(WIFR) – Incumbent Democrat Steve Stadelman and Republican Crystal Soltow will face off in the Nov. 5 general election for Illinois State Senate District 34.

Candidates Crystal Soltow and Steve Stadelman are running for the 34th district seat in the Illinois Senate. It has been Stadelman’s position for more than a decade. As he runs for another term, he says he wants to fight for issues that will always be important for voters like education.

“We tweaked the school funding formula so more state dollars are going to districts like Rockford and Belvidere,” explains Stadelman. “I think we have been successful as far as not only providing more resources for local school districts, but it’s allowed the Rockford School District, for example, to lower its tax rate because there’s more state dollars involved to provide those services.”

Soltow owns Power Combat Fitness in Belvidere, but she says she’s also a passionate advocate for various community organizations, especially those that advocate for education. Soltow believes change is needed.

“I have two young ones now in middle school. My older two are out on their own,” says Soltow. “I am not trying to change the whole world, but if I can change a little bit and plant the seed to start growing a little bit, I believe that there is something there that can really happen. I do believe what we are doing now is not working.”

Both candidates agree nationally, politics are polarized and they want to avoid getting caught in the “crossfire.”

“The political climate – the discourse has not been good. I’ve tried to avoid that, I think I try to focus on the Rockford area and what we can do to bring back dollars and projects to this area,” says Stadelman.

“Less division, more community, more togetherness because you can get so much more done when we work together as if we are trying to work separately,” says Soltow.

More information about both Stadelman and Soltow can be found on their campaign websites.

Stateline residents are reminded to make sure they are registered to vote. If you are unsure whether you’re registered, the Illinois State Board of Elections has a registration lookup tool on its website. If you’re registered, it will also tell you where you will poll for Election Day. If you need to register to vote, you can find more information here.

Early voting is underway in Illinois and continues through Monday, Nov. 4. For more information on early voting, click here.

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