who knows me here and who's worked with me,” McLaughlin said. “I’ve got a pretty good support system that are more independent-minded, moderate Dems, along with traditional Republicans. I feel pretty confident in this race because my opponent isn’t different from her progressive wing of her party.” 

    The 52nd District covers the intersection of Cook, Lake, McHenry and Kane counties with Barrington as its geographic center. The district stretches from Volo to Interstate 90 and from Algonquin to Libertyville. In 2022, McLaughlin, who won his 2022 race by 4 points, was the only Republican for a state office on the ballot in the district to win a majority of the district’s votes as Gov. JB Pritzker won the district by 5 points. That marked a shift from 2018 when Pritzker lost the district’s boundaries by 12 points.  

    “At the doors people don’t know who he is, they don’t realize he’s been state rep for two-and-a-half terms, so that’s almost six years, and that’s almost shameful,” Peterson told The Daily Line. “Given my outcome from last cycle, people still remember me when I come to the doors.”  

    McLaughlin pushed back that Peterson has failed to separate herself from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. But Peterson also has concerns that McLaughlin is too conservative for the district. Though he is not a member of the Freedom Caucus, McLaughlin often appears at events and news conferences with the House’s far-right lawmakers. Some of the caucus’ members recently joined McLaughlin to knock doors in Lake Barrington last month, which McLaughlin stressed was a reflection of the respect he’s earned from House colleagues rather than a conservative alliance.  

    “I’m happy to get assistance, particularly from people who understand the issue so well,” McLaughlin said of his relationship with the caucus.  

    One place McLaughlin isn’t receiving direct assistance is from the House Republican Organization (HRO). McLaughlin is not a member of the organization, which he said is simply a personal preference for how he believes is the best way to run his campaign, and not a sign of any rift with Republican Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna).  

    “When I came to Springfield, I was looking at HRO and deciding well, what’s the investment deliver,” McLaughlin said. “Under [former Leader Jim] Durkin, I participated in the first year and the second year I didn’t. It’s not specific to the leadership, it’s just I’m already set up to run my own campaigns.” 

    Since McLaughlin closed June with $98,576 in his campaign coffers, he has raised $59,000 in reportable contributions of $1,000 or more.  

    Peterson is getting plenty of help from Speaker Chris Welch’s (D-Hillside) political army.  Since she ended June with $39,631, she has raised $523,170, which includes transfers from Welch and in-kind contributions for staffers, polling and advertising.  

    Peterson also recently launched a TV commercial that criticized McLaughlin on abortion. Peterson told The Daily Line that’s the number one issue she hears when knocking doors.  

    “Even men have asked me where I stand on choice and I say to them, ‘well, frankly, statistically women out-live men so women are going to make their own healthcare decisions anyway,’” Peterson said.  

    Illinois Right to Life Action ranked McLaughlin as “fully pro-life,” but he told The Daily Line Peterson has misrepresented his position and that he believes in exceptions and women making a decision with their doctor.  

    “Abortion is not in play in the state of Illinois and to demonize women and to pretend that it is something that is in play is actually not giving people the credit for what we need to be talking about,” McLaughlin said. “It’s settled in this state and it’s not in question.”    

    McLaughlin said he’s hearing economic and state spending concerns at the door, including that residents are unhappy with the state’s spending on migrants. McLaughlin said he’s only growing more concerned about unchecked state spending. 

    “The legislators have to be unafraid to use two letters, which are N and O,” McLaughlin said. “They get elected, they want to do good things for their community, and they want to deliver, I guess, programs, but the money is not there to deliver programs and you’re serving residents better if you can be more efficient than effective.”  

    Peterson also hinted that she would take a conservative budgeting approach if elected.  

    “I think at this point it’s just like running a household budget,” Peterson said. “What needs to be fixed in the house that’s screaming. If you need a roof to prevent the leaks, you’ve got to budget for the roofs and so you’ve got to cut back on other things. And so I think that’s how it’s going to have to be: you’re going to have to look at the highest priorities and then see where you could cut here or there.” 

    Education is one of those top priorities the state should be spending more on for Peterson. But a key concern in the suburban district is the rising cost of property taxes, which are often fueled by increased levies from school districts and other local governments. She said she is encouraging voters to support an advisory referendum to create a 3 percent tax on millionaires to fund property tax relief.  

    McLaughlin, who previously served as the Barrington Hills village president, said the village decreased its tax levy each of the seven years he was in charge. But local governments also need reliable funding to be able to cut property taxes for their residents, McLaughlin said, adding there’s only so much state lawmakers can specifically do on property taxes because they are levied by local governments.  

    McLaughlin raised concerns earlier this year about a bipartisan plan to eliminate the grocery tax. Revenue from the tax solely goes to local governments and he was concerned eliminating the 1 percent tax rate would shortchange local governments of millions of dollars of funding. The tax’s elimination ultimately passed the legislature with lawmakers providing local governments power to raise their sales tax rate in lieu of the grocery tax. However, McLaughlin said restoring the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) level to 10 percent would be the best way to bring down property taxes. The fund’s funding level was cut more than a decade ago and has never rebounded.  

    “Forget all the other property tax stuff, restore LGDF to 10 percent and the communities would have a tax break at the municipal level,” McLaughlin said.  

    McLaughlin’s other top issue is state pensions, as his private sector career involves pension investments. State lawmakers are expected to craft pension reform in the near future, including addressing Tier 2’s incompatibility with federal Social Security benefits requirements. He said he would support a solution that would put the state on the hook for any Tier 2 benefits that don’t meet the Social Security “safe harbor” provision. But he’s also worried about claims that Tier 2 benefits should be boosted more in line with Tier 1, especially when considering the state’s unfunded pension liability.  

    “The Tier 2 pension structure, when compared to the private sector in Illinois, and to public sectors in surrounding states … it is a pretty good opportunity for someone that wants to be a long-term employee and have a benefit,” McLaughlin said. “But when you compare it to Tier 1, yes, Tier 1 has more generous benefits. How’s that working out for our pension system?” 

    Peterson said pensions are not a big issue when she talks to voters.  

    “I think at this point it’s a matter of getting all the stakeholders at the table and working it out,” Peterson said. “It’s not fair for these Tier 2 people that they have to work longer and receive less benefits, however, we also have to ensure that we’re not going to get penalized by the federal government for being under Social Security rates.” 

    McLaughlin and Peterson are set to face off in a League of Women Voters candidate forum in Barrington on Thursday.  

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