Republican Sue Rezin, incumbent 38th District state senator

This year’s race for the 38th District State Senate is a rematch of the two opponents — one an independent business owner and the other a retired school superintendent.

Republican incumbent Illinois State Senator Sue Rezin, R-Morris, and her Democratic opponent Christine Benson, D-Ottawa, squared off in 2012 with Rezin winning 54 percent of the vote.

Rezin was appointed to the Illinois State Senate in December 2010 replacing then State Sen. Gary Dahl.  Earlier that year, she was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives.  She never served in the house due to her appointment in the Illinois Senate.

Rezin graduated from Augustana College with a degree in international business and political science with a minor in hispanic studies. She also has been the co-owner and manager of her family’s real estate company.  Rezin and her husband Keith reside in Morris and have four children.

As of the last filing with the Illinois State Board of Elections, Rezin has $291,860 in her campaign fund.

Benson is a career educator in Illinois who recently retired after serving 35 years, 17 years as a teacher and 18 years as a superintendent of schools.

She obtained her bachelor’s, master’s, and certificate of advance study from Illinois State University and her doctorate in education administration from Northern Illinois University.

She has been married for 40 years and has two children.

As of the last filing with the ISBE, Benson has $ 46,911 in her campaign fund.

subhed: EDUCATION

Rezin: In 2016, Rezin was appointed to serve on the Illinois School Funding Reform Commission, which is tasked with recommending a comprehensive solution to reform Illinois’ school funding formula.

Democrat Christine Benson

“Illinois’ education funding formula is flawed and in need of serious reform.” Rezin has stated. “Ensuring schools in the 38th Senate District are always properly funded and the school funding formula is equitable across the state is critical. Education funding has been a top issue of mine since I took office. I am looking forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate from both sides of the aisle and the Administration. We need to work together to craft a solution that makes the state’s funding formula work well and makes every student a priority.”

Benson: “As a lifelong educator,  I know the importance of education. I will fight to give our children a first-class education, with more school funding, fairer funding to rural and middle-class districts, and less of a reliance on property taxes.

“Roads, parks, and schools have languished over the past decade, and repairing and rebuilding that infrastructure will help all the residents of the district, put union labor back to work, and inject money into our economy.

“The unions and schools grew up together in the United States, fostering free public education, fair wages, and a strong middle class. We need to be careful not to lose this strength in our nation.”

subhed: STATE BUDGET

Rezin: “This state faces many difficult issues and no single issue is of greater importance than putting our fiscal house in order.  Unless we are on a firm financial footing, Illinois cannot possibly hope to be able to provide its citizens with necessary services.

“As a part of the budget struggles that Illinois faces, we will look for ways to reform our pension system that is factually unsustainable.  The subject is extremely sensitive to those it affects, but it cannot be denied that public pensions are in jeopardy.

“Future projections indicate that over 50% of our sales, income, and corporate tax revenues will be required to make our pension obligation payment by the year 2045.  Paying that high of a percentage of revenue would only edge out the ability to pay for other services in the state. ”

Benson:  “Springfield should not even think about raising taxes on Illinoisans while its own fiscal house is in disorder. Springfield needs to work together to pass a balanced budget that protects schools, infrastructure, and our most vulnerable. Not investing in these vital services now, will only create more problems down the road.”

DISTRICT FACT BOX

State Senate District 38 includes parts of the cities of Braidwood, Joliet, LaSalle, Marseilles, Mendota, Morris, Oglesby, Ottawa, Peru, Plano, Sandwich, Spring Valley, Streator, Wilmington, and  Yorkville.

— 38^th State Senate race a rematch from 2012 —