Grundy Reporter

GOP Illinois state representative candidate Jed Davis is mounting a primary challenge to state Rep. David Welter (R-Morris) in the 75th State House District.  

Davis, of Newark, is the board president of Parkview Christian Academy in Yorkville. The Academy in Yorkville recently won a temporary restraining order against the state of Illinois over Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive orders regarding mask usage.

"Springfield is so broken it's going to take a long time for that to be the beacon and for change to come from Springfield out,” Davis told the Grundy Reporter. “The time is for local leadership to stand up locally, influence change and then have that resound across the state and put pressure on Springfield, and I think the Parkview story is exactly that. And it's not just me saying it actually happened, like it's real, a real life example of what can happen if you have reps that have some courage.” 

For nearly two years, Pritzker has mandated masks in public in the state and in the state’s schools.  Under Davis’ leadership, the school chose to go mask-optional and when the State Board of Education stripped the school's accreditation, the school fought back and won, at least for now. 

Davis said the disappointment with the current leadership is notable. 

“I’ve been extremely frustrated with just the state applying pressure to these schools, and what I think is not only unconstitutional, I don't think the law supports them,” Davis said. 

He said after Parkview won the temporary restraining order, he felt Welter should have at least acknowledged the community. 

“I just get frustrated that like ... we've got a Republican rep in Yorkville. We get sued by the Democratic governor and we don't even get a phone call. So it just kind of came to a head and I said, it's time to maybe, you know, you can only complain for so long before you have to do something about it.” 

Davis said Welter just has not provided the type of support to the community one would expect, particularly from a member of the minority party. 

“At a minimum, I would have loved to receive a phone call and just been like, 'Hey, I don't agree with what is happening in the state. We're a little hamstrung down here because the Democrat majority isn't calling us into session. If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know you have my support.' I feel, I just in my opinion, there's like a, there's a void. There's no pulse on the community that you represent ... ” 

He said the influences for other local school boards may be different given evidence of the Democrat majority’s unwillingness to adapt to struggling families, regardless of where they live in the state or their beliefs. But Davis added that the current lineup of Republicans in the state house under House Minority Leader Jim Durbin (R-Western Springs) have offered little support. 

“If you look at the Republican Party platform, which is coming from the minority leader and those surrounding him, it's weak,” he said. "I mean, we have a governor who is out of control on executive orders and just totally running carte blanche without checking in with the legislative branch, which is the one that is supposed to take care of these things. So this is really frustrating that there is no, there's just no backing." 

He feels the people are ready for a challenger to Welter in the June primary.  

“I think that people, people are hungry for someone to stand up and say enough is enough. And then the Republican Party just folds and doesn't take a stance on these issues, that is beyond aggravating,” he said.  

The federal government has notably lobbed billions into local schools in support of mask mandates, even in areas where it is against local laws. 

“It's an interesting year. You've got people all over throwing their hat in the ring that have never entered politics before. So I think it's a year of change. It's definitely a year of transition,” he said. 

Davis called on other candidates to jump into primary races given the environment in Springfield. 

“These are our elected officials and they're called to do just that, which is to represent the people,” he said. “And it's hard to represent people, again, that you may not have a pulse on where they sit and, then to allow the state to kind of bully them into a corner. It's kind of like where's my big brother? Who has my back in this journey? And nobody ever really has.” 

The 75th district includes all or portions of the counties of Grundy, Kendall, LaSalle and Will, including the communities of Sandwich, Somonauk, Plano, Yorkville, Newark, and portions of Oswego.