David Sheppard for Illinois Representative 36

RIOTS. VIOLENCE. FEAR. AND THE MAYOR IS OVERSEAS!
While Chicago families were dealing with another violent Memorial Day weekend, Mayor Brandon Johnson and political allies were overseas at the Vatican posing for photos and talking politics.

Meanwhile back home, residents on the South Side and across Chicago are dealing with chaos in the streets, large juvenile disturbances turning violent, businesses closing, seniors afraid to leave their homes, and families wondering if city leadership even understands what everyday people are living through.

Chicago does not need another international photo-op.
Chicago needs leadership.

How does this trip help the mother afraid to let her child walk to the store?
How does it help the senior citizen trapped in a neighborhood filled with crime?
How does it stop the violent weekend takeovers and disorder happening across our city?
How does it help Black and Brown communities that Democrat leadership constantly claims to care about?

The answer is simple:
It doesn’t.

For years, Chicago voters have been promised “equity,” “justice,” and “investment,” yet many neighborhoods are seeing the exact opposite — more violence, more instability, more fear, and less accountability.

At what point do voters finally draw the line and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?

Not just in City Hall…
But in Springfield too.

Because the same failed policies hurting Chicago are being protected and expanded at the state level as well — including right here in the Illinois 36th District.

As a candidate for Illinois State Representative in the 36th District, I am standing for:
✔️ Safer neighborhoods
✔️ Support for law enforcement
✔️ Lower property taxes
✔️ Stronger schools
✔️ Accountability in government
✔️ Protecting working families and seniors
✔️ Restoring order and common sense leadership

The people of Chicago deserve leaders who stay focused on public safety, protecting families, supporting businesses, and restoring order — not political theater while the city struggles back home.

If you are tired of watching Chicago and Illinois continue down this path, I ask for your support.

David Sheppard
Candidate for Illinois State Representative – 36th District

🌐 Shep4StateRep.com

Rep Rick Ryan Focused On Sandwiches While Illinois Falls Apart!!

The problem is not the Italian beef.

The problem is Springfield spending public time and political energy on symbolic “feel good” bills while Illinois families are dealing with REAL emergencies:

• Violent crime
• Unsafe public transportation
• Crushing property taxes
• Failing schools and low test scores
• Seniors being taxed out of their homes
• Police officers under attack
• Families struggling to survive financially

Yet Representative Rick Ryan introduced a bill to make the Italian Beef the official Illinois state sandwich.

Seriously?

This bill may be harmless, but it is NOT serious leadership.

Illinois does not need another official state symbol right now. Illinois needs lawmakers focused on making families safer, lowering property taxes, fixing schools, supporting police officers, protecting seniors, and restoring quality of life for the people who actually raise families here.

Springfield is debating sandwiches while families are being crushed.

This is the disconnect that voters are sick and tired of!!

Leadership is about priorities. Having your eye on the prize means focusing on the issues keeping people awake at night — not symbolic distractions that do nothing to improve their lives.

As your next State Representative, my focus will be on:
✔ Property tax relief
✔ Public safety
✔ Supporting law enforcement
✔ Improving education
✔ Protecting seniors
✔ Fighting government waste and political games

Illinois families deserve serious leadership again.

— David Sheppard
Candidate for Illinois State Representative, 36th District
Shep4StateRep.com

Current Representative Wants To LOWER Standards Instead Of FIXING Education.

Dear Representative Rick Ryan, this may be one of the worst education ideas Illinois has seen in decades. At a time when our students are already struggling with declining test scores, lower reading and math proficiency, and increasing competition in a global workforce, the answer should NEVER be lowering standards even further.

Instead of finding solutions, Springfield politicians are now talking about removing opportunities from our children because adults cannot do their jobs and recruit qualified teachers. Think about that for a second — the response is essentially: “Schools can’t find enough teachers, so students should just lose the opportunity altogether.” That is completely backwards.

Learning a second language is not just about academics. It increases workforce marketability, opens doors to better careers, creates higher earning potential, and gives students more opportunities to support their future families. In today’s economy, bilingual employees are often paid more and are in higher demand across business, healthcare, law enforcement, trade, technology, and customer service industries.

And what message are we sending to students? That because adults failed to solve a staffing problem, THEY should suffer the consequences? That is one of the most dismissive and irresponsible approaches to education I have heard in years.

As a father, school board member, and candidate for State Representative, I believe we should be RAISING educational expectations — not lowering them every time Illinois leadership faces a challenge. We should be investing in recruitment, retention, and innovative solutions to bring qualified teachers into our schools, not stripping opportunities away from students. Our children are already competing against students from around the world. Weakening education standards only pushes them further behind.

Illinois students deserve better than excuses. They deserve leadership willing to solve problems instead of surrendering to them.
-David Sheppard = Candidate for State Rep Dist 36
shep4staterep.com

Did Chicago And Illinois Leaders Use Migrant Population Growth To Mask The Loss Of Longtime Residents?

The media is celebrating “population growth” in major Democrat-led cities across America. But are citizens being shown the full picture?

