Seven questions with Senate candidate Robin Kelly

Oct

2025

In the News

Seven questions with Senate candidate Robin Kelly

Robin Kelly has spent more than a decade representing Illinois' second congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Now, the Democrat is ready to take on a new challenge — representing all of Illinois in the U.S. Senate.

Kelly, who sat down with The Intelligencer for an interview on Oct. 4, believes she has what is needed to take on the job.

“I’ve been an effective leader on every level of government — from municipal, to state representative, to chief of staff for the state treasurer, to chief administrative officer for Cook County,” she said. “I love my job. I love representing Illinois, and I know that I’m very ready and very able to move to this next level.”

Kelly says that her time representing the second district, which stretches from Chicago to Danville and Pontiac and includes a mix of urban, suburban, and rural parts of the state, gives her the perspective she needs to fully understand the needs of all Illinoisans.

“I have 4,500 farms,” she said. “You can go to urban, suburban, and rural areas, and they will tell you they have delivered in every part of my district.”

Kelly enters the Senate campaign as one of the biggest names in the race. She's using her campaign slogan, "People Over Profits," to focus on affordability, health care, and "moral leadership."

“We must get to the point where billionaires and millionaires and corporations are paying their fair share,” she said. “In the richest country in the history of the world, there is no reason why everybody doesn’t have affordable, accessible, and high-quality health care.”

She's also encouraging everyone to vote in 2026.

“Don’t stay on the sidelines," Kelly said. Don’t be afraid to speak up and hold us accountable.”

Here's more from Robin Kelly's interview:

Q. What will you do to advocate for central and southern Illinois if you're elected to the Senate, and how can you assure voters in this part of the state that their voices will be heard?

"Well, actually, Dick Durbin is from East St. Louis, and he lives in Springfield and Chicago. My entrance into Illinois was Peoria. So I'm very familiar with Central Illinois. My kids were born at Methodist Hospital. I used to work there. I was the director of the crisis nursery in Peoria, two-time Bradley grad, two stints on the Board of Trustees, and just helped Bradley pick its newest president. So I'm very familiar with central Illinois. My district goes south to Danville, west of Pontiac. So I'm already dealing with central Illinois, and I was a party chair. And when I was the party chair for the Democratic Party, I got all over the state. And I know people up and down and all around. And at one point, I was a Democratic nominee for treasurer. And actually, I always joke that even though I didn't win and Governor Quinn won, I won more counties than Governor Quinn if they were outside of Chicago.

"And I do feel — I've never lived in Chicago, I do feel that I do have an empathy or, I don't know if that's the correct word, but I know how people that don't live in the Chicagoland area feel because I spent so much time of my adult life in Peoria and heard from people. And then being a state rep, knowing people from all over the state and talking to them about their issues and those kind of things. But now, like I said, I represent —urban, suburban, and rural."

Q. Last year, Madison County joined a growing number of central and southern Illinois counties that have voted to secede from the state, which shows just how frustrated people are with the state's leadership, most of which is from Chicago. If you are elected to the Senate, what can you do to help repair that relationship and help us begin approaching issues as Illinoisans rather than allowing this "Chicago vs. everyone else" mindset to persist.

"Well I'm known in my area as a coalition builder and as I said I already know how people feel just because of living in Peoria and hearing people being the party chair. And it's really showing up, being present. And that's why I'm down here, because I want, yes, a lot of the votes are upstate, but I want every vote, I want every voter to know me and be able to make a decision based on what I have done, what I'm going to do, and what I want to do. So I would definitely be present. I'm always someone, I'm so proud of my staff. No one does anything alone. And I know we have excellent constituent services because my constituents tell me that and what programs I've done. In my district, I would want to see those same programs carried out, whether it's job fairs, housing fairs, health fairs, youth opportunity fairs. Even right now, my district is very large and has a youth cabinet. However, I have youth from Chicago to Danville in the cabinet.

"I have had to learn how to do things that cover a big swath of the state, but definitely would meet with leaders from the top of the state to the bottom, east to west. I do think that's very important, and I think it makes me a better representative. It made me a better congresswoman to have a district like this, and it makes me a better senator because I will truly hear the voices of all Illinoisans."

Q. You've been vocal in your opposition to President Trump, but this part of the state has overwhelmingly supported him in the past three elections. How would you balance your criticism of the president while also knowing that at least a large chunk of your constituents support what he wants to do?

"You know what, whether people voted for me or not, like in my district when my district changed this last time my amount of voters went down because mine became more red. But for me, if you're my constituent, you're my constituent. I'm here to lift all boats. I approach my district. Most people want a job. They want a roof over their head, good education for their kids, health care and they want to feel safe. And that's how I will approach it. If I oppose Donald Trump, I oppose Donald Trump. But that is not going to affect the services I give to my constituents up and down the state. It never has and it never will."

Q. We've seen an increase in political violence in this country. Why do you think we've gotten to this point and what can you do, if you are elected to the Senate, to help us move toward a time where we can work together to solve issues regardless of the party we support?

"That's a trigger point for me. Because we should never get to the point where that's what people fought for, our First Amendment rights. And we should never get to the point where we kill anybody because they have an opinion. I vehemently oppose what Charlie Kirk said. And I don't think that we should have passed a resolution honoring him when his remarks are racist, sexist, homophobic.

