Naperville Park Board Commissioner Rich Janor will be the Republican candidate facing off against incumbent Democrat Janet Yang Rohr, of Naperville, in the 41st District state representative election in November.
DuPage County Republican Party Chairman James Zay selected Janor to replace Jennifer Bruzan Taylor, a Naperville City Council member who withdrew from the ballot for family reasons. Zay was allowed to make the pick because more of the 41st District is located in DuPage County than in Will.
“High taxes, out-of-control crime and increasing cost of living are driving families and jobs out of Illinois,” Janor said about his plan to run.
Speaking in a news release, he said he’s running to restore commonsense leadership, strengthen the economy and ensure Illinois is a safe, affordable place to live. His top priorities are improving public safety with proper funding to first responders, lowering property taxes and supporting local control.
First elected a commissioner to the Naperville Park Board in 2011, Janor was reelected in 2015 and 2019 and has served as board president three times.
Before replacing Taylor on the 41st District ticket, Janor was a Republican candidate for the DuPage County Board. He said he plans to remove his name from the county ballot.
In the June 28 primary, Janor received the second highest vote total among the three Republican candidates running unopposed.
He received 5,098 votes while Patricia “Patty” Gustin garnered 5,445 and Janice Anderson collected 4,121.
Janor was an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention for President Donald Trump in 2020 and headed Trump’s campaign in Naperville in 2016.
Janor has worked as a head baseball coach at Montini Catholic High School in Lombard and St. Francis High School in Wheaton and is a small-business owner.
A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Janor lives in Naperville with his wife and three school-aged children.
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