She Runs Illinois 2022! — Maria Peterson, candidate for IL Senate, District 26

She Votes Illinois is pleased to feature Maria Peterson, candidate, running for IL State Senate, District 26. 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.

Maria Peterson, candidate for IL State Senate, District 26

Tell us about yourself

I grew up in the Western Suburbs of Chicago in a hard-working middle-class family.

After attending public schools, I attended Loyola University of Chicago, where I double majored in Criminal Justice and Organizational Communications, and interned as a mediator with the Chicago Justice Center. It was also where I met my soulmate and husband, Ken Peterson. I then attended the John Marshall Law School, where I learned to be an effective and compassionate advocate, writing letters to call out stores or employers that discriminated against the local Latinos in Melrose Park. After passing the Bar, I opted to become an attorney in the U.S. Department of Labor litigating workplace safety violations and arguing on behalf of coal miners during the Black Lung hearings to fight for the benefits they were due.

Twenty-five years ago, my husband and I moved our family to the Barrington area from Chicago for less density, more green space, and lower taxes. As a retired attorney raising my three sons in the Northwest Suburbs, I started and ran a one-woman-owned company, FitCore, Inc., to help those who needed continued strength training after being released from physical therapy, in addition to offering personal training and small group exercise classes.

I also pursued volunteer and civic opportunities to help others and to better our community for the greater good. I have served on numerous boards, including the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), the North Barrington Plan Commission, the Barrington Area Rotary Club as past President, and the League of Women Voters as Environmental Co-Chair. As a 30-year member of Sierra Club, I have also served as a volunteer advocate.

As a passionate environmentalist, I am also a member and volunteer with Citizens for Conservation and a member of Barrington Area Conservation Trust.

What are the priorities that you intend to focus on in office?

My top three priorities are:

1. Women’s Rights — Women’s rights are under attack, and we cannot afford to move backwards. We need a state senator who will protect and defend these rights rather than the ultra-conservative, religious, far-right incumbent who has consistently voted against women’s rights. I will continue to advocate for women in every aspect of their lives: including defending their reproductive rights and privacy; advocating for equal pay and affordable childcare; defending their access to affordable healthcare and contraception; and helping women buy their own homes and build generational wealth.
2. Gun Violence Prevention — we must reduce gun violence (see my responses to #5 below for specifics)
3. Taxes — Nobody likes to pay taxes, but taxes build our roads and our infrastructure. Taxes help create laws to ensure that we are protected from fraud from a bank or a business. Taxes help our kids get educated and support our public safety such as police and fire. The issues are how much is collected and by which taxing agency, and who pays a disproportionate amount. I will also fight to protect senior citizens, such as my father, from paying any retirement tax; and work to consolidate taxing districts.

I also want to focus on addressing inequities, and help address voter concerns on:

• Crime and public safety
• Working for sustainable environmental policies
• Expanding access and improving the affordability of mental health services
• Helping small businesses survive and thrive
• Ensuring that government is transparent and that happens with a representative that does community outreach and education

What led you into politics and to run for office?

I have been involved with politics since 1991 when I ran for the first local school council at our local public school in Chicago. I was a delegate for Bill Clinton in 1992. After my third son was born in 1993, I took a break from politics to raise my boys.

After Trump was elected in 2016, my interest in politics renewed, and in 2018, I ran to become Lake County Board Member in a primarily red district. While I did not win, many political influencers wanted me to run again.

My decision to run for the state senate happened when Texas passed SB8, which banned all abortions. I knew my opponent was thrilled about this given his work with Americans United for Life, where he was an executive and wrote model legislation to end all abortion throughout the country. I had had enough of women’s rights being attacked, and I decided to run.

Anti-LGBTQ legislation has become an agenda in states across the nation. What policies do you think are necessary to help ensure individuals are able to live full, safe, and happy lives?

First, to give some background, my husband and I are proud parents of a gay son who is happily married. When he came out to me in 2009, he was nervous, then apologetic, and then afraid.

The day after he told me, while we were hanging around the house waiting to leave to take him back to the airport — he took a dive into my arms as I was sitting on the couch and started crying and apologizing for being gay. I reassured him that nothing was going to change my love for him and that I accept him just as he is. I respected his wish to allow him to talk to his father. A few months later our son talked to his father, and while my husband was taken aback — he too accepted our son for who he is — a young man who is wonderful on all levels and just chooses to love differently. We celebrated his marriage in July 2019 in NYC.

