She Runs Illinois 2022! — Terra Costa Howard, candidate for IL House of Representatives, District 42
She Votes Illinois is pleased to feature Terra Costa Howard, incumbent, running for IL House of Representatives, District 42. Follow our series, She Runs Illinois 2022!, leading up to election day as we showcase and uplift the voices of Illinois women running for public office in the upcoming election, November 8, 2022.
Tell us about yourself
I am a lawyer, a small business owner, a wife, a mother, and a tireless advocate for children and people in need.
I was born and raised in DuPage County, and I have lived in the 42nd district for more than 20 years. After earning a B.A. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a law degree at DePaul University, I worked in the DuPage County Public Defender’s Office, where I represented children and parents living in poverty, standing up for people who were vulnerable and speaking out on behalf of my clients and their families. In 2003, I opened my own legal practice, where I fight for the rights of children, elderly people, people with disabilities, and families caught in custody and visitation disputes.
I worked alongside my husband, Nick, to start up a software development company based in Glen Ellyn. Through my experience in helping to build a new venture, I know the many ways that small businesses contribute to our communities and local economies, and I understand the difficulties that can confront Illinois small business owners — and their employees. I also have proven that it’s possible for a business to achieve great success while paying employees a fair wage and providing health coverage.
Because I believe public education is the cornerstone of our communities, I served two terms on the Glen Ellyn School District 41 Board of Education, including two years as Board President. While on the school board, I helped to forge contract agreements that met the needs of teachers and school support staff — and taxpayers — while making sure the school district’s budget remained balanced.
I was elected to the General Assembly in 2018 and am now running for my third term as State Representative.
What are the priorities that you intend to focus on in office?
I am fighting in Springfield for the values we all share: Strengthening our schools, defending women and reproductive health care, lowering the tax burden on working families, and making quality health care affordable for everyone.
What do you wish more people understood about holding office?
As a State Representative, my duties extend far beyond casting my votes on the House floor. Whether I’m in Springfield or working in my district, I am focused on staying in touch with the people I represent and making sure their voices are heard. That means I spend hours and hours almost every week knocking on doors throughout the district and asking residents to share their ideas and opinions about the issues that are most important to them. In addition, I hold weekly “office hours” at various times and locations throughout the district, to give constituents a chance to talk with me one-on-one. I also make a point of attending as many community events as possible, to keep in touch with what’s going on in the district and to have an opportunity to talk with people in a less formal setting. There’s nothing more important to me than hearing from my constituents, and I try to make it easy and convenient for them to connect with me and my office.
Considering a person’s different identities (race, class, gender, etc.), what more needs to be done in Illinois to protect people’s rights and access to reproductive services?
As the late, great U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, “The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman’s life, to her well-being and dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself. When the government controls that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a full adult human responsible for her own choices.” I was very proud that I was able to help pass the Reproductive Health Act, which protects Illinois women’s right to make their own decisions about their reproductive healthcare now that the extremists on the current U.S. Supreme Court have overturned Roe v. Wade. But we need to keep on working to elect pro-choice candidates at every level, to guard against federal action by Congress that would ban and even criminalize the reproductive health care options that are central to our health and our control of our lives and our futures.
Toxic masculinity, the cultural idea that manhood is defined by violence and aggression to maintain power or strength, combined with gun availability can result in gender-based gun violence and mass shootings. What can the ILGA do to address this deadly combination?
I have been honored to receive the Moms Demand Action Gun Sense distinction in my two previous campaigns, and I have demonstrated my commitment to common-sense gun safety laws during my term as State Representative.
I have proven that I’m not afraid to stand up to the powerful gun lobby. In one of my first actions in Springfield, I filed House Bill 3553, to prohibit local governments from passing any ordinance restricting enforcement of any state gun law. My public opposition to these so-called “sanctuary counties” made me a target of gun extremists nationwide. There were videos on YouTube urging angry gun owners to “reach out and touch” me, and I had to contact the police because of the threats made against me and my family.
Despite their threats and bullying, I won’t back down. I was a proud co-sponsor of HB 562, which has expanded background checks on all gun sales in Illinois and provides mental health funding for communities most impacted by gun violence, among other life-saving measures. I also co-sponsored HB4383 into law, a new law banning the sale and possession of “ghost guns” — unserialized, privately made firearms that are often sold as a set of parts to be assembled at home, allowing prohibited purchasers to circumvent background checks.
I also support:
- A ban on high-capacity magazines and military-style weapons.
- Requiring statewide licensing of gun dealers.
- Closing the gun show loophole.
- Prohibiting “bump stock” and other trigger modifications that turn firearms into fully automatic weapons.
Racially motivated violence against Asian Americans is a longstanding issue in the U.S., but incidents have been on the rise. How will you plan to understand impacted communities’ fears and needs in order to work towards ensuring their safety?
It is horrifying that the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered wide-ranging anti-Asian hate crimes. I believe much of this xenophobia can be blamed on the previous Administration’s disgraceful attempts to make China a scapegoat for the virus. It is heartbreaking that Asian Americans in our communities and across the country are being targeted in racially motivated attacks.
DuPage County is home to a large and growing Asian American population. As State Representative, I will continue to reach out to our local community organizations and to law enforcement to make sure we are aware of any threats and to make sure all our neighbors feel safe and protected.
Closing comments
When I first ran for office, I pledged to voters that they could trust me to vote in their interests instead of serving as a rubber stamp for party leaders. I fulfilled that pledge by taking a stand when allegations of corruption and abuse of power were leveled against leaders in my own party. In the face of threats and intimidation from fellow Democrats, I did the right thing and held firm, and my insistence on following my conscience helped to bring about the end of Machine-era politics as usual in Springfield.
I also have worked to set the standard for openness and accountability to the people I serve. Since I was first sworn into office in 2019, I have held dozens of town hall meetings, constituent coffees, and public seminars. My office is tireless in our commitment to constituent service, responding to thousands of emails and phone calls.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked in our communities every day — sponsoring food drives, volunteering at food pantries, and helping the people and businesses of our communities access the resources we needed to get through.
I believe I have proven myself as a strong, principled State Representative, and I will continue to fight hard for the people of the 42nd District when I am re-elected.
If you would like to learn more about Terra Costa Howard and her platform or volunteer for her campaign, please check out her website at tchfor42.com. Don’t forget to follow her on social media at @voteTCH. Reach out today and help make a difference in the upcoming 2022 election.
(The information contained in this post is provided only as general information and does not imply an endorsement by She Votes Illinois.)
