Dupage Policy Journal

Businesswoman Malgorzata McGonigal – one of the plaintiffs successful in overturning Gov. J.B. Pritzker's mask mandate on constitutional grounds – is challenging U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Lakeview) in the Fifth Congressional District. 

Quigley has held the seat since winning a special election in 2009 to succeed Rahm Emmanuel. 

McGonigal, running as a Republican, said Quigley has been absent from the new 5th Congressional District, which includes communities in Cook, DuPage and Lake counties, as of late.

As global conflict with Ukraine dominates the headlines, the Daily Herald recently reported that Quigley has been receiving campaign donations from defense contractors. 

"Why me, not him? Because for the past two years I've been fighting for our kids, for our people, for our rights. He's been getting donations from defense contractors in the past two years. I haven't. I've been out there. I've been talking to people. I've been talking to parents, students. He hasn't been doing that," McGonigal told DuPage Policy Journal. 

McGonigal, a Polish immigrant, said she has decided to enter the race to protect the constitutional rights of average Illinoisans.

"The amount of break-ins into businesses and damages that have been done to businesses, I haven't heard (Quigley) stepping up and doing anything about it. Well….maybe I missed something," she said sarcastically. 

The North Barrington mother of three has been active in the mask-optional movement in schools. She ran for Barrington 220 Board of Education school board last year with a strong back-to-school message. She recently took to Facebook to congratulate schools on going mask-optional after her success against Pritzker.  

"We as adults should protect our children. It shouldn't be our children protecting grown-ups," she said of the state’s school mask mandate. 

She said her upbringing in a Communist country provides fuel for the fight against Quigley. 

"When I received my naturalization and became a U.S. citizen, I promised that I would always follow the U.S. Constitution, abide by thought and protect our nation against any enemy," she said. "And now we're in a time that I really had to step up and protect our Constitution because we're very close to losing our constitutional rights." 

McGonigal said she has been fighting for children to get back into schools and advocating for policies that help those who are suffering in the state. 

She said Quigley has not addressed the concerns of those in his district affected by the pandemic. 

"Maybe I didn't pay attention, but I haven't seen one sighting of him asking for our children's schools to be open," McGonigal said. "I have not heard him fighting the crime that is happening in the city of Chicago and a district of a huge, huge part of the city of Chicago, including the Gold Coast, where crime rates have risen in the past two years."

Quigley is a high-ranking member of the Democratic caucus with plum committee positions such as the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence as well as committees serving the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and State as well as others. 

"What a very interesting person and I'm quite amazed by him and his accomplishments from 2021 to 2022," she said sarcastically. "He's a chairman of those (committees) still. Quite impressive, I would say," she said.

After redistricting, Illinois Republicans are likely to lose two seats in Congress. The New York Times described the redistricting as the "the most gerrymandered in the country."

Quigley's district was carved out to favor a Democratic candidate. 

In the last election, Quigley won with over 76 percent of the vote.