State Senator Martwick faces challenge from Republican Luers in 10th District 

by BRIAN NADIG

In the Nov. 5 general election state Senator Robert Martwick (D-10) faces a challenge from Republican Jon Luers, who in 2022 ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign.

Martwick, an attorney and former prosecutor, was first elected to the Illinois House in 2012 and in 2019 he was appointed to the Senate after John Mulroe left his District 10 seat to become a judge. Martwick also has served as a Norridge trustee but now lives in Chicago and serves as the 38th Ward Democratic committeeperson.

The district includes much of the Far Northwest Side, including all or parts of Jefferson Park, Portage Park, Norwood Park and Edison Park, and some suburbs, including Rosemont. 

The Senate district is represented in the Illinois House by representatives Lindsey LaPointe (D-19) on its east end and Brad Stephens (R-20) on its west end, making it one of the more politically diverse districts in the Senate.

Martwick said that some of the legislation he plans to seek in 2025 includes addressing the “Tier 2” pension law that went into effect in 2011. The legislation reduced benefits for new government workers as part of a cost savings measure.

However under the law the “Tier 2” benefits — while reduced compared to those for older government workers — must be “equal or better” than Social Security and that may not be the case, Martwick said. “We have to fix because the alternative of not fixing is more expensive,” he said.

Martwick, who sponsored the elected school board law in Chicago, said that he plans to seek legislation that would “reign in spending” from outside sources in Chicago school board races. “A ton of money from outside the state to influence” board races has been spent, Martwick said.

Martwick added that he also plans to pursue new legislation that would bring “more transparency” to the area of property taxes and that would regulate artificial intelligence. He said that as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he expects to be reviewing proposed rules on the use of AI given the legalities involved in the increase use of this technology.

Luers is a software imagineer who lives in Chicago and became the Republican nominee in 2024 after running as a write-in candidate against Martwick in 2022.

“Illinois government has no consideration for taxpayers and commits to ever-greater deficit spending for programs that don’t benefit the average Illinois citizen, just the politically-connected.

“Likewise, law enforcement’s hands are tied for the benefit of those they have good cause to arrest, rather than for the cause of public safety. The state government feels it can micromanage our lives and the economy without restriction, but I would be a ‘no’ vote on such matters. 

“I would put penalties on lawmakers for irresponsible spending commitments and push for reduced red tape for businesses and codify the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights,” Luers states on his campaign Web site.

Luers also criticized public schools in Illinois. “(They) are ridiculously expensive and ineffective because the teachers’ unions essentially can get whatever they want, such as the COVID lockdowns that reversed any progress made in the last 20 years,” he said.

The winner of the race will receive a 4-year term.

• 
  Gunshots, stolen vehicle reported in Portage Park near Pensacola & Laramie on Chicago’s NW Side
  Gunshots were heard at about 11:10 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, in the 5200 block of West Pensacola Avenue in Portage Park, at about the same time a stolen vehicle was being driven on the block, according to Chicago police. A resident reported that a black Infiniti sport utility vehicle was being driven on the block
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  Burglars hit dozen businesses in Edgebrook, Jefferson Park, Portage Park, Avondale early Wednesday
  by BRIAN NADIG About a dozen smash-and-grab-style commercial burglaries in Edgebrook, Jefferson Park and Portage Park were reported to have occurred early Wednesday morning, Oct. 14, in the 16th (Jefferson Park) and 17th (Albany Park) police districts, and there were additional break-ins in other parts of the city and suburbs, totaling about 20 incidents, according
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  Burglars hit at least 9 businesses in Edgebrook, Jefferson Park, Portage Park early Wednesday
  by BRIAN NADIG At least nine smash-and-grab-style commercial burglaries in Edgebrook, Jefferson Park and Portage Park were reported to have occurred early Wednesday morning, Oct. 14, in the 16th (Jefferson Park) Police District, and there apparently were additional break-ins in at least two other districts and possibly the suburbs, according to Chicago police. The incidents
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  CTA targets fare evaders to reduce violent crime; disappointment expressed in release of suspected shooter at Jefferson Park terminal
  by BRIAN NADIG Violent offenses reportedly are down 34 percent on the CTA from a year ago as the agency targets a section of the Red Line where criminals are boarding, while a shootout at the Jefferson Park CTA Terminal last summer remains under investigation. CTA security vice president Kevin Ryan addressed many crime and
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  Crime Watch: gunfire reported on Berteau, car break-ins reported, robbery reported in store lot
  Two men reported that a man fired shots at them at about 12:15 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, in the 5300 block of West Berteau Avenue, according to 16th (Jefferson Park) District police. A 25-year-old man reported that he was talking to a neighbor, who was sitting inside his parked vehicle, and two men walked toward the vehicle and one of them fired

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