Latest news with #Kifowit
Chicago Tribune
11-08-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit joins growing Democratic field running for Illinois comptroller
Stephanie Kifowit, a 12-year state lawmaker from Oswego, entered Monday the still-growing race to become the Democratic nominee for state comptroller, a post incumbent Susana Mendoza is retiring from for a potential bid for Chicago mayor. A former financial planner and Marine veteran, Kifowit's tenure in the Illinois House has included serving on legislative spending panels, and she currently is chair of the House Personnel & Pensions Committee. The comptroller is the state's top fiscal officer. 'Washington's a bit dysfunctional these days and chaotic. Frankly, I think that we need a comptroller that has a bit of a backbone. I'll be your fiscal drill instructor,' Kifowit said in her announcement video on social media. 'I'll bring integrity, strength of character and leadership to the office to stand up for you.' Kifowit joins a field that includes House colleague, state Rep. Margaret Croke of Chicago, Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim and Champaign County Auditor George Danos. State Sen. Karina Villa of West Chicago is also expected to enter the contest. Croke narrowly won the endorsement of Cook County Democratic slatemakers last month. Kifowit called herself 'one of the few fiscal experts in the General Assembly' and said she has been 'the voice of fiscal responsibility since that day I got there.' In October 2020, Kifowit called for the resignation of then-House Speaker Michael Madigan as the longtime speaker found his continued leadership under fire over a growing federal corruption investigation after Commonwealth Edison admitted to federal prosecutors that it had engaged in a yearslong bribery scheme to curry Madigan's favor. Kifowit also at the time announced her own candidacy to replace Madigan as speaker. Madigan eventually resigned and was convicted on corruption charges and sentenced in June to seven and a half years in prison. Kifowit's bid for speaker was unsuccessful as current House Speaker Emanuel 'Chris' Welch was selected to succeed Madigan. But Kifowit continued on in the legislature. In 2018, Kifowit made a public apology to then-state Rep. Peter Breen of Lombard, a Republican, who cited fiscal concerns in opposing her legislation to offer higher compensation to victims of a deadly Legionnaire's disease outbreak at the Quincy Veterans Home. 'I would like to make him a broth of Legionella and pump it into the water system of his loved one, so that they can be infected, they can be mistreated, they can sit and suffer by getting aspirin instead of being properly treated and ultimately die. And we are talking about our nation's heroes,' Kifowit said. Afterward, Kifowit contended her words were misheard, misrepresented, misinterpreted and mischaracterized. But a day later, she offered a formal apology and said, as a veteran, she had felt 'very passionate' about the victims of the outbreak. At the time of her apology, she was a member of then-incoming Gov. JB Pritzker's transition committee on veterans issues. Mendoza, the current Democratic comptroller, announced last month she wouldn't seek a fourth term in 2026. She first won the office in a 2016 special election to fill the unexpired term of the late Republican Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka. Mendoza used the position to sharply criticize one-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's fiscal policies, including a dispute Rauner had with Madigan that led to the state going two years without adopting a budget. During her announcement last month that she wouldn't run for reelection as comptroller, Mendoza said she was 'excited to leave the door open' to challenge Brandon Johnson in what would be her second bid for Chicago mayor.
Chicago Tribune
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Metea Valley Theater in Aurora to present ‘Legally Blonde the Musical'
Metea Valley Theater will present 'Legally Blonde the Musical,' an award-winning musical based on the hit movie, in four performances this spring. A preview show featuring the understudies will take place at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 24, in the Metea Valley High School auditorium, 1801 N. Eola Road, Aurora. Three other performances will be held at 7 p.m. May 1-3 at the school. The show follows the transformation of Elle Woods and her journey to Harvard Law School after she breaks up with her boyfriend. Seats are assigned and can be ordered online starting March 29 at Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors. Jazz vocalist to perform at St. Charles Public Library Chicago jazz vocalist Petra van Nuis will perform at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 30, at the St. Charles Public Library, 1 S. Sixth Ave. in St. Charles. She will be singing with pianist Dennis Luxion, who was jazz legend Chet Baker's pianist in Europe in the 1980s, according to a press release about the event. They will be performing Great American Songbook standards, both familiar and obscure, officials said. For more information about the free performance, go to or call 630-584-0076. Kifowit plans online session State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, invites community members to join her for a live online Zoom session at 9 a.m. on Monday, streamed on Facebook and Spotify, that will feature Jaemie L. Neely, executive director of the Federation of Women Contractors and an advocate for women- and minority-owned businesses in the construction industry. The discussion will touch on legislation impacting labor and business diversity in Illinois, efforts to increase vendor diversity and economic opportunities for small and minority-owned businesses and the importance of advocacy in shaping inclusive policies, according to a press release about the session. Residents can watch live on Facebook: @RepKifowit and on Spotify: Coffee with Kiffy Podcast. For more information about the event or to participate, contact Kifowit's office at 217-782-8028. Art exhibition planned at Farnsworth House An art exhibition called 'Movement: Water Into Wood,' celebrating the legacy of nationally acclaimed Ho-Chunk artist and teacher Truman Lowe, will open soon at the Edith Farnsworth House, 14520 River Road in Plano. The exhibition will open to the public at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 30, with a reception in the Edith Farnsworth House Visitor Center and Barnsworth Gallery. The program will include remarks by Rebecca Trautmann, author of 'Water's Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe.' The March 30 exhibition opening is free, but those who want to attend are asked to RSVP at 'Movement: Water Into Wood' will run from March 30 to Aug. 31, 2025, and is available with the purchase of Edith Farnsworth House tour tickets or grounds passes. Bunny Burrow Express trolley rides offered Fox River Trolley Museum's Bunny Burrow Express will be making runs to a secret rabbit warren on three Saturdays, April 5, 12 and 19, at the Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve, 35W003 Route 31, South Elgin. The antique trolley car rides will include egg hunts and other seasonal fun, according to the museum's website. Children will receive souvenir baskets to collect eggs. Train trips last about 75 minutes and depart at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets cost $30.
