Illinois House Hopefuls Talk Taxes, Education, Economic Development
Downstate funding, property taxes and overall affordability remain top priorities for candidates seeking to represent residents of the state’s 111th district.
YWCA and NCNW Candidate Forum: Madison County Clerk and Illinois House District 111
ALTON – An Alton alderwoman and incumbent state representative running to represent their district in the Illinois House of Representatives shared their views and priorities at a recent candidate forum.
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YWCA Southwestern Illinois and the Alton Section of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) hosted a free Candidate Forum on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026 in the YWCA gymnasium in Alton. The event was presented as a community service, as neither organization endorses or supports any candidate for public office.
Candidates competing in three different races participated in the forum, including those running for Madison County Clerk, State Representative for the 111th District of Illinois and State Senator for the 56th District. Election Day is Nov. 3, 2026.
Current Alton Ward 4 Alderwoman Rosetta Brown is running as a Democrat for State Representative in the 111th District, challenging incumbent Republican Amy Elik. The 111th District includes all or portions of Alton, Bethalto, East Alton, Godfrey, Granite City, Hartford, Mitchell, Roxana, South Roxana and Wood River.
As a two-term alderwoman representing Alton’s fourth ward, Brown said her lived experience gives her a firsthand understanding of the challenges facing communities across the district.
“A lot of the money is not coming downstate to help District 111 … I will fight to make that happen,” Brown said. “I believe in myself that I can feed into the children, feed into the seniors, feed into making life more affordable for you all.”
Elik said she has been helping solve the problems of 111th District residents since first taking office in 2021. Her office has helped constituents find community resources, get professional licenses, apply for benefits and navigate Illinois state agencies.
She also highlighted a strong voting track record on lowering costs, even as she says the state budget has grown significantly while being “balanced on the backs of everyday working people.”
“I’ve supported legislation to help lower property taxes for seniors. I voted to end the sales tax on groceries, I voted to lower prescription drug prices and reign in these Pharmacy Benefit Managers – middlemen that are driving their prices up,” Elik said. “I worked on reducing the cost of Epipens and increasing availability, and voted to cap insulin costs.”
Elik said she’s also supported legislation and dedicated time to helping first responders with mental health needs. She is particularly passionate about bills related to “protecting our children in schools from predators,” noting that while her office’s progress on the subject has been “rewarding” so far, there is still more work to be done.
“My goal with this work is to make the 111th District a safer and more affordable place to raise a family, have a business and retire,” Elik said.
Both candidates were asked about the rising cost of living, including property taxes, and what steps they would take or support to ease the burden on local families.
Brown said property taxes are one of the top concerns she’s heard from constituents during her time as an Alton City Council member, and said she would fight for property tax relief for seniors if elected to the state House of Representatives. However, she emphasized economic growth as the long-term solution to rising costs.
“The long-term solution is growing our economy, creating jobs, increasing our tax base and fully funding education so local governments rely less on property taxes,” Brown said. “We need responsible fiscal management in Springfield while protecting essential services that families depend on … when I go to Springfield, I’m going to find cures for a lot of things, because a lot of things are broken.”
Elik agreed that property taxes are a top priority for local voters, noting the school district property tax levy is the biggest portion of annual tax bills. She stressed the importance of operating and capital grants from the state in helping lower the property tax burden on district residents.
“I have seen, too often, seniors being priced out of their homes that they have lived in for decades and that they have paid off long ago. This is absolutely heartbreaking,” Elik said. “We cannot be the piggy banks for our local governments and our state government. People are stretched to the limit on what they can afford.”
A full recording of the YWCA and NCNW Candidate Forum is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
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