ILLINOIS — Democrats Sonia Anne Khalil and Rick Ryan are battling it out for an open seat to represent the 36th District in Illinois House. The race has not been without its share of mudslinging in what is shaping up to be a lackluster primary.
The 36th District includes all or parts of Palos Hills, Palos Park, Palos Heights, Oak Lawn, Chicago Ridge, Worth, Evergreen Park and Chicago’s Beverly, Wrightwood and Mount Greenwood neighborhoods.
After representing the 36th District for the last 14 years, Rep. Kelly Burke announced last year that she would not be seeking another term after recovering from colon cancer. During her tenure in the state legislature, Burke was elected mayor of Evergreen Park in 2021 and served both roles.
Neither candidate has broad name recognition in the district. Ryan is an attorney with a private practice in Oak Lawn, and Khalil has served as the administrative services coordinator for the City of Markham.
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While Ryan has garnered endorsements from the Cook County Democrats, Worth Township Democrats, organized labor and newspapers, a poll conducted by GTO Strategies LLC maintains that Khalili is well positioned to win a two-way race in the 36th District Democratic primary. The pollster claims that Khalil currently leads among women, non-white voters and voters aged 18-49; Ryan leads among men, particularly white men and men over 50.
In 2013 Ryan was 11 out of 91,083 practicing lawyers in the state who were censured by the Illinois Supreme Court, for mismanaging an elderly client’s funds.
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“I never stole money. If [Khalil] wants to throw mud, throw mud, but don’t go after my business and make false claims. I’ve knocked on over 200 doors, and it hasn’t been an issue.”
He also reportedly failed to pay federal and state income tax for 15 years, resulting in liens placed on his home totaling $277,108 according to US Treasury-Internal Revenue Service documents.
Ryan grew up in a union household in Oak Lawn, attending St. Germaine Elementary School and Brother Rice High School. He resides in Evergreen Park with his wife, Maureen. Their three children are all graduates of Evergreen Park Community High School, according to his campaign bio.
He’s a graduate of DePaul University and John Marshall Law School, and has practiced law for over 30 years.
In 2013 Ryan was 11 out of 91,083 practicing lawyers in the state who were censured by the Illinois Supreme Court, for mismanaging an elderly client’s funds. He also reportedly failed to pay federal and state income tax for 15 years, resulting in liens placed on his home, according to the US Treasury for $270.108.
Ryan grew up in a union household in Oak Lawn, attending St. Germaine Elementary School and Brother Rice High School. He resides in Evergreen Park with his wife, Maureen. Their three children are all graduates of Evergreen Park Community High School, according to his campaign bio.
He’s a graduate of DePaul University and John Marshall Law School, and has practiced law for over 30 years.
Ryan did not respond to the Patch candidate survey after numerous requests.
Khalil is of Palestinian-Italian descent and grew up in local politics. Her father, Samir Khalil, is the president of the Arab American Democratic Club of Chicago, whom her opponent has accused of engineering his daughter’s political ascent, an attack Khalil has deemed as offensive and one that wouldn’t be made “about a man in his mid-30s,” she told the Chicago Sun-Times.
She resides in Palos Hills and is a graduate of Stagg High School. Khalil attended Moraine Valley Community College and Miami Dade College Certification in human resources from DePaul University. She also suffered a recent bout with cancer, but is now in remission.
According to her Patch candidate questionnaire, Khalil said she is the only pro-choice candidate and a life-long defender of a woman’s right to choose. Ryan was against abortion rights when he ran unsuccessfully for state senate in 2000, but claims to have changed his mind since then. Khalil has hammered him on women’s reproductive rights.
“Protecting women’s reproductive rights is more important than ever now that we don’t have federal protections,” Khalil said. “I’m the only candidate who has always been pro-choice. We cannot risk electing someone who would vote with extremists.”
She also cites access to quality healthcare as one of the most pressing problems in the 36th District.
“Many residents in my district struggle with affordable and accessible healthcare,” Khalil said. “Many people, including seniors, are confronted with high prescription drug costs, insurance instability, and medical debt. I believe that no one who gets sick should have to choose between paying for their treatment, a mortgage payment, or a utility bill.”
At a recent candidates breakfast, Khalil said she wants to “double” the voice of Arab Americans in the Illinois State Legislature, currently numbering just one – Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid – by becoming the first Palestinian-American woman to be elected to Illinois State Legislature.
“If elected, I will focus on healthcare that is accessible and affordable, because healthcare should be a right and not a privilege. I am driven to lower property taxes by ensuring that big corporations pay their fair share. I will fight to lower the cost of prescription drugs and other forms of price gouging by corporations. I support investment in technical and vocational education. Illinois can and should be a leader in training the next generation with the skills they will need, and has the potential to create thousands of well-paid union jobs.”
Ryan has outraised Khalil, garnering more than $515,000 in campaign contributions, $400,000 coming from organized labor. Khalil has raised $190,000, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.
As of last week, 2,657 early voters across the 36th District, including Chicago and suburban Cook County, pulled Democratic ballots in the primary. It all comes down to turnout.
The winner will face Republican Christine Shanahan McGovern in November.
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