5 days ago
Will County Board member from Naperville announces bid for Senate seat
Will County Board member Julie Berkowicz, a Naperville Republican, has announced plans to run in the 2026 primary for the state senate seat representing District 21, which covers portions of Will and DuPage counties.
The position is currently held by Sen. Laura Ellman, a Naperville Democrat elected to the post in November 2018.
Berkowicz said at the county level, she advocates for lower taxes and smaller government and has been frustrated in recent years with the increased tax levies that have been approved. Financial votes tend to break along party lines, she said.
The Will County Board has 11 Republicans and 11 Democrats, with County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, a Democrat, able to cast tie-breaking votes.
Berkowicz said she knows residents grapple with paying high property taxes and believes it's wrong that tax burdens are forcing people out of their homes and prompting some to move other states.
'If people in the state are struggling, then we are not doing our job,' she said. 'People are not feeling secure anymore.'
Mandates coming from Springfield are another factor in her senate bid, Berkowicz said.
She said she believes the General Assembly has tied the county board's hands when it comes to issues like approving solar farm projects, taking local control away from the board and its residents. If the board rejects a commercial solar farm, the company can sue the county, Berkowicz said.
While she supports some solar projects and opposes others, Springfield needs to return control back to the counties and municipalities, she said.
'I feel by going to serve in state government, I can make a difference and give people back their voice,' Berkowicz said.
Preserving farmland, helping the agriculture industry and protecting open space are also important initiatives, she said.
The 21st District covers portions of Naperville, Bolingbrook, Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn, Lisle, Lombard, Wheaton and Warrenville.
Berkowicz said she is 'not motivated by blue or red' agendas, acknowledging DuPage County has been shifting in favor of Democrats for the last several years.
As an example, she said she cast her vote against a quarry expansion in Wheatland Township on the borders of Plainfield and Bolingbrook and not far from Naperville despite eight of her Republican colleagues voting in favor of it.
Berkowicz has been on the county board since 2018 and serves as vice chair of the finance committee and treasurer of the board for the Forest Preserve District of Will County. She was reelected last fall to a four-year term, which ends in 2028, and would likely have to resign from the board were she elected to the senate.
The campaign for state office, however, will not affect her commitment to her board duties, she said. She plans to take the same approach to governing at the state level as she does at a county level, she said.
'I go in there to do my best,' Berkowicz said. 'I do my research, become educated, understand the role I take and act accordingly. I have the experience, knowledge and background to go to the table, look at the facts and do what's best for Illinois.'
