Danielle Penman, a Republican candidate for Illinois Senate District 33, said she is running to bring her health care background and policy priorities on education, state spending and public safety to Springfield in the March 17 primary election.
Penman, a nurse with 28 years of experience and nearly a decade of involvement in local Republican politics, serves as an assistant precinct committeeman for the Kane County GOP.
She has been an election judge, worked on fundraising committees, canvassed for candidates, circulated petitions, donated monthly as a Patriot member of the Kane County GOP and volunteered in community efforts such as food drives.
“We’ve become so polarized and divided because of politics,” Penman told the Kane County Reporter. “It needs to stop. Elected officials need to take their oath of office and put the people first. That is what I want to do. I am a Republican running to make a difference, to keep our seat, and to have a voice down in Springfield. My primary job is to represent the constituents of the district, and that is what I am going to do.”
Penman said she entered the race to provide representation and fiscal oversight in the General Assembly.
“We need better representation,” Penman said. “We need people who are willing to step forward and not be the yes-man or yes-woman to the establishment. The constituents in the district deserve to be heard and well represented, and I want to make sure that happens. I feel I am the candidate who will do that for them.”
“Knowing the seat was open, I thought it was an elected position where I can make a difference, and as a healthcare professional, I can lend a different perspective and lens down in Springfield since there has never been a nurse elected to the House or Senate,” she said.
Penman cited opposition to COVID-19 policies as a factor in her decision to run.
“I advocated tremendously as a healthcare professional, putting myself out there against the lockdowns and the shutdowns of our school for our kids,” Penman said.
She criticized school closures and mask mandates during the pandemic and said she worked to reverse them.
“The masking was ridiculous, and we fought to get the masks off,” Penman said. “We just weren’t following good science. The fact that some of the recommendations, I don’t know where they came from or where they were coming from.”
“I’m very data-driven, evidence-based,” she said.
Some Illinois schools remained closed for more than a year during the pandemic, and students in many districts were required to wear masks after returning to in-person instruction.
“We were one of the first school districts in the state (to reopen),” Penman said. “We got the media involved and rallied to get our schools reopened because it was not healthy for our students physically, mentally, socially or emotionally.”
A mother of two sons, ages 22 and 15, Penman said her family’s experiences during COVID, including her older son missing key milestones, shaped her advocacy.
“He missed out on a lot of normalcy, prom, homecomings and sports,” she said. “It was really detrimental. That was a key education time and experiences in his life that he’ll never get back. That has impacted him and will forever be something. I know he’s not the only one. There are other people and kids who lost out on opportunities.”
Penman added that while the Covid pandemic exposed problems in healthcare policy, even deeper systemic challenges exist in Illinois. She expressed concern about statewide healthcare access, citing hospital and service line closures, “healthcare deserts,” and patients forced to travel long distances and wait months for care.
“Nobody’s talking about the health care crisis in Illinois,” she said.
On education, Penman said academic standards should be strengthened.
“We’re failing our kids and lowering the standards in the state is not fixing the problem,” she said. “It’s exacerbating it because now you look like, ‘oh, you’re doing better.’ No, we’re not. We just shifted the goalpost.”
Penman said she supports school choice.
“Parents should have the option of putting their children in the best quality education they feel is best for the kids,” she said.
She said the state should expand trade and vocational pathways for students who do not pursue college.
Penman identified taxes, cost of living, crime and economic growth as key issues in the race.
“What can we do in Illinois to make it better for the residents of Illinois?” Penman said.
“None of us wanna pay $12 for eggs,” she said. “Nobody wants to pay $6 for a gallon of gas.”
She said affordability affects younger residents and called for changes in leadership priorities.
“We gotta put the egos aside, the power aside and put the people first,” Penman said.
Her fiscal platform includes reducing unfunded mandates and calling for a comprehensive audit of state finances.
“We need a fiscal audit,” she said. “We have no accountability to where our money is going. And we need accountability. The taxpayers of Illinois are owed it.”
Penman’s comments come as Gov. J.B. Pritzker has proposed a $56 billion budget for fiscal year 2027, the largest in Illinois history, which relies on $700 million in new revenue from tax hikes and redirected funds.
In 2025, members of the Illinois Freedom Caucus alleged that more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds had been misused through fraud, abuse and politically connected spending.
“Why would you be concerned about having an audit? Because there is wasteful spending,” Penman said. “And there is fraud. There is fraud, it’s everywhere.”
Penman said she supports law enforcement and noted she was endorsed by the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police.
“I support law enforcement. It’s a shame that we have so many open positions across the state of Illinois because nobody wants to go into law enforcement due to the toxic treatment they face,” she said.
On voter outreach, Penman said she focuses on hearing from constituents.
“I have a platform, obviously I have issues and things, but really it is talking to them and letting them know I have important things, but what’s important to you?” she said. “Because I’m going to be serving you down in Springfield, and so many people appreciate that.”
“At the end of the day, when elected, I will represent the district and all its constituents,” she said.
Penman said she decided independently to run for the seat.
“I was not asked to run,” she said. “I chose to run.”
“I want to make it very clear that I chose to run as a service, because that is what this is meant to be as an elected official for your community,” Penman said. “I’m ready to serve and to breathe a new, louder voice down in Springfield.”
Penman launched her campaign after state Sen. Don DeWitte, R-St. Charles, announced he would not seek re-election.
She said she was disappointed that DeWitte later supported her primary opponent and criticized what she described as efforts by Senate leadership to block her candidacy.
“The fact that the establishment down in Springfield are doing and making efforts to prevent me from getting elected tells me even more so that I need to be down in Springfield,” Penman said.
Penman faces Jessica Breugelmans in the March 17 Republican primary for Illinois Senate District 33. The winner will face Democrat Michele Clark in the November general election.
The race has included discussion of Breugelmans’ past involvement in Democratic campaigns, including serving as chair of Democrat Ron Hain’s 2026 re-election campaign for sheriff and making financial contributions to Democratic candidates.
Longtime GOP volunteer Shannon Sullivan has questioned Breugelmans’ Republican credentials.
“Breugelmans is the current chair of a Democratic campaign,” Sullivan previously told the Kane County Reporter. “She has donated thousands of dollars to Democrats and helped Democrat Amy Johnson launch her campaign. She has not voted in the last four Republican primaries, whereas Penman has voted in the last four GOP primaries and attended the 2024 RNC.”
“In my opinion, this is the establishment insiders trying to prevent a real Republican from becoming the nominee,” Sullivan said. “They have endless money and have launched major false attack ads.”
Senate District 33 includes parts of Kane and McHenry counties, including all or portions of Crystal Lake, Lake in the Hills, Lily Lake, Campton Hills, Wayne, Geneva and St. Charles.
