State Sen. Darby Hills, R-Barrington Hills, and state Rep. Nabeela Syed, D-Inverness, Hills’ opponent in the Nov. 3 general election, have knocked on thousands of doors, meeting with voters, and television ads are painting a picture of them.
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Listening to voters’ stories, Syed and Hills are learning how people are impacted by the rising cost of living and property taxes, when the value of their home is increasing faster than their income to pay the taxes.
“I talked to a woman who’s 85 and owns her home free and clear, but she doesn’t have the revenue to pay her property taxes,” Hills said. “The value of her home is going up faster than her income.”
As she goes door to door, Syed said she is hearing stories about people who will lose their Medicaid coverage after the first of the year because of federal legislation. One woman already saw a drastic price increase in the cost of her prescription medication.
“The drug was no longer on the formulary list, and it costs more,” Syed said. “The brand name was covered, but not the (generic form) she was using.”
Voters in southwest Lake County and northwest Cook County will decide whether to send Hills back to Springfield or move Syed from the state House to the state Senate when they cast their ballots by mail, early or on Tuesday.
Both Syed and Hills agree affordability and property tax relief are key issues in the upcoming election, but they have different ideas on how to reduce the cost of living and ease the burden of real estate taxes.
Appointed to the Senate in February 2025 to replace former state Sen. Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, Hills, 50, said she wants to continue her career in the Senate because of her desire to continue the independent effort she has given constituents.
“The residents of the 26th (District) need an independent voice who will prioritize the needs of working families and work to put their priorities over party or politics,” Hills said.
First elected to the state House in 2022 and reelected two years later, Syed, 27, said she already represents half the 26th District through the 51st House District. The residents of the other half — the 52nd House District — have many of the same concerns and needs.
“The moment we’re in has a lot of change from the (President Donald) Trump administration,” Syed said. “It will be important to help people in the other half of the district if they have cuts in SNAP or Medicaid. People are struggling all over, and they need effective leadership.”
Through the campaign, others tried to define the candidates either in television commercials or on social media. They both have a clear idea of their values and what they believe they can do for their constituents.
Listening to people as she knocks on their doors, Syed said she hears their concerns and believes they will be best served by her legislative agenda and that of the Democratic Party. Their interests will influence the legislation she sponsors.
“I’m a Democrat who puts working families first,” Syed said. “That means lower prices for prescription drugs, affordable healthcare, and reforming our property tax system that puts people out of their homes.”
A Republican who has worked across party lines since she got to the Senate 20 months ago, Hills said she works with Democrats to pass legislation she believes is in the interest of her constituents.
“I am a fiscally conservative center-right Republican,” Hills said. “I don’t vote party line. I am not extreme. I am a very common-sense legislator. I believe Illinois must live within its means just like we all have to do.”
Commercials airing on television in the Chicago area paint a picture of Hills as someone who is connected to donors with ties to Trump and his agenda. Keith Brin, the Republican 10th Congressional District Central Committee person, said in a text the ads are more than misleading.
“These ads are just pathetic mudslinging built on guilt by the feeblest association,” Brin said. “The people behind them dress up insinuations and expect voters to mistake it for truth. It’s gross, indefensible, and an insult to the public’s intelligence.”
Tom Maillard, the Democratic state central committee man for the 10th Congressional District, said in a text that Hills has demonstrated her “allegiance lies with MAGA extremists, not the community she refuses to meet in public forums.”
Hills withdrew from a League of Women Voters forum last month, attributing it to scheduling conflicts.
“Darby (Hills) has shown herself to be out of touch and ready to rubber-stamp an extreme MAGA agenda rather than stand up for the people of her district,” Maillard said.
Both Syed and Hills said the most important issues facing voters in the coming election are affordability and property taxes. Their approach to solving the problems behind those issues differs.
“People are being squeezed in every direction, whether it’s at the grocery store, the gas station or the daycare center,” Hills said. “I’m at people’s doors all the time, and this is what I hear. We should not have one party at the checkbook. That’s what we’ve come to in Illinois.”
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Seeing affordability as a multi-pronged issue, Syed said affordable access to prescription drugs, helping those who will lose Medicaid after the first of the year, and the cost of groceries and property taxes are all part of the problem.
“We need to plan to fund education at the state level because we can’t keep it (based) on the appraised value of residents who don’t make any money off of appreciation,” Syed said.
Taking a fiscally conservative approach to the state’s budget is part of Hills’ plan to reduce property taxes. She said no legislation should be passed with an unfunded mandate. The cost of each program should be included in the bill, creating fiscal certainty. The savings can pay for education, taking some of the burden off school districts.
“I always say, Illinois does not have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem,” Hills said. “The lottery is supposed to fund education. Cannabis dispensaries are supposed to fund mental health,” she added, insisting those funds be separately segregated.
The 26th District includes all or part of Inverness, Palatine, Hoffman Estates, Rolling Meadows, Barrington, North Barrington, Barrington Hills, South Barrington, Lake Barrington, Kildeer, Long Grove, Vernon Hills, Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods, Algonquin, Fox River Grove, Tower Lakes, Island Lake, Wauconda, Volo, Libertyville and Mundelein.
Voters can deposit their vote-by-mail ballots in a designated drop box. Early voting is underway at 18 locations in Lake County, with some open on weekends. More details are available on the Lake County Clerk’s website.