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State Sen. Cristina Castro is endorsed by the Sun-Times in the 22nd District Democratic primary. | Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

She is one of Illinois’ most productive state senators.

State Sen. Cristina Castro of Elgin has played a major role in the passage of some of the more meaningful new laws to come out of Springfield in the last two years.

Castro was chief sponsor of a bill last fall to consolidate some 650 pension funds for suburban and downstate police officers and firefighters, a reform sure to save taxpayers millions of dollars. She also sponsored an amendment to the Equal Pay Act to prohibit employers from asking about a job applicant’s current salary, which employers will sometimes do so that they can lowball their salary offer for the new job.

Castro sponsored an expansion of the Illinois Human Rights Act, making it possible for workers at even the smallest companies to seek relief for work-related discrimination and retaliation. She also sponsored a bill that prohibits landlords from threatening to evict or report tenants to federal authorities over their immigration status.

And Castro was instrumental in the passage of a bill to allow drivers to choose a gender-neutral option on their driver’s licenses, a change in the law supported by Equality Illinois, which advocates for the rights of LGBTQ people.

Castro is a productive state senator. We endorse her.

Also running is Rae Yawer, a member of the Streamwood Park District board.

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Illustration by Caroline Hurley

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For more information about this race and others, including candidate questionnaires, go to our Illinois primary 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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February 21, 2020 at 05:07AM