Pastor John Harrell found himself the sole candidate for the 8th District Illinois State House Democratic primary at a forum at the LaFollette Field House in North Austin on March 6.
The development was understandable, with all the oxygen taken by the long afternoon memorial service for civil rights icon Jesse Jackson, Sr.
Harrell noted the forum’s scheduling conflict but said his political rivals could have made more of an effort. “I came from the Jesse Jackson funeral,” he said. “If it was so important to people, why aren’t they here?”
Among his policy ideas, Harrell proposed that homeowners aged 75 and older who had paid real estate taxes for at least 20 years no longer be subject to property taxes.
TIF money, Harrell said, should be better accounted for, and more incentives directed to small businesses on the West Side. He was particularly focused on assuring that investment in West Side communities be better targeted. “Investment in the community doesn’t mean to invest in structures, it means to invest in people,” he said. “Money goes to developers who don’t live in the community, They give all the incentives to the big boxes (stores).” Those businesses, he said, leave when incentives expire.
“We’ve got to bring all the stake holders to the table,” he said. “And you’ve got to make sure our youth are a part of the stakeholdership.” He said attention must be paid to local groups doing the actual work, and that too many agencies outside West Side neighborhoods actually receive the grants.
“They come to us and give up peanuts when we do all the work,” he said. “There are organizations doing the work, but they don’t get the money.”
Calling himself “a public servant, not a politician,” Harrell suggested old school backroom politics was being practiced in his race.
“There was a conversation, a meeting that was had,” Harrell said. “And they said, ‘Here’s what we’re gonna do; Mr. Speaker, do you want to be the (state) central committeeman? Emma’s daughter, do you want to be state rep? Emma, do you want them to support you for central committee woman? LaShawn, you want them to support you for Congress? How ‘bout we all come together and let’s just support one another.’”
But, Harrell said, “When I got in the race, it upset the whole apple cart.” He took specific aim at fellow candidate Shantel Franklin, saying, “Why did they put Shantel Franklin in the race? Because they knew, or they thought, that Shantel could beat Emma’s daughter.”
“They gave this young lady $200,000,” Harrell said, adding, “C’mon, man! 31 years old. They said she was a block club president, only to find out she just organized the block club.”
“They” include the Chicago Teachers Union ($72,500) and the Illinois Federation of Teachers ($30,000), as well as Franklin’s boss, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who’s given her $50,000 since Jan. 1, and $80,000 total.
Harrell, who had the strongest fundraising in the 4th quarter of 2025 with $69,800, finished with $18,300 on hand. But he has received no large donations in the new year, while Franklin has surged ahead with more than $200,000 during the first two months of 2026.
Latonya Mitts had $39,899 banked as of Jan 1, thanks largely to $31,000 in contributions by LIUNA Chicago Laborers’ District Council PAC and other contributions. Since then she’s received another $45,000 from labor, including another $35,000 from LIUNA.
Approximately half of the 8th House area within the boundaries of the City of Chicago is in the 37th Ward, whose alderwoman and committeeperson is Mitt’s mother, Emma Mitts.
Harrell did not mention a fourth candidate, Jill Bush. She has seen no large donations since the new year. She had $10,650 on hand on Jan. 1.
