**Editors note: Illinois Review does not endorse candidates, We offer any candidate the opportunity to present their “Spotlight” as long as it does not attack their primary opponent, and shows their platform / stances”
Jerry Evans is a Christian, husband, father, and political outsider. As a small-business owner, Jerry knows what it means to sign the front of a paycheck, not just the back. Growing up the son of teachers, they instilled in Jerry a love for music and an entrepreneurial spirit that led him to start his own newspaper route when he was only 11 years old and that would later lead to starting his business and becoming a job creator. His parents taught Jerry and his four siblings the Midwestern values of hard work and the importance of helping those around you.
Jerry founded a school of music in the Chicago suburbs almost 10 years ago. An educator for over 20 years, he understands what it means to serve our community and invest in the next generation. Jerry believes that leadership starts with service, honesty, integrity, and is fueled by compassion. In addition to serving in his local church, Jerry has spent considerable time mentoring young adults, training missionaries, and has made multiple mission trips to India, Mexico, and South Africa. Today, Jerry lives in Warrenville with his wife, Lisa, and sons, Michael & Levi.
In the first 3 and ½ months of the campaign, Jerry raised over $200,000 as a foundation to take on Bill Foster or Qasim Rashid. Jerry has received over 25 endorsements from Conservative leaders across Illinois. Most notably:
● Bob Thomas – former IL Supreme Court Chief Justice
● Colonel Craig Wilcox – IL State Senator
● Gary Rabine – Chairman and Founder of the Rabine Group and Ditch Digger CEO ● Josh McBroom – Naperville City Council (National media attention regarding illegal immigration) ● IL Citizens for Life PAC, the PAC arm of Illinois right to life.
● Illinois Family Action, the PAC arm of the Illinois Family Institute.
Jerry believes we need to go back to America First policies. The crisis at the Southern border has Illinois experiencing increased rates of human trafficking, drug abuse, fentanyl deaths, and crime all over our state. It is heartbreaking that so many young people are dying from fentanyl overdoses, and innocent children are being trafficked across the southern border. Just because Illinois is not a border state does not mean we have not felt the impact of the poor border policies enacted by the Biden Administration. Protecting Illinois requires that we secure the southern border and stop human and drug trafficking, saving thousands of lives. Comprehensive border security solutions, ending catch and release, and the construction of physical barriers are necessary to secure America’s southern border. We are a nation of immigrants, and the US must have a working system for legal immigration.
The American dream should be for all Americans. The best way to create economic growth is to promote free market policies in an environment of fiscal responsibility. Cutting burdensome red tape, curbing inflation, and making cuts to wasteful federal spending will help our economy grow. By embracing pro-growth policies rooted in sound economic principles, our economy will not just recover, but reach new and greater heights. It is through increased opportunity that we will revive the American dream from being crushed beneath a mountain of reckless federal spending.
Education starts with the parents. Parents should have the final say in deciding their children’s education – not the government. We need to remove the woke agenda from our schools and give parents a voice in their child’s curriculum. Part of that plan means giving parents greater control over their children’s education by providing them additional options through school choice. Money should follow the students, and not systems. Jerry Evans has taught and invested in the lives of children and adults of all ages. He teaches his students to act with integrity, to work hard, to support one another, and how to perform at their best.
