She Runs Illinois 2024! — Rachel Ventura, candidate for Illinois Senate, District 43
She Votes Illinois is pleased to feature Rachel Ventura, incumbent, running for Illinois Senate, District 43. Follow our series, She Runs Illinois 2024!, leading up to election day as we showcase and uplift the voices of Illinois women running for public office in the upcoming election, November 5, 2024.
Tell us about yourself
I have served as State Senator since 2023 and before that as a Will County Board member from 2018–2022. I received a B.S. from Benedictine University and an A.S. in Biology from Tidewater Community College in Virginia. I have worked as an actuary and later as a naturalist restoring the long-leaf pine forest in Georgia. I was born and raised in Joliet and now reside there with my twin daughters and dogs. I currently serve on the Public Health, Human Rights, Local Government, and Early Childhood Education committees and am the Vice Chair of Pensions. I also served as the vice president of the Will County Forest Preserve. I believe in building safe communities, a sustainable planet, and strengthening the middle class.
What are your top three legislative priorities you intend to focus on in office?
Continue to address the climate crisis, tax the rich to provide relief to the middle class, and provide resources and streamlined policies to support communities.
What do you wish you had known before you ran for office?
How much time my family would have to sacrifice.
What initiatives are you championing to address the overlapping challenges of racial justice and gender equity in Illinois, particularly focusing on policies that promote fair treatment, opportunities, and outcomes for women of color?
I’ve voted for bills to help address all these issues and cosponsored a number of them. You can see my record HERE.
What steps will you take to enhance civic engagement and ensure that the voices of all constituents, including marginalized communities, are heard and represented in the legislative process in Illinois?
I support expanding voter rights and access. Encouraging all counties to allow every Polling location except any county ballot like DuPage does would help. Equal ballot access for all candidates. Restoring all voting rights in the state including to those incarcerated would move Illinois to having the best voter access in the country.
How will you ensure that Illinois continues to lead in promoting women’s health and reproductive rights, especially in the face of potentially restrictive federal policies on abortion and birth control?
I will continue to vote for women’s rights and choice. I would like these to be codified into our constitution.
Closing comments
I was the first woman and mother voted into this position for District 43 and I continue to pass bills that help our communities and families like the expanded child tax credit. As a single mom, I know how important the economics are to making decisions at the kitchen table. That’s why I don’t accept any corporate donations so you can trust that I will be making decisions only with my constituents in mind.
If you would like to learn more about Rachel Ventura and her platform or volunteer for her campaign, please check out her website at Electventura.com. Don’t forget to follow her on social media at @electventura. Reach out today and help make a difference in the upcoming 2024 election.
(The information contained in this post is provided only as general information and does not imply an endorsement by She Votes Illinois.)