According to the latest Census estimates:

• New York City — 8,584,629
• Los Angeles — 3,869,089
• Chicago — 2,731,585
• Houston — 2,397,315
• Phoenix — 1,665,481
• Philadelphia — 1,574,281
• San Antonio — 1,548,422
• San Diego — 1,406,106
• Dallas — 1,329,491
• Fort Worth — 1,028,117

Now here’s what’s interesting…

Many of the cities seeing major population increases are also sanctuary cities or sanctuary-friendly cities:
✔ New York City
✔ Los Angeles
✔ Chicago
✔ Philadelphia
✔ San Diego

And even reports discussing Chicago’s growth openly acknowledge that migrant population growth helped offset the loss of longtime residents leaving Illinois.

Meanwhile, thousands of Illinois families continue moving out of the state every year because of:
• High property taxes
• Crime
• Cost of living
• Business regulations
• Failed leadership

So the question becomes:

Is this a smoke-and-mirrors strategy designed to make residents believe Illinois is suddenly growing again… while longtime Illinois citizens are actually continuing to leave?

Because if large numbers of working families and taxpayers are moving out, but the overall population numbers are being maintained through migrant population increases, then voters deserve honesty about what is really happening.

This isn’t about hate.
It’s about transparency, accountability, and telling citizens the full story.

David Sheppard
Candidate for Illinois State Representative – District 36

Lower Taxes • Safer Communities • Government Accountability

🌐 Shep4StateRep.com

🚨 SAME STATE. DIFFERENT JUSTICE SYSTEM. 🚨

Let these numbers sink in…

📍 Cook County:
🔹 2,450 defendants on electronic monitoring
🔹 590 awaiting trial for VIOLENT crimes
🔹 21 people charged with MURDER currently out on ankle monitors

📍 DuPage County:
🔹 Judges routinely DETAIN violent offenders
🔹 ZERO murder defendants out on ankle monitors

So the real question is…

Why does public safety depend on what county you get arrested in?

The SAFE-T Act gave judges the power to detain dangerous offenders. Even Governor Pritzker admits that. So if the authority already exists, why are violent repeat offenders still being released in Cook County?

As a former Police Chief with nearly 30 years in law enforcement, I can tell you this clearly:

When criminals stop fearing consequences, innocent families pay the price.

This is not about politics.
This is about protecting our communities, supporting law enforcement, and making sure victims matter again.

Illinois families deserve consistency, accountability, and leadership willing to put PUBLIC SAFETY FIRST.

Enough excuses. Enough failures. Illinois deserves better.

-David Sheppard
Candidate for Illinois State Representative – 36th District
Shep4StateRep.com

“ILLINOIS IS TAXING PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR HOMES.”
In 2013, my monthly mortgage payment — including taxes and insurance — was $1,160.

Today, that same payment is $2,213.

That’s over $1,000 MORE every month for the same home.

I didn’t refinance.
I didn’t move.
I didn’t buy a bigger house.

Like so many families in the 36th District, I’m being crushed by out-of-control property taxes.

In fact, my property taxes are now higher than my principal and interest combined.

Meanwhile, Illinois politicians keep saying the state is “moving in the right direction.”

Tell that to the seniors afraid of losing their homes.
Tell that to middle-class families struggling just to stay afloat.

Enough is enough.

We need leaders who actually understand what families are going through — because they’re living it too.

I’m not a career politician.
I’m a homeowner.
I’m a father.
And I’m ready to fight for real property tax relief.

— David Sheppard
Candidate for Illinois State Representative – 36th District

David Sheppard for State Representative DAVID SHEPPARD for Illinois State Representative 36th District Protecting Families. Restoring Safety. Delivering Results. Join Team Sheppard: “I grew up in public housing with a single mom. With faith and discipline, I rose to become a Chief of Police. I’ve spent my life serving others. Now I’...

⚠️ CRIME CLOSED WALGREENS — NOT “CORPORATE GREED”
Another Walgreens is closing in Chicago — and honestly, my heart goes out to the seniors and families in Chatham who depended on that store for prescriptions and everyday necessities. Many of these residents now have to travel even farther just to get basic medication.

But let’s stop pretending we don’t know WHY this is happening.
Businesses are leaving because crime is out of control, and criminals have become emboldened under soft-on-crime policies.

Five or ten years ago, someone jumping over a counter stealing liquor or threatening employees would’ve likely gone to jail. Today....They get processed, released, and sent right back out on the streets.

Criminals now believe nothing is going to happen to them.
And who pays the price? Not politicians living behind security. It’s the seniors, the working families, and the law-abiding residents losing businesses in their own neighborhoods.

Chicago and Illinois leadership created this environment with policies like the SAFE-T Act that removed accountability and weakened consequences for repeat offenders.

We cannot keep sacrificing our communities while pretending this is normal. We need to support police, protect businesses, and restore law and order before more neighborhoods are left behind.

David Sheppard
Candidate for Illinois State Representative – 36th
shep4staterep.com