Frank Lesko wants voters to send him to the Illinois Senate to cut the cost of government. Doris Turner wants them to keep her there to bring state dollars home.
The Republican Sangamon County recorder and the incumbent Democratic state senator have both spent years in local government. But in their contest for the 48th Senate District, they offer different measures of success: Lesko points to the pending elimination of his own office, while Turner cites nearly $67 million she says she has helped bring to the district over three years.
Turner, 73, and Lesko, 66, both live in Springfield. They are competing to represent a central Illinois district that stretches from Springfield east to Decatur, encompassing portions of Sangamon, Christian and Macon counties and combining urban neighborhoods, smaller communities and farmland. Voters will choose between them Nov. 3.
For Lesko, the campaign begins with the household budget.
“People are hurting out there,” he said, describing retirees struggling with insurance bills and property taxes, and families paying more for groceries and other necessities.
His first legislative priority would be a bill to reduce property taxes. Asked how he would replace revenue used by local governments, Lesko said consolidation and eliminating waste could produce savings without reducing services.
“Not necessarily cut programs, but the possibilities of merging some of the taxing bodies, that maybe we don’t have to have as many as we have in the state of Illinois,” he said.
He did not identify a particular taxing district he would eliminate or offer a dollar estimate for the savings.
“I think everything would be on the table to take a look at to see where we could consolidate and not hurt any of the operations of government,” he said.
Turner argues that state spending has produced tangible benefits for the people she represents.
She points to funding for Chatham’s new municipal complex, a Decatur Park District senior center, school gymnasium improvements in Christian County and recreation projects in Springfield and Chatham. She also cites work on education, agriculture and access to affordable healthcare.
“I haven’t been just sitting there taking up space,” she said. “I’ve been accomplishing things.”
Turner said her advocacy helped secure nearly $67 million for the district over the last three years. She described that money as an investment in facilities and organizations that improve residents’ lives.
On economic development, she pointed to the expansion of TCCI Manufacturing in Decatur. Tillotson Climate Control Inc. manufactures compressors used in vehicle air-conditioning and refrigeration systems, including electric compressors for electric vehicles. Its Decatur innovation hub combines manufacturing, vehicle testing and workforce education through partnerships with government and Richland Community College.
Turner said partnerships with Illinois helped persuade the company to undertake a project in Decatur rather than overseas.
“That doesn’t just happen by accident,” she said.
Lesko’s case for fiscal restraint rests heavily on the merger of the Sangamon County recorder’s office into the county clerk’s office, scheduled for Dec. 1.
He ran for recorder in 2024 under the slogan “hire me to fire me.” He said employees have been cross-trained, forms updated and preparations coordinated with County Clerk Don Gray’s office.
“Dec. 1, we will have completed the project, and I will fire myself,” Lesko said.
He estimates the consolidation will save $250,000 annually, money the County Board could direct elsewhere.
The merger’s timetable, however, reflects more than Lesko’s campaign pledge. As Illinois Times previously reported, Republicans initially planned to eliminate the office in 2028. County Board Democrats pushed successfully for an earlier date, and voters approved the December 2026 consolidation with 57% support.
Lesko calls the merger the biggest accomplishment of his public career. He says his experience as a small-business owner also informs his approach to government.
“Living within your budget, living within your means,” he said, when asked what business had taught him.
“You have to live within your budget,” he added.
Turner’s argument for another term rests as much on relationships as legislation.
A former Sangamon County Board member and Springfield alderwoman, she was appointed to the Senate in February 2021. She traces her interest in public service to community advocacy, including work with teenage mothers living in Springfield public housing and their children.
Friends encouraged her to seek office, she said, arguing that a seat at the decision-making table would allow her to make lasting changes.
Bernard Schoenburg, a retired political journalist and longtime observer of the local political scene, described Turner as a community-oriented politician whose work has expanded from Springfield neighborhoods to her Senate district.
“She works, she’s involved in the community and cares about a lot of people there,” he said.
Some of Turner’s relationships across the political aisle are visible over breakfast.
She is a regular dining companion at Boyd’s Next Generation restaurant on the east side of Springfield with prominent local Republicans, including businessman Frank Vala and Claudio Pecori, president of the Sangamon County Evening Republican Club.
Turner said Pecori and her husband have been friends for about 50 years. Such friendships, she said, reflect relationships that extend beyond campaigns and party labels.
Turner describes herself as “a fierce partisan Democrat,” but says that identity does not prevent her from working with Republicans.
“There’s a difference between the partisan politics and governing, and I have always approached governing from a very bipartisan perspective,” she said.
She cited her working relationship with Republican state Rep. Mike Coffey. When she served on the County Board, Turner said, Democrats held just five of its 29 seats. Working with Republicans was essential to accomplishing anything.
“If I disagree with them, I will explain why,” she said, “and we’ll just agree to disagree without being disagreeable.”
Schoenburg said Turner’s connections across party lines reflect a familiar feature of local politics.
“It shows the kind of bipartisanship that is … sometimes famous, sometimes infamous in Springfield,” he said.
He also recalled a project Lesko has emphasized over the years: securing a permanent home for the Springfield Park District’s Funshop program for children during his service on the park board.
Both candidates bring extensive experience campaigning and holding office. Lesko has served as a Springfield alderman, city clerk and Park District board member. He also owns Abe’s Trading Post, a Springfield resale business, and works as an auctioneer, conducting both paid auctions and benefits for community organizations.
But their campaign spending differs substantially.
According to Illinois State Board of Elections records, Turner’s campaign spent $1.85 million between July 1 and Sept. 30. During the same period, Lesko’s campaign spent $143,000.
Lesko acknowledged Turner’s fundraising advantage but said his campaign depends on personal contact.
“I believe in grassroots politics,” he said. “I believe in talking to the people.”
Asked about financial support he received in previous campaigns from Vala, Lesko said he believes the businessman is sitting out this contest because he knows both candidates.
Schoenburg said the resources available to Senate Republicans also may help explain Lesko’s fundraising disadvantage.
“I don’t think the Senate Republicans have that many resources to give,” he said.
The campaign also has turned personal, with Turner’s advertising highlighting Lesko’s drunken-driving arrest, which occurred 23 years ago.
Lesko said he was disappointed that the episode had become a campaign issue and described it as “one of the most embarrassing nights of my life.”
“I’m not a perfect person and, you know, I’ve made mistakes in my life, but I learned from that,” he said. “I’ve not had a drop of alcohol since that night.”
Lesko said the experience changed him.
“I’m a better father, a better friend, and a better person now than I was then,” he said.
For both candidates, their reasons for running are tied to Springfield and the families they have raised here.
Lesko, married for 39 years, said his three adult children have all bought homes in Springfield. He wants younger residents to have opportunities to build their futures locally.
“I want them to have opportunities in Illinois and Springfield and surrounding cities here, so that our young folks can stay,” he said.
Turner, married for 49 years and the mother of three and grandmother of 10, said accessibility remains central to her work. People sometimes arrive at the home where she has lived since 1981 seeking help. She invites them inside or sits with them on the porch.
Her connection to the Capitol began much earlier.
As a girl, she would ride the bus downtown to the YMCA and walk past the ornate building, knowing little about what happened inside but imagining that she might someday work there.
Now, she said, walking into the Capitol brings back memories of that child — and a responsibility to make the possibility visible to others.
“I never dreamed that I could be a state Senator because I never saw anybody who looked like me do that,” Turner said.
