Brian Skala Brings a Tradesman’s Perspective to Illinois Senate Race (Crestwood, IL) — Before Brian Skala talks about attracting businesses to the south suburbs, he talks about a young couple buying their first home.
He pictures people in their 20s settling near their parents and grandparents, finding a house they can afford and building a life in the communities where they grew up. For the Crestwood village trustee and union plumber, that opportunity is central to the future he wants for the region.
“The first thing you want to do is get that 20-some couple that wants to live near their families, near their grandparents, near their parents where they grew up, and have a nice starter life,” Skala said.
Running as a Republican for Illinois Senate in the 14th District, Skala is bringing a perspective shaped by the trades and municipal government to his campaign. In an interview with The Chicagoland Journal, he connected the challenges facing south suburban communities to the everyday concerns of the people who live there: household costs, reliable public services and the chance to put down roots.
His answers frequently returned to a question: What will it take to make these communities places where families can afford to stay?
A member of Plumbers Local 130, Skala said his working life has put him alongside people from different backgrounds and given him an appreciation for the concerns they share. On the job, conversations over lunch often turn to taxes, legislation and decisions in Springfield.
Those discussions have helped shape his view of representation. He wants working people to feel that their experiences have a place in the decisions government makes.
“I have no intentions of being a career politician,” he said.
Skala said the Illinois Senate Republican organization approached him about running. After considering the opportunity, he decided to enter the race, bringing with him experience as a village trustee and involvement with the Illinois Municipal League dating to about 2022.
That municipal perspective runs through much of his platform. When he discusses state funding, he talks about police officers, firefighters and whether a village can afford to plow its streets. When he discusses development, he starts with homes and the residents who would support neighborhood businesses.
Infrastructure is an especially personal subject for someone whose career has involved water and sewer systems.
Skala pointed to flooding concerns in Harvey and Dixmoor as examples of problems he believes require sustained attention. He wants to push infrastructure projects forward and keep working on them after funding has been discussed or allocated.
His interest also extends to prevention. He said he is exploring how artificial intelligence and other technology could help communities anticipate problems with sewer lines, water systems and electrical infrastructure.
For Skala, maintaining those systems is part of making communities livable and protecting the investments families make in their homes
He sees municipal funding as closely connected to that work. One of his priorities is increasing the portion of state income tax revenue shared with local governments through the Local Government Distributive Fund. He supports returning that share to 10%.
Skala argues that giving municipalities more resources would strengthen basic services and help ease pressure on local taxpayers. He also wants stronger support for schools, which he sees as another part of addressing the property tax burden.
“This is where we live,” he said.
His approach to affordability includes support for tax freezes and closer scrutiny of state spending. He described government as having a responsibility to examine its costs, much as a business would when its expenses exceed its budget.
But his vision for the south suburbs reaches beyond balancing municipal books. He wants communities to retain the young people who leave for college or opportunities elsewhere.
“We’re losing our most valuable resource, which is our youth, our children,” he said.
Skala said he has been working on a program to create starter homes. He views that housing as a foundation for broader development: families establish themselves, neighborhoods gain residents and businesses have more reasons to invest.
“One person’s not bringing jobs anywhere,” he said. “You have to make the community viable.”
That outlook reflects a recurring theme in the interview. Skala speaks bluntly about what frustrates him, but he also acknowledges that changing policy requires other people to agree.
On pensions, he called for changes that communities can afford and emphasized negotiation over municipal funding obligations. On public safety, he stressed enforcement of existing laws and expressed opposition to the SAFE-T Act, while saying he would pursue compromise on changes if repeal were not achievable.
Across those issues, he returned to the importance of finding middle ground and building support among lawmakers and local officials.
He described government accountability in similar terms. A single legislator, he said, cannot change Springfield alone. Residents must remain involved, and elected officials must be willing to listen and act together.
“When I say I’m going to be their voice in Springfield, I mean it,” he said. “Illinois doesn’t belong to politicians. It belongs to people who live here, work here, raise their families here, pay their bills here.”
Brian Skala Brings a Tradesman’s Perspective to Illinois Senate Race
