For the first time in his 17-year Senate career, state Sen. Emil Jones III faces a contested primary.
Jones has represented the 14th Senate District, which stretches over a wide swath of the south suburbs, from the South Side neighborhood of Roseland in the east to Orland Park and Homer Glen in the west, since 2009.
The district contains all or parts of Alsip, Blue Island, Calumet Park, Chicago, Crestwood, Dixmoor, Dolton, Harvey, Homer Glen, Merrionette Park, Midlothian, Oak Forest, Orland Hills, Orland Park, Palos Heights, Posen, Riverdale, Robbins and Tinley Park.
Both Ahmed Karrar and Kenny Williams are running to unseat Jones in the Democratic primary March 17.
Emil Jones III
Jones was an administrator at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity before his 2008 election to the Senate.
The Senate seat was held by his father, former Senate President Emil Jones, Jr., an influential politician in state government who had a hand in the political ascendance of Barack Obama.
Emil Jones, Jr., announced his retirement in August 2008 — after the primaries had already concluded — and Emil Jones III was appointed as the Democratic nominee.
Jones won the seat that fall, and was re-elected in 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2022, running unopposed in both the primary and the general election each time.
Jones was charged with bribery in 2022, with charges alleging he agreed to help a red light camera company block unfavorable legislation in exchange for $5,000 and a job for his legislative intern. Shortly after, Gov. JB Pritzker called for him to resign.
The case went to trial last year, but the jury deadlocked and a mistrial was declared. The case was set to be retried, but in December Jones entered into a deferred prosecution deal to leave him with no conviction so long as he paid a $6,800 fine, stayed out of further legal trouble and admitted to certain illegal conduct, including making false statements to the FBI.
Jones did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.
According to his Senate website, in his time in the Senate, Jones has worked to combat cyberstalking and cyberbullying and to improve public safety, including by passing legislation aimed at reducing gang recruitment.
“Right now, my top priorities are bringing more jobs to the 14th district, finding a responsible solution to budget, and putting an end to business as usual in Springfield,” Jones said in a statement on his website.
Ahmed Karrar
Karrar, the son of Sudanese immigrants, is an attorney and an advocate for community development. He received his law degree from Loyola University Chicago’s School of Law, and a master’s degree in public policy from Northwestern University.
“In the past six years I’ve worked in the social impact space, helping companies invest in struggling neighborhoods throughout the Midwest and using research and community engagement to connect large institutions to folks on the ground,” Karrar said.
Karrar has not previously run for office.
“Government should work for working people and the most vulnerable, and for far too long that just simply hasn’t been the case,” Karrar said. “We’re still seeing too many people living paycheck to paycheck. Too many seniors are still wondering if they’re going to be able to retire with dignity.”
He said he felt that situation has caused a crisis of trust in government that he hopes to work to fix.
“I believe that that environment creates a growing lack of trust in government, and apathy,” Karrar said. “It, I believe, creates a chasm that repeatedly gets filled by demagogues, folks like Donald Trump.”
Jones’ bribery charges exemplify the issues he wants to address, Karrar said.
“I think a lot of voters see that as the latest chapter of a long history of corruption, unfortunately, in this state,” Karrar said. “And it goes at the heart of what I’m trying to address with this campaign, which is improving trust in government.”
Karrar said he wants to fight for universal childcare and a graduated income tax, as well as combating the Trump administration’s policies on immigration and Medicaid cuts.
“I’ve spent my entire career, whether it’s been in the nonprofit space or the social impact space, working in community, right, ensuring community voices are respected and heard,” Karrar said. “I want to take that energy into this district.”
Kenny Williams
Kenny Williams opened his first business, Silk N Classy Hair Trends, in Riverdale in 1991. Several years later, he expanded to opening his own beauty school, the Silk N Classy Barber College. He said if elected, he’d bring his business sense to the job.
“We’ve always been involved in creating jobs,” Williams said. “We have a saying, we make jobs, we don’t take jobs.”
Williams was a member and president of the Thornton Township High School District 205 board. He was elected twice, but was forced to resign due to a 1985 felony conviction, which was later expunged.
Williams said one of his goals is to change the state law that prevents people who have been convicted of felonies from holding office. After someone has served their time for a conviction and some time has elapsed, he said, felons should automatically regain the rights of a regular citizen.
“One of my main objectives is to go there and make sure we get rid of those laws that are hurting regular people,” Williams said. “Why do you have it where a federal position, you can have 34 felonies, but a little man like me with one, that happened when I was 19, you want to keep me from supporting my people?”
Williams pointed to disparity in demographics and economics in the district’s communities.
“Roseland, you got all these boarded-up homes, vacant buildings, homes that have been taken from the seniors,” Williams said. “Then you go over west, you have Orland Park, Tinley Park, all of those places. There, basically, those places are hurting because of their property taxes.”
Williams said he wants to increase involvement in government, including opening satellite offices in each community he represents.
“The number one thing I want to do is educate people,” Williams said. “We’re gonna have the best district, the best educated, most educated, most motivated, most pumped-up.”
Williams said he would prioritize building relationships, including across the aisle.
“There’s a fight in Springfield just like it is in Washington, where you have the red against the blue, or the blue against the red, and I don’t think it should be that way,” Williams said. “You have two parties fighting, when they’re supposed to be fighting for the people.”
elewis@chicagotribune.com