Will County Gazette

Philip Nagel from Braidwood has announced his candidacy for the 40th District Senate seat.

“The reason I am running is because I am a parent,” he said. “As a parent, I want to provide a better future for my grandchildren down the road into our future. We cannot afford to mortgage our mistakes and financial problems onto our children’s backs.”

The 40th District Includes Chicago Heights, Park Forest, Steger, Crete, University Park, Monee, Kankakee, Bourbonnais, Bradley, Essex, Herscher, Braidwood, Wilmington and Manhattan.

The Republican candidate sees problems in the schools.

"Our kids are being taught sex education in school as babies while being forced to wear masks and suffering from school shutdowns and Isolations. Our children and their future have now become social experiments in the eyes of our elected leaders,” he said. “Let them be kids again and have their innocence back.”

The seat is currently held by Sen. Patrick Joyce (D).

His political portfolio includes House Bill 4149.

“Last Year in 2021 I wrote the Parental Medical Choice Act HB4149, which I worked with Rep. Welter (R-Morris) to file in the house,” Nagel said. “This would remove the governor’s powers under any circumstance to mandate any medical treatment or service whether it be K-12 or higher education on any of our children. However, the Democrats made sure this bill never saw the light of day.

“Which is a shame because I believe the most sacred bond in the world is between a mother, father and their child. The government has no right to interject itself into a family's personal decisions for their child,” he said.

He answered the call of service before seeking to get elected.

“I was a firefighter, EMT, hazmat and rescue technician for eight years,” Nagel said.

He was an F-16 Fighter jet crew chief during his service in the Air Force and is currently employed in the chemical manufacturing/energy sector.

“I was married to my wife of 18 years while stationed at a Hill Air Force Base in Utah, and have 2 sons, Gabriel and Elijah,” Nagel told the Will County Gazette. “My wife’s dad was from Chihuahua, Mexica. Gabriel was 3 when my wife and I met and I adopted him shortly after my wife and I were married.

“My youngest, Elijah, was accepted into the Illinois Math and Science Academy, and after his high school sophomore year was accepted into college at the age of 16. He is working toward a degree in astrophysics with plans to transfer to the Florida Institute of Technology in the fall.”