Edgardo “Eddie” Perez, a U.S. Air Force veteran who currently works at the Kane County Sheriff’s Office, announced Monday that in the 2026 general election he will be running as a Republican for Illinois State Senate in the 42nd District.
State Senate District 42 covers a large chuck of Aurora as well as parts of other towns along the Fox River from St. Charles to Yorkville. Currently serving as the state senator for the district is Linda Holmes, a Democrat who has held the seat since she was first elected in 2006.
A news release from the Senate Republican Victory Fund that announced Perez’s candidacy said he vows to be a “strong voice for public safety, children and families, and holding the line on taxes.”
Fighting tax hikes and pushing for financial relief will be among Perez’s top priorities if elected, the news release said. Those priorities and others will be centered around helping families who are struggling to keep up with rising costs, he said in the release.
“As a father, veteran and lifelong public servant, I’ve seen how high taxes and out-of-touch policies are making it harder for families to get ahead,” Perez said in the news release. “I know what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck, and I’m running to put families first and fight for real relief that makes life more affordable.”
Perez has served in a variety of roles in different organizations across his 30-year career in law enforcement, including as an undercover narcotics officer with the FBI’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, an inspector with the Illinois State Police’s North Central Narcotics Task Force, a DEA consultant, and a commander with the Batavia Police Department, where he worked before retiring in 2016, according to the news release.
Currently, Perez serves as the defensive tactics coordinator for the Kane County Sheriff’s Tactical Operations Division.
Outside of his career in law enforcement, Perez founded a martial arts school focused on training both children and adults in self-defense, created the Martial Arts Gang Intervention Club to offer martial arts training to at-risk youth and, in 2015, launched Kicking for Heroes, later renamed Kicking for Kids, which is a fundraising initiative that has raised over $46,300 for children in need, according to the release.
Perez is a lifelong resident of Illinois and currently lives in state Senate District 42 with his wife and two children.
According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, candidates seeking nomination in the 2026 general primary election can begin circulating petitions on Aug. 5 and must file nominating documents between Oct. 27 and Nov. 3.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com