Mary “May” Larry, the Proviso Township committeewoman since 2022, has filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections to be on the ballot in March 2026 for Democratic State Central Committeewoman (DSCC). Barring any formal objections to her petitions, she will face Chicago’s 37th Ward Alderwoman Emma Mitts in that race.
The Democratic State Central Committee requires a committeeman and committeewoman to be elected or appointed. As of the end of filing on Monday, no candidate other than Emanuel “Chris” Welch has filed for the DSC committeeman office.
Larry, who has run unsuccessfully for Maywood village president or village trustee four times since 2013, according to the ISBE, filed nomination petitions Monday morning in Springfield.
Mitts, 70, has defeated all challengers in numerous contested races for her 37th ward aldermanic seat, including respected activist Tara Stamps, who was appointed to the Cook County board in 2024.
In April 2024, Mitts was appointed by the 7th District congressional committee following the death of long-time Proviso township political leader and Cook County Recorder of Deeds Karen Yarbrough.
Candidate petition filing will continue from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through Nov. 3. Following that deadline, any interested party may file an objection to any candidate’s petitions for numerous reasons. The deadline for filing objections is five business days after the last day of the filing period.
Growing Community Media will be reviewing nominating petitions from Larry and others as soon as they are made available by the ISBE after necessary processing. This is a developing story the paper will be following.