Candidates say they’ll move into 84th House District if elected
By Matt Hanley mhanley@stmedianetwork.com October 5, 2011 1:28PM
Stephanie Kifowit
Article Extras
Updated: November 11, 2011 4:06PM
The three Democratic candidates who live outside the boundaries of the new 84th Illinois House District in Aurora say they will move in if elected.
Former DuPage County Board chairman candidate Carole Cheney, Aurora Alderman Stephanie Kifowit and Aurora’s Youth and Senior Services coordinator, Ken Maurice, all live near the border of the new district, but not actually in the district.
The 84th District will include most of the far East Side of Aurora, with Route 59 as its eastern border. There is no incumbent living in the district, which was created for the 2012 election to accommodate the huge surge in population.
In redistricting years, state law allows anyone to run who lives in a district that will be part of the new district. Since parts of State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia’s 83rd and Darlene Senger’s 96th districts are in what will be the 84th, anyone who lives in those areas can run for the new district. If they intend to run a second time, they would need to move within six months after being elected to their first term. In non-redistricting years, candidates must live in the district for at least 18 months prior to the election.
Cheney, Kifowit and Maurice all confirmed they would move within six months if they were elected.
Kifowit lives on the near East Side, a few blocks into Chapa LaVia’s 83rd District. Her family will move if she wins the seat, she said. Kifowit said much of her aldermanic ward is in new district, so she’s not a stranger to the issues in that region.
“When I go for my morning jog, I run from the 83rd to the 84th and back to the 83rd — it’s literally down the block,” she said. “To me, it’s really a non-issue because I’ve been representing a lot of the area already.”
Maurice’s subdivision falls just outside the district’s northern border. Maurice said he has described his circumstances to voters who’ve asked about it and pointed out he’s also very familiar with all of Aurora.
“It’s a legitimate question and if I was a (voter), I’d want to know,” Maurice said. “My years of growing up and working in Aurora, I know all parts of the 84th District.”
Cheney, an attorney who lives on the far East Side in the 96th District now, said she talked to her children before she decided to run and they were fine with moving less than a mile. Cheney also pointed out that she’s involved in several community groups, including Feed My Starving Children in Aurora.
“I know the issues of the area. I care about the area and the people who live here,” she said. “It’s not like I’m coming in without an understanding of the issues.”
Former Aurora Township Democrats Chairman Alex Arroyo, the fourth Democrat running in the March 2012 primary, said he has lived in the 84th District for more than 30 years.
Former nurse Pat Fee of Aurora, who is running in the Republican primary, took issue with the residency of Cheney, Kifowit and Maurice. She understands the state law allows candidates to move, but she doesn’t think it’s a good message to voters.
“If it’s so important for them to become a state representative, why don’t they run in the district they live in?” Fee said. “I don’t see how you can represent a district when you don’t live there. I think you should live in the district.”
Comments Click here to view or make a comment