Dupage Policy Journal

Attorney Ajay Gupta has officially announced his candidacy for Illinois House District 41, setting his sights on unseating incumbent State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr (D-Naperville) in 2026. 

With a résumé that includes degrees from Harvard, Yale, Stanford and NYU, Gupta, who also serves as an adjunct law professor, is entering the race with both a formidable academic pedigree and pointed criticisms of Illinois' political direction.

But Gupta’s campaign is focused less on his résumé and more on what he calls the “dangerous slide” Illinois is experiencing under Democratic leadership.

“I am running to try to bring some check on uncontrolled tax and spend policies, some check on what I see as a dangerous slide to lax crime policies, and to move or at least start the process for some sort of structural pension reform, because that is the huge elephant in the room,” Gupta told the DuPage Policy Journal. “Illinois is drifting toward the California model of one-party control, and the consequences are mounting.”

Gupta noted that while about 55 percent of voters identify as Democrats or vote for them, the party controls 66 percent of the seats in the Illinois House and has maintained a supermajority. He stressed the need for balanced governance to prevent Illinois from following a problematic path.

“I am running to voice what I believe is a fairly widely held opinion across the state, that we don't want to become a California,” he said. “Unless there is healthy opposition in the legislature, that voice cannot be effectively heard.”

Gupta, a tax and white-collar defense attorney with Moore Tax Law Group, emphasized his legal and economic credentials. 

"I'm an immigrant. I came to the country in 1988 as a student,” he said. “I became a permanent resident in 1996 and a citizen in 2002. I'm an attorney by training. I have a business degree from Yale in finance and a graduate degree in economics from Stanford. I have done some financial economics consulting, but I practice law, which I still do. My specialization is tax law, and I also handle some white-collar defense."

Gupta is critical of his opponent, Rep. Janet Yang Rohr (D-Naperville), who has held the seat since 2021 after unseating Republican Grant Wehrli in 2020. She won re-election in 2022 and ran unopposed in 2024.

“[Yang Rohr] has gone along with the party, toed the party line, and acquiesced in the growth of spending,” he said. “Spending continues to far outpace inflation, even as people flee the state, which means per capita spending is ballooning. There has been no effort to reform pensions, which remain severely unfunded. It continues to be a case of kicking the can down the road.” 

Yang Rohr, a financial executive at Morningstar, ran for the Illinois House in 2020 with backing from Speaker Michael Madigan, who is set to report to prison in October to serve time for bribery. Her platform included support for a $3,000 per household income tax increase to address “income inequality.” She also supported an Illinois “Green New Deal” that would ban gasoline-powered cars and natural gas appliances.

Critics argue that her campaign reflects a growing embrace of socialism among suburban Democrats, warning that such policies could burden middle-class families, drive up costs and erode personal freedoms.

Gupta criticized Democrats, including Yang Rohr, for policies that, in his view, contribute to Illinois’ population decline and shrinking tax base.

“The state is losing people, and along with that, it is losing income,” Gupta said. “As people flee, taking their money with them, the state loses tax revenue and employment potential, which means taxes have to continue rising for the rest of us.” 

Gupta also sharply criticized the Safe-T Act, which eliminated cash bail for most offenses. 

“People who have been picked up for one offense (are) released pending trial and are likely to offend again,” he said.  

The SAFE-T Act, signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2021 making Illinois the first state to end cash bail for criminals statewide. 

The Illinois House Republican Caucus has steadfastly called for the repeal of the SAFE-T Act, arguing it endangers public safety by eliminating cash bail. They claim the law undermines law enforcement and increases risks to communities across Illinois. The Illinois Supreme Court upheld the law’s cash bail elimination in 2023. 

Gupta called for reform of the SAFE-T Act before it is too late. 

“Out in the suburbs, we delude ourselves into thinking we are immune from all this,” he said. “It's only a matter of time before we start facing the consequences that Cook County seems to be facing.”

Gupta believes the state’s political imbalance—Democrats hold a supermajority in Springfield—is harming the democratic process. 

“In 55 districts, there was not even a challenger to the incumbent Democrats, which was the case in my district as well,” he said. “So, I am running to voice what I believe is a fairly widely held opinion across the state—that we don't want to become a California. Unless there is healthy opposition in the legislature, that voice cannot be effectively heard.”

With around 75,000 registered voters in District 41, Gupta estimates that 18,000 are Republican or right-leaning. His goal is to turn out at least 12,000 of them while winning over another 10,000 independents.

Gupta acknowledged “it’s not an easy task” to unseat an incumbent in a heavily gerrymandered district, but noted he feels with the right messaging he stands a puncher’s chance. 

“I am going to drive home the message that we just cannot keep going down this path,” he said. “People leave. Spending keeps increasing. We have to keep raising taxes on everyone else. We also cannot keep going down this path of keeping our eyes closed to the unfunded pension nightmare. At some point, something has to be done about it. There's $144 billion in unfunded pension obligations.”

Gupta’s run is part of a broader effort led by newly elected DuPage GOP Chairman Kevin Coyne, who has vowed to contest every state House seat touching DuPage County in 2026. 

Coyne has cited recent municipal election losses as a wake-up call and is focused on boosting vote-by-mail turnout, improving messaging, and building a deeper bench of candidates.

Illinois House District 41 is composed of approximately three-fourths of DuPage County and about one-fourth of Will County. The district includes the cities of Naperville, Warrenville and a small portion of Bolingbrook.

The primary election is set for March 17, 2026 with the general election to be held on Nov. 3, 2026.