In the Field: Three Democrats Hope to Hold Dem Swing District
(L-R): DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes, Former Yednock staffer Amy Murri Briel, and DeKalb City Council Member Carolyn Morris Zasada are seeking the Democratic nomination for the 76th House District.
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If Democrats want to continue calling themselves a big tent party, the Democratic primary in the open 76th House District may be indicative of the ideological divide in the party.
Three candidates are competing to replace Rep. Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa), a moderate union heavy equipment operator, who is not seeking re-election. Yednock has been critical of the House Democratic caucus’ move leftward.
The 76th House District (in red).
The district was long based in LaSalle County, but Democrats gerrymandered the district in 2021 to include a short strip 40 miles north of Ottawa to include the more progressive college town of DeKalb.
The three Democrats aiming to replace Yednock all come from seemingly different wings of the party. One identifies as a progressive, another identifies as a moderate, and the third calls herself a “pragmatic” Democrat.
There has been no public polling in the race thus far, but many local Democrats believe moderate DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes is the favorite to capture the nomination.
Speaking to The Illinoize Thursday in his office overlooking a renovated downtown DeKalb, Barnes said he’s banking on his successes as Mayor to highlight his qualifications for the job.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or what your politics are. You want job opportunities, you want lower taxes to have a more affordable cost of living. You want safety and people want cool and fun things to do. They want opportunities and a little money in the bank to enjoy a little slice of the American Dream,” he said. “I’ve really been able to learn how to listen to everyone and take all that information and represent everyone and put forward agenda items that move the needle.”
Barnes cites development like Meta’s new data center and distribution centers for Amazon and Kraft Heinz creating new jobs and helping reduce the tax burden.
DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes speaks to The Illinoize Thursday.
When Barnes was elected Mayor in 2021, he defeated City Council member Carolyn Morris Zasada, a Realtor and 11-year Marine Corps veteran who served a year in Afghanistan after enlisting after 9/11.
Speaking with The Illinoize Thursday, Zasada said Democrats are aligned on many issues and are looking for someone to hear them on all of the issues that matter.
“I do think that the Democrats in DeKalb tend to be a little more progressive,” she said. “I’m more progressive than the other candidates, but at the same time, I understand where everyone is coming from and I’m always going to listen to all perspectives.
Murri Briel likely comes with the most ties to state government in the race, having worked multiple campaigns and spending a year as legislative aide for Yednock.
If Barnes is positioning himself as a moderate and Zasada is positioning herself as a progressive, Murri Briel, who usually goes by “Murri,” because she said there were too many girls named Amy in her grade school classes, says she’s positioning herself as the “pragmatist” in the race.
“Pragmatic doesn’t mean ideas and concepts and beliefs are out of the question,” Murri Briel said. “It means bring them to the table with solutions on how to make it happen.”
Taking a break from knocking on doors to speak with The Illinoize on the banks of the Illinois River, Murri Briel says she wants to emulate how “thorough” Yednock was on issues.
House candidate Amy Murri Briel speaks to The Illinoize at the Illinois Waterway Visitor’s Center near Ottawa Thursday during a break from knocking on doors.
On the issues, the three candidates generally agree. They also say Democrats in the district seem to agree on many issues, except for gun rights. They say LaSalle County Democrats are more conservative on a pro-gun stance than many in DeKalb.
Zasada, who achieved a designation as an “expert rifleman” in the Marine Corps says she understands where the more rural position on guns comes from.
“I think there is a sense that when you’re from a rural [area], you have less connection with a lot of things and you want safety,” she said. “You want the right to maintain your own safety. I can certainly identify with that completely.”
Barnes, who says he is a hunter and sport shooter, says Democratic efforts to ban assault weapons may have been too punitive on responsible gun owners.
“I think our focus really needs to be on finding the root cause of some of the issues that we have out there,” he said. And [we should] make sure that our gun regulations that we have in place are there to protect [from the] irresponsible, but not be punitive to the responsible gun owners in the state.”
Murri Briel, meanwhile, belives the sweeping assault weapons ban passed in 2023 was “short sighted” to some of the most challenging issues.
“I think most folks understand and want sane legislation, but they do feel a little bit [singled out] by the state,” she said. “Assault weapons are very scary. They can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time. But there are more gun deaths by handguns. If we would have had [policy] in place that made sense, people wouldn’t have resisted the way that they did.”
