Working families across District 52 are being crushed by costs they can’t control while wages fail to keep up. After knocking on over 10,000 doors, Maria heard the same story repeatedly: about one-third of our neighbors spend over 30% of their income just on housing, childcare costs average $16,000 per year in our area, and nearly 80% of collar county residents worry about affording healthcare in the future. Maria gets it because she lives it – she’s seen her own property tax bill climb, helped neighbors navigate insurance claim denials after last year’s flooding, and as a small business owner watched costs eat into everything, ultimately closing her business during the pandemic. Illinois families deserve better than a system that penalizes hard work and punishes those trying to get ahead. We must fight back with:

• Reforming Illinois’ regressive tax structure that hits middle-class families hardest while letting the wealthy off easy. We need progressive tax reform that asks those who can afford it most to pay their fair share.
• Expanding affordable housing options so the teachers, nurses, firefighters, and other essential workers who serve our communities can actually afford to live here. When our essential workers are priced out of their own districts, we all lose.
• Taking on insurance companies that jack up rates while systematically denying legitimate claims, especially after natural disasters that devastate our neighborhoods. Families pay premiums faithfully – insurers must honor their end of the deal and provide data driven explanations for rate hikes and supplemental rate charges.
• Fighting for childcare subsidies and universal pre-K because thousands of dollars yearly for every child for childcare in our area isn’t just unaffordable – it’s forcing parents out of the workforce entirely.
• Addressing healthcare costs that force families to ration medications and skip preventive care. No one should have to choose between their health and keeping their home.

Environmental policy is health policy. It’s economic policy. And it’s future policy. Maria Peterson is ready to fight for a sustainable Illinois that protects both our environment and our pocketbooks—because no one should have to choose between affordability and a livable future.

Maria brings both experience and urgency to the fight. As vice chair of the Lake County Zoning Board of Appeals and a board member of the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, she understands how environmental protections are directly tied to public health, economic stability, and safety. She also served on the board of the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), where she worked to hold utility companies accountable and stop them from gouging working families. With federal rollbacks paving the way for utility price hikes, Maria knows we need vigilant leadership to keep costs down and protect people—not profits.

From the Fox River to the flood-prone streets of our neighborhoods, the environmental threats facing District 52 are personal and urgent. As a certified Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteer, Maria has seen firsthand how lack of planning turns climate risk into real disaster. It’s time Illinois got serious about protecting the places we call home. That means:

• Protecting the Fox River, a vital source of drinking water and recreation. When it’s polluted, we all pay—through higher water bills, lost tourism, and damaged ecosystems.
• Modernizing stormwater infrastructure to prevent flooding that regularly damages homes, businesses, and roads like Route 59. These emergencies are preventable with the right leadership.
• Supporting smarter floodplain planning and giving local communities more control over water management—with reforms that improve both quality and accountability.
• Recognizing that climate change is already here. Stronger storms, longer allergy seasons, and dangerous heat waves are affecting our health and economy. Maria supports community-based disaster planning and early warning systems to keep families safe.
• Committing to clean energy—including solar, wind, and nuclear—to reduce emissions, increase reliability, and lower utility costs. Illinois led the way with the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. Now we must defend that progress and make sure energy companies answer to the people they serve.

Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for young people in our communities. Not car accidents. Not illness. Gun violence. That heartbreaking reality fuels Maria Peterson’s determination to protect lives and prevent tragedies. Through her advocacy with Moms Demand Action, she’s stood beside survivors, marched with families, and fought for stronger laws to keep guns out of dangerous hands.

Maria believes community safety starts with prevention—not politics. That means passing common-sense gun laws, holding the gun lobby accountable, and building the systems that allow families to thrive. As part of the grassroots movement that helped pass the Protect Illinois Communities Act, Maria knows real change is possible when we put people over profits and lives over lobbyists.

