48th District senate candidates vying for central Illinois voters

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND)- Voters in the newly redrawn 48th district will be selecting their next state senator in just a few weeks. WAND News sat down with Democratic nominee Doris Turner and Republican nominee Sandy Hamilton with less than a month until Election Day.

State Senator Turner said she has been able to get a lot accomplished in her year and a half in office.

"I have sent about 14, 15 bills to the governor's desk that he has signed, and all of those were on a bipartisan basis," Turner told WAND News.

The incumbent was appointed the the 48th District Senate seat last February after serving on the Sangamon County Board and Springfield City Council.

"I really took a couple of things with me that I had been working on when I was in the Springfield City Council," Turner explained.

Ideas like the Springfield Rail project, improving economic opportunities for families and developing a workforce ready to fill the many open jobs in central Illinois.

"The projects that I have been working on with Workforce Solutions and others in Decatur will put that trained workforce in play," Turner added.

State Representative Sandy Hamilton was also appointed to her seat in 2021. She said she was able to cosponsor a major bill during her short tenure.

"The house bill for DCFS for state workers to carry some sort of a pepper spray, so when they're out doing they're job they are able to protect themselves," Hamilton told WAND News.

Hamilton believes lawmakers need to work harder to create economic opportunities and attract new residents.

"I'm a real estate agent as well, and a lot of my closings people are leaving the state of Illinois, and so I would really like for everybody to come to Illinois, stay in Illinois," Hamilton explained.

She wants all voices in the district to be heard while creating new laws for Illinoisans.

"Talk to all entities that are involved in maybe that bill that you're trying to pass. You know, for the Safe-T Act, we should have had the Illinois Sheriffs at the table listening to what we were trying to do with that," Hamilton said.

Both Hamilton and Turner told WAND News they are committed to transparency and making themselves available to all voters.

Turner has been endorsed by Local 150, the AFL CIO, Planned Parenthood and the Sangamon County Democratic Party.

Hamilton is being endorsed by Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, Christian County Sheriff Bruce Kettelkamp and Macon County Sheriff Jim Root.