The trio of Democrats agree with a pro-choice agenda, but Barnes, the only of the three, says he has heard multiple positions from Democrats in the district.
“I could never in a million years tell a woman what to do with her body,” he said. “I believe people have that individual freedom. For me, I’ve always been pro-choice and that’s how I approach it.”
Zasada, meanwhile, says Democrats in the district are “scared” over attacks nationally on abortion rights.
“What frustrates me is that is how much of a just medical issue this is and how frequently abortion is a required procedure when a fetus is no longer viable,” she said. “For women who are experiencing the trauma of losing a wanted child, that they probably tried really hard to have, and then the baby isn’t there anymore, that’s heartbreaking for them. Then their life is in danger? Because they can’t get the medical care they need. That’s what’s so frustrating to me about this.”
Murri Briel says she would “love” to see a constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution on the ballot this year.
“It’s one of the first questions both men and women ask me,” she said. “Reproductive [rights] seem to be on everyone’s minds. And some folks were thinking that we were safe, that Illinois was a bastion, until it’s not.”
All three are endorsed by abortion rights group Personal PAC as “100% pro-choice candidates.”
While Governor JB Pritzker is attempting to manage a state budget with spending pressures from legislative Democrats and efforts to introduce new taxes in his budget proposal, candidates say the sate needs to continue investing in its priorities.
“We have to continue making investments in communities,” she said, implying the state should use more federal money to invest in rural communities. “If you don’t invest in your communities or the waterways, what’s gonna happen? We’re not gonna get any grain or materials moved down this river. If we don’t invest in roads, how are companies supposed to come here and build the areas up? You can’t build a house without a foundation. It just doesn’t work.”
Zasada, meanwhile, says she supports rehashing the graduated income tax proposal to bring in more revenue.
“I am a huge proponent of revisiting the fair tax, revisiting a progressive income tax,” she said. “With a progressive tax, we stand to be in a position to add $3.4 billion to the budget and when the money’s there, everything else aligns.”
DeKalb Alderwoman Carolyn Zasada speaks at a DeKalb City Council meeting last year. (Photo: Shaw Media)
One of the Governor’s most controversial budget proposals was eliminating the grocery tax, which the state collects and distributes to local governments.
Barnes says he understands the frustration of the mayors and city councils that would lose revenue
“I understand the spirit of this and I applaud the Governor for wanting to figure out how you can make a significant impact on people’s lives. And eliminating a sales tax on groceries is a way you can do that, and it will do that,” he said. “But what it’s going to do is deplete some resources for local municipalities that those same people live in. I love the approach, but I don’t think local municipalities have had anywhere near the say that they need to have.”
Barnes urged state to fund more for cities in the local government share of income tax revenue and having the ability to put the grocery tax in place in each community
Around the state, property taxes remain a crippling issue.
Zasada said local governments need to focus on ways to reduce their tax needs.
“It’s a huge burden for people and a huge barrier to entry for home ownership,” she said. “The will has to be there for local governments. [They] have to be sure they’re not being greedy. When there’s [new development] and an influx of cash, we have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayer and recognize the hurt they’re feeling.”
Murri Briel supports expanding senior credits and veterans credits, but also wants to help schools drive down their share of property tax reliance.
“As we continue to put more money, as a state, into education, we should be able to see fewer increases [from school districts], she said.
Murri Briel also suggested an increase in the corporate tax rate to help fund schools and reduce their property tax burden claiming “no options are off the table.”
Barnes, meanwhile, said the state should have some role in limiting property tax growth.
“Government, by default, usually, when there are more revenue streams, they get consumed,” he said. “So there has to be some oversight from the state on how we’re going to handle property taxes going forward. But, ultimately, I think it’s a give and take.”
Barnes reported around $25,000 cash on hand at the end of 2023. He has since reported about $20,000 in large donations and a $30,000 loan from himself. Murri Briel ended 2023 with around $2,600 cash on hand. Her only large contributions this year have come in the form of $20,000 in loans from her mother. Zasada ended the year with around $6,000 cash on hand. She has since reported $5,000 in large contributions and around $20,000 in loans to herself.
Yednock defeated a heavily underfunded Republican by 15 points in 2022. Governor Pritzker won the district by ten points two years ago and President Biden won the district by eight points in 2020.
The winner of the race will face either Republican Liz Bishop or Crystal Loughran. Bishop is backed by the House GOP campaign arm.