Keeping our communities safe isn’t about slogans—it’s about action. It’s about recognizing the root causes of violence, ensuring families have the tools to intervene before it’s too late, and stopping the cycle of harm before it begins. Maria has spent years doing that work—and she’s ready to take that commitment to Springfield. That means:

• Strengthening Illinois’ red flag laws so that firearms can be temporarily removed from individuals in crisis – because tragedies like Highland Park are preventable when families have tools to intervene.
• Passing safe gun storage laws that keep firearms out of the hands of children – because gun responsibility starts at home.
• Enhancing protections for domestic violence survivors by ensuring individuals with histories of abuse cannot access firearms – because no survivor should fear being hunted in their own home.
• Supporting measures to keep schools free from gun violence – including school-based threat assessments, violence interruption strategies, and partnerships with trained mental health professionals.
• Expanding access to community-based mental health care, including crisis response and suicide prevention programs, so that law enforcement is not the default – and families can access help before it’s too late.

This fight is about dignity, safety, and the fundamental right to make personal healthcare decisions without fear. Maria Peterson won’t sit back while reproductive care is stripped away under the guise of politics. In many parts of Illinois, especially rural areas, Medicaid-funded clinics like Planned Parenthood are lifelines. More than 90% of the care they provide is preventive, like cancer screenings, STI treatment, birth control, and HIV prevention. Over 40% of their patients rely on Medicaid to access that care.

That access is now under threat. The Supreme Court recently ruled that states can cut off Medicaid reimbursements to providers like Planned Parenthood, even for non-abortion care, undermining patient choice and defunding essential services. And in a chilling example of overreach, Texas police reportedly used license plate reader data to track a woman who traveled to Illinois for abortion care. Flock Safety has since moved to block this kind of surveillance, but only after it happened, and enforcement remains uncertain.

Maria knows healthcare is personal, and she’s ready to fight back. That means: 

• Protecting funding for Planned Parenthood and community health centers in our state budget in the wake of federal cuts, so no patient loses access because of political agendas.
• Defending patient choice by strengthening Illinois law and restoring the right to challenge provider restrictions in court.
• Banning cross-state surveillance by enforcing Illinois’ Reproductive Health Act and imposing penalties for violations by out-of-state law enforcement.
• Codifying the right to an abortion in the Illinois Constitution, so no future court can overturn it.
• Addressing maternal health disparities by expanding access to postpartum care, doula services, and well-baby support for all families.
• Ensuring Illinois insurance plans, including Medicaid, follow through on new menopause care coverage laws by enforcing compliance, capping out-of-pocket costs, and treating menopause as essential healthcare, not optional.

Maria Peterson believes every person deserves to live as their full, authentic self—without fear, discrimination, or being targeted by politicians looking for culture war headlines. As extremist lawmakers in other states work to erase LGBTQ+ identities from classrooms, healthcare systems, and public life, Maria is committed to making sure Illinois moves in the opposite direction: forward.

Our schools should be safe havens. Our healthcare system should treat everyone with dignity. And our laws should protect—not endanger—our neighbors simply for being who they are. LGBTQ+ rights are human rights, and that includes the right to privacy, safety, education, and healthcare. That means:

• Supporting legislation that protects the privacy of LGBTQ+ individuals, especially as digital surveillance and data misuse increasingly threaten vulnerable communities.
• Championing LGBTQ+-inclusive education in public schools—because visibility saves lives, and every student deserves to see themselves reflected and respected in the classroom.
• Working to ensure public schools are safe, welcoming spaces for LGBTQ+ students, parents, and staff by funding anti-bullying programs and affirming school policies.
• Backing policies that expand access to inclusive, affirming healthcare—so no one is denied care or mistreated because of who they are or who they love.

Healthcare should never be a financial burden or a source of fear. Yet too many families in our district are forced to choose between paying for prescriptions and covering rent or groceries. Maria Peterson believes access to healthcare—including mental healthcare—is a fundamental right, not a privilege. That means treating physical and mental health with equal urgency and breaking down the barriers that leave too many behind. That means:

• Fighting to lower the cost of prescription drugs—including essentials like insulin, inhalers, and Epipens—and protect access to preventive care, including childhood vaccinations, for every Illinois family.
• Expanding mental health access so it’s treated with the same urgency as physical care, with timely services, community-based providers, and stronger support for youth, schools, and veterans.
• Ending the stigma around mental illness and disability through public education, policy reform, and investments that prioritize dignity and inclusion in all aspects of healthcare.

