ENDORSEMENT: Patrick Joyce for Illinois Senate in 40th District

“Constituent service on steroids” is how he describes his approach to representing this district.

SHARE ENDORSEMENT: Patrick Joyce for Illinois Senate in 40th District
Patrick Joyce is endorsed by the Sun-Times in the Illinois Senate 40th District general election.

Patrick Joyce is endorsed by the Sun-Times in the Illinois Senate 40th District general election.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

“Constituent service on steroids” is how Democratic state Sen. Patrick Joyce describes his practical, problem-solving approach to representing this district that includes parts of Cook, Grundy, Kankakee and Will counties.

Joyce has built a track record of accomplishment in his 10 months in office. Since COVID-19 hit, his office has worked with small businesses seeking relief loans and helped the newly unemployed navigate the state’s troubled unemployment claims system.

Before the pandemic, Joyce secured $7 million from the state to help pay for a Kankakee River dredging project to address flooding. He also brokered talks to force a private water company, Aqua Illinois, to provide more bottled water and faucet filters to University Park residents, many of whom still have lead in their water a year after problems with Aqua’s water management first were reported.

Joyce has proposed legislation that would help Pembroke Township, where residents still rely on propane gas and wood-burning for heat, to get a natural gas pipeline.

Joyce, of Essex, gets our endorsement over his Republican challenger, Flossmoor resident Eric Wallace.


Illinois Senate 40th District map, 2020 election

Illinois Senate 40th District map.

Illustration by Caroline Hurley


To read more Sun-Times endorsements, please go to suntimes.com/political-endorsements. For more information about this race and others, including candidate questionnaires, go to our Illinois voting guide. Our newspaper is owned by a group of civic-minded and, in some cases, politically active investors; for details, see our owner information page.

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