Two candidates are seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic incumbent Mary Gill in the 35th Illinois House district.
David Dewar, a repeat candidate from Calumet Park who now lives in Mount Greenwood Heights, and Charles (Chuck) Lay, originally from Pennsylvania who moved to the South Side more than three decades ago, will face off in the Republican primary on March 17.
The district, which incumbent Gill said in 2024 is traditionally home to many Chicago police and firefighters, includes all or parts of Beverly, Mount Greenwood, Palos Heights, Palos Park, Orland Park, Worth and Alsip.
Gill described the district in 2024 as more conservative than central and north portions of Chicago. She was appointed in 2023 out of 15 other applicants, including Dewar, and elected in 2024.
Dewar, a financial adviser, filed to run as a Democrat in the 2022 and 2024 primaries. He was removed from the 2022 ballot when an Illinois election board upheld an objection to his campaign. He refiled as a write-in candidate and received six votes that year, according to the Illinois Board of Election results. Dewar also ran for 19th Ward alderman in 2019.
Dewar said he supports the Make America Great Again campaign, President Donald Trump and Charlie Kirk. He said he aims to prioritize policies over party politics and represent “we the people, not they the politicians.”
Dewar, who lives in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood Heights neighborhood, is the owner of Tax-Free Retirement Solutions, where he offers investment and tax preparation advice. He is also the president of Restore American Liberty, an organization that aims to educate American citizens on conservative, traditional Christian values, along with the First and Second Amendment.
Charles Lay, a self-employed tech consultant, said he became interested in politics when he moved to Beverly and got involved with his children’s schools. He said he was frustrated with the public school system and area crime and started talking with South Side Republicans.
He said these politicians encouraged him to get involved with the Cook County Republicans, who asked him last year to run for the 35th district seat.
Lay, who now lives in Morgan Park, said he aims to address rising costs, unsafe streets and schools that “aren’t preparing kids to succeed.”
Both Lay and Dewar advocate for several policy changes focused on taxes, crime and immigration.
Dewar said he is working with other Republican leaders to increase the number of elected Republican state lawmakers to allow Republicans to have a voice on committee and legislation.
Lay said Republican lawmakers need to have a louder “bull horn” and use social media to engage voters with what’s happening in the state legislature. He said he would like the party to more strongly align with President Donald Trump.
Property taxes
Both Dewar and Lay said want to address the rising property taxes in the south and southwest suburbs.
Property tax increases have spiked in the south suburbs in recent years, with median tax bills rising by 19.9% in 2024, the largest jump in 29 years.
Lay said he would like to place the tax burden for funding schools on the state. He noted legislation proposed in Michigan to cut property taxes for families without children in public schools. This bill is still in a committee.
“I think parents who send their kids to private education, that they need some type of tax relief,” Lay said.
But Dewar said, in talking about shifting school taxes to the state level, “the state is so broke, what do you do?”
Dewar said he would instead propose for the state “to go after the big ticket items,” such as addressing people who are undocumented and living in the area. He said the state is using tax dollars for services for undocumented people that could be better used to address lowering property taxes.
“What’s happening is the shift, is, they’re basically taxing legal people out of their neighborhoods, but they’re replacing them with our taxpayer dollars and funding illegals,” Dewar said, referring to state programs that support people who are undocumented.
Dewar also said he would like to see more educational opportunities to help people appeal their taxes.
Crime and SAFE-T Act
Both Lay and Dewar said they oppose the SAFE-T Act, a state bail reform measure that took effect in 2023. The measure eliminated money as a factor in whether a defendant is released from jail while awaiting trial and also brought broad changes in how pretrial justice is handled.
Lay and Dewar both said they would support amendments to the act, instead of fully repealing it. Dewar called the measure, the “unsafe act.”
Lay said his first legislative push would be to make it harder for defendants to receive cashless bail and harder for defendants to get out of jail with just an electronic ankle bracelet monitor.
“We’re using those two (measures) to replace crime punishment when they should be in jail,” Lay said. “We’re making excuses and right now, you don’t have anyone talking about this, saying we’re going in the wrong direction, and I think that’s a voice that needs to be heard.”
Dewar said he wants to address record examination in court.
He also said he would like people with ankle monitors to be monitored more often, and would like anonymous complaints against officers to be filed as notarized affidavits, both to protect the officer and so those who file complaints determined to be untrue can be prosecuted for perjury.
Campaign support
Dewar is endorsed by Chicago Flips Red, a grassroots movement dedicated to electing more Republican officials in the Chicago area, and Trump Illinois MAGA Official, according to his website.
Dewar reported in his campaign finance filings that he has not raised or spent any funds. He said he held a fundraiser Jan. 16, which would show up in the next quarterly filing due April 15.
Lay has not filed any campaign finance reports.
awright@chicagotribune.com