From staff reports
Mary Gill easily won the Democratic nomination in the 35th House District over fellow Mount Greenwood resident David Dewar.
Gill, a lifelong district resident, was appointed last March to succeed Fran Hurley, who resigned to take a position with the Illinois Labor Relations Board. Gill, a former special-education teacher, was executive director of the Mount Greenwood Community and Business Association since it opened in 2013. A committee of Democratic officeholders chose her out of 16 candidates after two community forums.
Challenging her bid for election to the seat was Dewar, the owner of a financial consulting firm who has portrayed “Patriotic Uncle Sam” in local Independence Day parades in Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park, Palos Heights and Palos Park for many years.
With all suburban precincts reporting, Gill had received 4,522 votes, about 84 percent, to 856 votes for Dewar, about 16 percent. In Chicago areas of the district, Gill outpolled Dewar 7,539 to 1,438.
Both had highlighted their business experience as an asset in Springfield.
Dewar, 59, grew up in Calumet Park and moved to Mt. Greenwood 40 years ago. After a career in real estate investment properties and foreclosures in the 1980s, he became a mortgage and real estate broker, and later an insurance broker. Since 2010, he has been providing financial services and advice through his own company, Tax-Free Retirement Solutions.
He became an election judge and then ran for alderman in Chicago’s 19th Ward in 2019 and the Illinois House in the 38th District in 2022.
“My motto is ‘We the People, not We the Politicians,’” said Dewar. “I think both parties have let the people down. I am running as a JFK Democrat,” explaining that his policies are more aligned with John F. Kennedy’s in 1960.
On the migrant issue, Gill said, “I am glad the state is stepping in. We have created a working group. We have to have a plan but this is really a federal issue.”
“I am not on that committee. But in general, I think it is important to support people who are already here,” said Gill.
She said police asked that non-citizens be allowed to join police departments.
When asked what set her apart from Dewar, Gill simply said, “My experience, and I am a Democrat.”
“I would like to revisit some aspects of the Safe-T Act, if possible,” she said. But when asked about a list that Dewar is circulating comparing their alleged differing opinions on various pieces of legislation, Gill suggested that voters research the bills and decide for themselves.
“I don’t think I was in Springfield for some of them,” she said. “A lot of it is propaganda.”
The lifelong 35th District resident graduated from Clissold Elementary School and then Mother McAuley High School in 1997. With a degree in education from St. Ambrose University, she taught at a school in Summit.
“I absolutely loved teaching,” said Gill. “I gave it up to work for the MGCBA and raise my family. I miss it, but I am in a different role now and can still help children and families.”
She and her husband, Dan, have three children: Ella, Luken, and Hagen.
“This is my first full session. I am focused on the committees I serve on–Mental Health and Addiction; Police and Fire; Public Utilities; Small Business, Tech Innovation; and Veterans’ Affairs,” said Gill. “Mostly, my job is to listen and learn from people.” said Gill, who is working on several bills based on constituent concerns.
After Chicago Public Schools and Mayor Brandon Johnson decided to remove resource officers from schools next year, she heard from staff and parents at Morgan Park High School who disagreed with the plan.
“They want their officer to stay. So, we created a bill to allow local school councils to decide if they want the officers to stay,” she said. “Local control is being taken away from the 39 high schools who wanted to keep the resource officers,” said Gill, a former member of the Chicago Agricultural High School LSC.
Another bill would provide funding for counseling for first responders and their spouses. A third one she is working on with state Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-18th), would curtail fines and fees people often face when their cars are stolen and recovered.
“They feel like they are being victimized twice,” she said.
One more bill she is working on would make a new drug for Alzheimer’s disease available to people under 65. It currently is only available to people older than that.
“I have a lot of support for this bill,” she said, noting that many families deal with Alzheimer’s, citing her late uncle, Mike Cusack, who fell victim to Alzheimer’s at a young age. He also had Down syndrome and was one of the first athletes to compete in Special Olympics. She has continued her family’s tradition of volunteering for that organization, as well as other local non-profit organizations, such as the Ronald McDonald House at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn.
She will face perennial Republican candidate Herbert Hebien who is running for fourth time in the district.
The diverse district stretches from 83th and Bishop Street in Chicago, to 143rd Street and Wolf Road, taking in Alsip, Merrionette Park, Palos Park, Palos Heights, Orland Park and Worth, as well as Chicago neighborhoods of Brainerd, Beverly, Morgan Park and Mount Greenwood.