Division of One / Peoria / Dossiers

Dossiers

1. Who represents you
2. How to contact your politicians
3. Public votes, statements, potential dogwhistles, etc., that hint at political positions of local politicians

The next election will be on Tuesday, March 17th, 2026.

Mayor and City Council

The five district council members represent people in their districts. Your voter registration card will list your council district, e.g. "Peoria City District 1"

The mayor and city council govern the city.

Issues in scope:

• Peoria LGBTQIA+ Sanctuary City

Current

• Mayor Rita Ali
  • Voted against Ordinance 18,220, the homeless ban
• 1st District Council Member Denise Jackson
  • Voted against Ordinance 18,220, the homeless ban
  • March 2025 comparison with opponent James Kemper
  • WCBU articles on Denise Jackson
• 2nd District Council Member Alex Carmona
  • "I would like to try to promote the idea that the government should stick to its essential functions and do those to the best of its abilities, and allow the free market to be as free as it can be here, so we can bring more business opportunities to Peoria for its citizens"
  • "Do I like the fact that (homelessness is) basically being criminalized? No, I think there should be a very high standard for putting a person in a cage. And I don't think this is one of them. That doesn't work well for me."
  • Was not on the council when Ordinance 18,220, the homeless ban, passed
• 3rd District Council Member Timothy Riggenbach
  • Tim Riggenbach voted for fines and jail time for homeless encampments (Ordinance 18,220)
  • WCBU articles on Tim Riggenbach
• 4th District Council Member Andre W. Allen
  • Chief DEI Officer for Peoria County
  • Voted against Ordinance 18,220, the homeless ban. "expressed opposition to any ordinance that included incarceration as a penalty and indicated support for a revised version of ordinance Option 2". (Option 1 is what the council passed)
  • Chosen by Governor Pritzker to serve on the Tri-County River Valley Development Authority
• 5th District Council Member Denis Cyr
  • Voted for Ordinance 18,220, the homeless ban
  • "fiscal conservative", "family values", and "consistent voice for public safety" according to WCBU on Denis Cyr, 2024
• Council Member At-Large John L. Kelly
  • John L. Kelly ran against Rita Ali in 2025
  • Voted for Ordinance 18,220, the homeless ban
  Supports a land-value tax "We have a system where we punish people for having a nice building, or fixing up a building"
  • Opposed a city tax on cannabis because it would push buyers toward illegal sellers WCBU on city cannabis sales tax
  • Tax abatement for single-family homes
  • WCBU articles on John L. Kelly
• Council Member At-Large Zachary M. Oyler
  • "The Events That Led Me to Treatment", blog from Zachary's ex-wife Heather detailing alleged domestic abuse
  • Zachary Oyler pleaded not guilty to domestic violence charges
  • Voted for Ordinance 18,220, the homeless ban
  • WCBU articles on Zach Oyler
• Council Member At-Large Dr. Kiran Velpula, PhD, MBA
  • Few stated positions other than wanting to bring healthcare and biotech businesses to Peoria
  • Voted for Ordinance 18,220, the homeless ban
  • WCBU articles on Dr. Kiran Velpula
• Council Member At-Large Dr. Bernice Gordon-Young PhD, LCPC
  • WCBU articles on Dr. Bernice Gordon-Young
  • Voted against Ordinance 18,220, the homeless ban
• Council Member At-Large Michael P. Vespa
  • Michael Vespa supports body cameras on police officers, and wants to fix food deserts
  • Voted against Ordinance 18,220, the homeless ban

Candidates

• Estrella Diaz
  • Co-founder of Peoria for Palestine (Journal Star)
  • "Diaz said the city's new ban on homeless encampments is cruel and uninformed. She volunteers with outreach groups like Jolt Harm Reduction and LULA Peoria" (WCBU)
  • Ran for Council District 2 in 2025
  • Dave Koehler endorsed her (diazfordistrict2.com)

To find your council district

1. Open the Peoria County GIS viewer
2. At the top, click "Map Layers"
3. In "Map Layers", search for "City of Peoria Council Districts" and enable that layer.
4. The council districts should appear as bright pink lines

External links:

1. Mayor and City Council (peoriagov.org)
2. City Council meetings are archived on the "Peoria City Council Meetings" playlist on the "cityofpeoriatv" channel on YouTube.
3. City Council minutes, Nov 19th 2024 This meeting was mainly about Ordinance 18,220, the anti-homeless ordinance.

Peoria County Board

Peoria County Board

Issues in scope:

• New wind farms - "Gold Rush Apple" wind farm and "Four Creeks" wind farm. More info at opposition site notopeoriacountywindmills.com

Illinois State Representatives

Illinois State Representatives represent an Illinois House District and govern at the state level in Springfield. Peoria is in Illinois House Districts 73, 91, 92, and 93.

Current

• 73rd District - Ryan Spain (R)
• 91st District - Sharon Chung (D)
• 92nd District - Jehan Gordon-Booth (D)
  • Wikipedia
• 93rd District - Travis Weaver (R)
  • Wants to ban transgender high school students from sports, used the dogwhistles "biological men" and "biological women", wants to align with transphobic federal policies

Candidates

• Zoey Carter is running for Illinois House District 93 (zoeycarter.us)
  • "Elect the Dolls" merchandise

External links:

1. Illinois House of Representatives (Wikipedia)

Illinois State Senators

Illinois State Senators represent an Illinois Senate District and govern at the state level in Springfield. Peoria is in Illinois Senate Districts 37, 46, and 47.

Current

• District 37 - Li Arellano Jr. (R)
• District 46 - David Koehler (D)
  • Supports a land value tax
• District 47 - Neil Anderson (R)

External links:

1. Illinois Senate (Wikipedia)

US House of Representatives

The US Representatives represent congressional districts in Illinois and govern at the federal level in Washington, D.C. Peoria straddles Illinois congressional districts 16 and 17.

Current

• Illinois District 16 - Darin LaHood (R)
• Illinois District 17 - Eric Sorenson (D)
  • Voted for the Laken Riley Act
  • First openly gay member of Congress from Illinois

Candidates

• Montez Soliz (D) is running for Illinois District 17 in the US House in 2026
  • $20 minimum wage
  • Medicare For All
  • Federal abortion rights
  • Ballotpedia

Your voter registration card will list your Congressional district, e.g. "17th Cong." for Illinois District 17. To find your Congressional district manually, use the My Congressional District tool from census.gov.

External links:

1. Illinois congressional districts (Wikipedia)

US Senate

The US senators represent everyone in Illinois and govern at the federal level in Washington, D.C.

• Dick Durbin (D)
• Tammy Duckworth (D)

Governor

The governor represents everyone in Illinois and governs the state.

The next election for governor will be in November 2026.

JB Pritzker (D)