"You know, I hate what he said, but he had the right to say it. And I don't think he should have lost his life. I don't think his kids should have been without their dad. And what happened to my state colleagues in Minnesota was horrible. I mean, I do think we need to tone down the rhetoric. And I do think, everyone, no matter how they feel, should say there's no room, you know, for political violence. I didn't vote for that bill because that bill was not just about political violence. It was about someone that said that black women were moronic. And a whole lot of other things that I don't have to get into. So I could not vote for a bill that said anything about honoring him. But no, I don't think that he should have been shot. I don't think anybody should be shot.

"And also, we're saying we believe in First Amendment rights, and we should believe in First Amendment rights, whether he says it or someone else says it, you know, which sometimes I think some of my colleagues on the other side, they didn't like when we said some things or that people didn't vote for it, but I could not vote to honor a man that said the things that he said. I definitely don't think there's no political violence and it's getting scarier and scarier and it's costing more money because people need protection and my one colleague got a letter, it should have been her instead of Charlie Kirk. A state representative, I believe in Arizona, called for the execution of one of my colleagues. That's ridiculous and there's no room for that. And that's not America, that's not why people fought, you know, for this to happen."

Q. As you've been campaigning, have you run into many Republican or conservative voters? Have they been willing to listen to you, or are you running into a lot of people who say "I'm not voting for a Democrat so don't even waste your time"?

"One of my colleagues, I went to his district, he came to my district. There's a program like that, but people don't hear about things like that. I passed bipartisan legislation. I had a dental bill I passed. I worked with five congresspeople. They were all dentists, all Republican. They helped me get the bill passed because they knew how important. But there is some changing, I think, what I'm hearing. I mean, my farmers are really suffering from the dismantling of USAID, then tariffs, and then you're cutting back on SNAP. So if people can't buy food, then grocery stores don't need to hire as many people. They don't need as much food from the farmers. And that's what people need to realize. We're all in this together. Whether they're on Medicaid or not, it's projected if they implement, how they want to implement, nine rural hospitals will close. So, whether you're on Medicaid or not, that's still your hospital. And there's already a lack of access to health care in rural areas.

"You know, a farmer told me he had to drive 60 miles when his wife was having a baby, she wasn't ready, drove 60 miles back. He went into the field and she was ready, drove 60 miles back. That's a lot of driving, you know, and we don't want to see more hospitals shut down. It's not only the health care part of it, but also the economic part of it. If people are losing their jobs, hospitals are closing, which affects the grocery store, the cleaners, the daycare, the coffee shop, where people go to live in the town.

"I think people are concerned. And this is not about what's happening now, Democrat or Republican. I mean, if you lose your health care, you lose your health care. If you lose your job, which many people have already, they didn't ask how they voted. if you're a farmer and people don't have to buy as many crops at the stores, you know, that's everybody. That's not just one group or another."

Q. With so many Democrats running, what is your plan to stand out in a race that features several other big names?

"Well, I do think I stand out. As I said, you know, I've been in Congress 12 and a half years. I'm the only one that has worked effectively on every level of government. I'm the only one federally that has a district like mine, urban, suburban, and rural, where I personally have delivered for each of those districts. I've been able to pass meaningful pieces of legislation around health care, saving lives. I have built relationships in the House and the Senate. I have support, a lot of support in the House. In the Senate, and I know I can hit the ground running without a doubt. And I don't feel like everybody can say that. I have, in addition, I've really been a team player in helping other members of Congress, even other members of Senate. I've helped with getting more women elected to Congress. I've traveled this country helping other people and other Congress people.

"I've helped in Illinois up and down the ballot. This is really important, too, as we're growing the Democratic Party."

Q. Several of the lesser known candidates who are running as Democrats say that the party can't afford to send another establishment candidate to D.C. and have pointed to the unpopularity of the party as reasons why. As a sitting congresswoman, why do you think the Democratic Party has dropped to one of its lowest approval ratings of all time, and what is your strategy to convince voters that you will fight for what they believe in even if it goes against what party leadership wants?

"I'm doing that now, and I've always been a fighter. I've always stood up, shown up, and spoken up, and I haven't always gone along with the program — and sometimes that's why people within my own party have had issues with me not going along with the candidate that others have picked.

"I've stood up to the NRA as far as gun safety — not that I'm against guns. People in my family have guns. I'm just for gun safety and responsible gun ownership. I've gone against Big Pharma. I'm on the committee to help lower prescription drug prices. And I have shown moral leadership — that I don't just go along with the program.

"When I was first asked to run for office, I never thought I would. I told those people that at the end of the day, when the titles are gone, I have to be able to look at myself in the mirror. That's very important to me. I want my friends and family to be proud of me, but I want to be proud of me too. I want to know that I've done the right thing. I've never looked at myself as an establishment candidate. Even now, I stay fresh in my ideas — and they're not all my ideas. That's because I hold town hall meetings with my farmers, tele-town halls, and traditional town halls. I have a youth cabinet, so I go to younger people. I go to every college I can, when invited, to hear from people of all ages. I visit senior centers as well.

"Some of the biggest things I've done came from constituents calling me and saying, ‘Hey, did you know this was a problem? Maternal mortality and morbidity.’ I never knew it was such a problem in the United States until a constituent called and said, ‘I want to tell you a story.’ I heard the story, went back to D.C., and held a forum — it was packed. We hit the ground running about nine years ago, and we passed significant legislation that extended the Medicare postpartum period from 60 days to a year. ... That law has saved lives. President Biden folded it into his larger package, but we worked with doctors, nurses, doulas, midwives, and survivors to make it happen.

"People say young people aren't involved, but if you look at my staff, most of them are under 35 — some even in their 20s. A lot of young people run D.C. more than people think."

By Jason Koch