Next month’s 40th Senate District race will be a rematch between Democratic incumbent Patrick Joyce and Republican challenger Philip Nagel, whom Joyce defeated two years ago.
Essex’s Joyce took office on Nov. 8, 2019, joining Sen. Toy Hutchinson, whom Gov. J.B. Pritzker appointed to oversee the expansion of Illinois’ expansion into legalized production and sales of recreational marijuana. He was appointed as a successor to the councillor.
Mr. Joyce won a full term in 2020 with 58.5% of the vote, while his Republican challenger Eric Wallace received 41.5%.
Mr Joyce was re-elected in November 2022, defeating Mr Nagel of Braidwood with 59% of the vote to Mr Nagel’s 41%.
In the March primary election, Mr. Joyce defeated Democratic challenger Kimberly Erling of Braidwood, winning 79% of the vote to Erling’s 21%.
Mr. Nagel was unopposed in the Republican primary.
The district includes portions of Cook, Grundy, Kankakee, and Will counties.
The 40th includes Chicago Heights, Crete, Flossmoor, Frankfort, Matteson, Mokena, New Lenox, Olympia Fields, Park Forest, Richton Park, South Chicago Heights, Steger, and University Park. Includes all or part of the Southland community.
Kankakee County has about 40% of the 1940s population, and Will County has 25%. The remainder is in southern Cook County and parts of Grundy County.
Joyce said property taxes remain a pressing issue and advocates increasing state spending on public education to reduce the tax burden on property owners.
Mr. Joyce said he is sponsoring the Southland Revitalization Act, which targets commercial and industrial properties that show a clear pattern of economic decline. This program makes it easier for communities to get abandoned properties back on their tax rolls.
With much of the 40th in agricultural use, Joyce, a fourth-generation farmer, received the “Friend of Agriculture Award” from the Illinois Farm Bureau in September.
Nagel, who served in the Air Force after high school, said Illinois needs to do more to attract businesses to reduce the burden of property taxes. He said he supports tax breaks as an incentive for businesses to open in Illinois.
Nagel also criticized Democrats, who control the General Assembly, saying Illinois’ budget needs to be cut.
“Their tax and spend policies have bloated the state’s budget and made Illinois the most tax-friendly state in the nation. This path is unsustainable and requires a change in leadership.”
Addressing the unfunded pension liability of unionized state employees is part of state spending cuts, and Nagel said he wants to move state pensions to a 401K model.
If elected, Nagel said he would work to rein in state spending and reduce the size of government.
Joyce’s political family includes her father, Jerry, who served in the state Senate for 17 years before retiring in 1992. Jerry Joyce’s wife, Janet Joyce, served out the remainder of her husband’s term until January 1993. Jerry Joyce passed away in June 2019 at the age of 80. .
At the end of the April-June period, Joyce’s campaign had nearly $500,000 on hand and had received more than $98,000 in donations in the second quarter.
Since then, campaign finance filings show a significant spike in donations, primarily from organized labor, the state Democratic Party and other sources.
For example, the Illinois Federation of Teachers donated $30,000 to Joyce’s campaign on September 16th, and the United Association of Journeyman Illinois Pipe Trades donated $68,500 on September 20th. The donation is shown in Joyce’s campaign report.
The North Central Illinois Labor District Council donated $50,000 on Aug. 27, according to filings.
Mr. Joyce’s party sent $150,000 to Mr. Joyce’s re-election campaign on September 27, including in-kind donations to cover expenses such as campaigning and photography for Mr. Joyce’s campaign, the filing said.
This is on top of more than $180,000 in other donations to Mr. Joyce’s campaign since the April-June count, according to the filing.
Mr. Nagel’s campaign finance reports show significant donations from state Republicans.
The Senate Republican Victory Fund contributed thousands of dollars in in-kind and cash. Republican organizations in the state have also made more than $100,000 in in-kind donations to print and mail campaign materials, according to Nagel’s filing.
Victory Fund funneled just over $70,000 to Nagel’s campaign in a transaction on September 23rd, followed by more than $132,000 of the same amount on September 16th, the same amount on September 9th, and the same on September 3rd. The filing revealed that the amount was injected. .
Nagel’s campaign recorded just over $21,000 in receipts during the filing period from April to June, and the campaign had just over $18,000 in cash at the end of the quarter, according to filings.