As state senator, I will proudly ensure inclusivity and broad engagement by and for LGBTQ+ Illinoisans in my work by encouraging and supporting members of the LGBTQ+ community to run for office, seek commission and board appointments, and apply for leadership positions within the state government. In addition, I will create a student panel specifically for LGBTQ+ and other marginalized students who are interested in politics and government so that they can learn not just from me, but from other guest speakers.

Given the vulnerability of rights and protections for the LGBTQ+ community depending on who is in the White House, Illinois must enact protections to ensure there is a reduction in disparities and promote economic justice. Just as Illinois is an island protecting a woman’s right to choose, so we must do the same to protect the rights and protections of LGBTQ+ individuals who are employed at workplaces that choose to discriminate on various levels. The “Fight for Fifteen” is a great example and start of supporting the LGBTQ+ community in raising their income levels above the Federal poverty level.

I will ensure safety and access to an affirming education for the LGBTQ+ youth by sponsoring or supporting legislation that does the exact opposite of what Florida has done. School districts cannot be sued for teaching the history and experiences of the LGBTQ+ community. Teachers and all school administrators cannot reveal or discuss a child’s attraction or gender identity — no outing! The safety and welfare of an LGBTQ+ student come first and foremost in ensuring that the student does not experience any physical and/or verbal abuse, including the use of the word “gay” in a pejorative manner. The manner an LGBTQ+ student dresses shall be protected just as cultural hairstyles are now protected in IL.

I will ensure access to adequate and affirming healthcare for the LGBTQ+ people in Illinois by supporting Senator Karina Villa’s bill, SB 2978 — “Medical Patient’s Rights”. Furthermore, as a community, we need to support members of the LGBTQ+ community to further their education in the medical field so that they can be health care providers and bridge the gap and build trust between health care and LGBTQ patients.

Finally, I will work to reduce the disparities of the LGBTQ+ population in the criminal justice system and ensure their fair treatment.

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?

Since Toxic Masculinity can result from a cultural, religious, or class upbringing, we have to address the issue from two different perspectives:

1. Handguns, shotguns, and rifles: Illinois has some of the best gun laws in the nation. However, as we have seen after the Highland Park shooting, we still have some holes. For example, we need to ban all styles of assault rifles in Illinois. Background checks must be more thorough and waiting periods must be longer than 14 days. We need to outlaw high-capacity magazines, and share sales records of handguns, shotguns, and rifles with law enforcement throughout Illinois.
2. Encourage men who exhibit toxic masculinity to attend violence interrupter programs such as “Becoming a Man”, Choose 2 Change, and Readi Chicago to name a few. The ILGA must provide grants to help fund these organizations.

As states surrounding us and across the country further restrict abortion access, what more do you think needs to be done here in Illinois to further protect patients in and out-of-state and abortion providers?

While Illinois has codified the right to an abortion through the Illinois Reproductive Health Care Act, we need to ensure we have a constitutional right to abortion in our Illinois Constitution, just as Kansas has. I would advocate putting this on the ballot as soon as possible. In fact, an advisory referendum measuring Illinoisains’ want to enshrine the right to choose in the constitution can be on this November ballot.

In the meantime there are a number of items that need to occur immediately: 1) ensure that the Illinois Supreme Court remains Democratic-based, 2) elect candidates such as myself that are strong advocates of abortion rights, 3) protect all women that come to Illinois seeking abortion services from criminal liability, 4) allow out-of-state licensed abortion providers to provide abortion services in Illinois, 5) protect abortion providers from criminal liability coming in from other states that are performing abortion services in Illinois, 6) create stronger criminal laws for those that choose to damage abortion clinics

Closing comments

I am a firm believer in service before politics. I am asking voters to vote for me because I bring a lifetime of skills including listening, mediation/negotiation, research and analysis, and advocacy to the table, and a proven record of getting things done.

As a state senator for the 26th district, I am committed to delving deeply into learning a subject at hand and listening so that I can understand both sides of the issue, represent my constituents, and collaborate with fellow legislators for a favorable outcome. I will be part of the solution, and not beholden to party line positioning.

The voters of my district deserve a representative that will keep them updated with town hall meetings in person and/or telephone conferences, as well as a representative who will hold office hours in the evening going to them rather than them coming to me. I want the voters of my district to know that my door is always open and that I will help to the best of my ability.

If you would like to learn more about Maria Peterson and her platform or volunteer for her campaign, please check out her website at mariapetersonforsenate.com. Don’t forget to follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 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.)