Maria Peterson knows that unions are essential to building a fair economy. From ensuring safe job sites to securing better pay and benefits, organized labor lifts up entire communities. As a former attorney for the U.S. Department of Labor, Maria saw firsthand how strong laws—and strong enforcement—protect working families from being taken advantage of.

Maria will always stand with workers, and she’ll fight to make sure Illinois laws reflect that.That means: 

• Partnering with local governments to pass responsible bidder ordinances that reward fair labor practices and keep taxpayer-funded jobs in the hands of qualified, local union workers.
• Strengthening and enforcing prevailing wage laws to make sure workers are paid fairly and contractors play by the rules.
• Fighting for guaranteed paid time off for illness, caregiving, and family loss—because the U.S. shouldn’t be the only industrialized nation that treats medical leave as optional.

In Lake County, there are only 39 affordable and available homes for every 100 extremely low-income renters. Low-income housing is too often misunderstood—but it does not mean more crime. It means housing for caregivers, teachers, first responders, and service workers who keep our communities running. Between rising home values, limited inventory, and restrictive zoning laws that make it nearly impossible to build anything but single-family homes, affordable options are disappearing. Families are being priced out of homeownership that once built generational wealth—and renters face commutes, instability, and financial stress just to get by. Maria Peterson believes housing should be treated as essential infrastructure, not a luxury. That means:

• Expanding access to affordable housing for veterans, people with disabilities, and low-income families—so no one is left behind after serving their country or community.
• Working alongside our villages to encourage developers to convert unused commercial buildings into new residential units and low-income housing,
• Supporting property tax reform to reduce the burden on working and middle-class homeowners while protecting local services.
• Challenging institutional investors who are buying up homes and apartment buildings, creating a monopoly – to give first-time home buyers, and/or low-income renters the opportunity to buy or rent before their listing goes public by providing a list-serve of those interested.

Maria Peterson has studied criminal justice and participated in criminal justice reform efforts through the League of Women Voters. She knows true public safety requires more than tough talk—it takes accountability, community trust, and compassion for those caught in cycles that our system often fails to break.

From police departments to the courtroom, our justice system must reflect the values in our Constitution: fairness, due process, and equal treatment under the law. That includes modernizing how we respond to mental health crises, supporting those reentering society, and giving communities the tools they need to prevent harm in the first place. That means:

• Supporting legislation that expands the use of mental health professionals in responding to non-violent crisis calls—and backing local programs that support officer wellness, like therapy dogs in police departments, to improve both safety and morale.
• Strengthening police and community relations so that mutual respect and trust is built.  
• Expanding mental health and disability resources across the district to reduce incarceration, prevent recidivism, and ensure people receive care—not punishment—when they need help the most.

Maria Peterson’s story begins with her parents’ journey. As a first-generation Mexican American, she watched her father work two jobs while attending school to become an electrical mechanical engineer and saw her mother build a successful small business from the ground up. Their story isn’t unique—it’s shared by thousands of families across District 52 and Illinois, where Latino communities are essential to the Illinois economy, our local schools, and our neighborhoods.

Latinos are now the second-largest racial or ethnic group in Illinois, making up 17% of the population. Their growth has outpaced the state overall, driven largely by Mexican American families who continue to contribute to every corner of our economy—from healthcare and construction to education and small business. Maria believes immigration policy should reflect that reality, honoring both the contributions immigrants make and the need for fair, balanced solutions that keep families safe and communities strong. That means: 

• Supporting efforts that keep Illinois a safe place for law-abiding immigrant families while making it clear that individuals who commit violent crimes are not exempt from federal enforcement.
• Backing state-level solutions—like expanding access to work permits—that recognize the vital economic role immigrants and refugees play in our workforce and community life.
• Promoting practical, bipartisan policies that respect due process, protect families, and focus on real-world outcomes over political rhetoric.