Stephanie Kifowit

Stephanie Kifowit (Democratic Party) is a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing District 84. She assumed office on January 9, 2013. Her current term ends on January 13, 2027.

Kifowit (Democratic Party) ran for election for Illinois Comptroller. She was on the ballot in the Democratic primary on March 17, 2026.^[source]

Kifowit completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Kifowit earned her B.S. in political science from Northern Illinois University, Dekalb and her M.A. in Public Administration from Northern Illinois University, Dekalb. Her professional experience includes working as substitute teacher and as a financial advisor. She served in U.S. Marine Corps.^[1]

2026 battleground election

See also: Illinois Comptroller election, 2026 (March 17, 2026 Democratic primary)

Ballotpedia identified the March 17 Democratic primary as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election here

Margaret Croke (D) defeated three other candidates in the Democratic primary for Illinois Comptroller on March 17, 2026.

Incumbent Susana Mendoza (D), who took office in 2016, did not run for re-election. The Chicago Tribune's Rick Pearson and Jeremy Gorrner wrote before the election that Mendoza's retirement "creates a statewide office opening in the already competitive 2026 election."^[2]

The state comptroller's office managed finances, pension funds, and reported on the state’s fiscal condition.^[3]

Croke was elected to the state House in 2020. She campaigned to modernize the office, and said she wanted to create a system "where anyone could see where in the life cycle public dollars are from when they are appropriated... to when the Comptroller’s Office pays the bill."^[4] Croke said her legislative experience makes her qualified: "We all have seen bills pass, and we’ve seen bills blow up, and it’s because of your relationships... I feel really confident about my ability to... steer the ship in the right direction.”^[5]

Kifowit was elected to the state House in 2012. She campaigned on creating a dedicated labor division to "conduct proactive, pre-payment audits of all Illinois labor laws, including state OSHA standards... to catch violations before taxpayer dollars go out the door."^[6] Kifowit's website said her experience as a financial advisor and in the legislature made her qualified: "[Stephanie] has reviewed the Comptroller’s budget, working with the Comptroller's office, almost every single year as a legislator, she knows this office inside and out."^[7]

Kim was elected Lake County treasurer in 2018. She campaigned to improve transparency in the office. In her response to Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, she said she supported "enforcing prevailing wage laws, strengthening public trust, and ensuring every dollar spent is documented."^[8] Kim also said her work as treasurer gave her experience, and, in her survey responses, said that she had "hands-on experience managing billions of public dollars and staff at the executive level."^[8]

Villa was elected to the state Senate in 2021. She campaigned on ensuring that the state budget helps individuals in poverty. Her website said she would "prioritize bill payments... [to ensure] healthcare, housing, mental health services and public education remain top priority."^[9] Villa also campaigned on her experience as a legislator and social worker: "A social worker who has this background, who has the understanding, who has spent all of this time in the General Assembly combing through the budget...makes the most sense."^[5]

Capitol News Illinois' Ben Szalnski wrote that the next comptroller would take office "as the state faces growing financial uncertainty."^[5] Each candidate proposed different approaches to managing state finances. Croke and Kifowit both said they wanted to increase the state's reserves.^[5] Croke also said she would consider refinancing state pension debt, while Kifowit's website focused on cutting spending that benefits corporations.^[10]^[7] Kim campaigned on improving the state's credit rating and proposed instituting a progressive state income tax.^[5] Villa supported raising revenue to fund social programs, and supported a progressive income tax and a digital advertising tax.^[5]

Stephanie Kifowit (D) and Holly Kim (D) completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. To read those survey responses, click here.

To read more about the general election, click here.

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Kifowit was assigned to the following committees:

2023-2024

Kifowit was assigned to the following committees:

Appropriations-General Service Committee, Vice Chair
Public Utilities Committee
Revenue & Finance Committee
State Government Administration Committee, Chairperson
Veterans' Affairs Committee, Chairperson

2021-2022

Kifowit was assigned to the following committees:

Appropriations-General Service Committee, Vice-Chair
Public Utilities Committee
Revenue & Finance Committee
State Government Administration Committee, Chair
Veterans' Affairs Committee, Chair

2019-2020

Kifowit was assigned to the following committees:

Appropriations-General Service Committee, Vice chair
Revenue & Finance Committee
Veterans' Affairs Committee, Chair
State Government Administration Committee, Chair
Adoption & Child Welfare Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Illinois committee assignments, 2017
• Appropriations-General Service, Vice chair
• Appropriations-Higher Education
• Business Incentives for Local Communities
• Government Transparency, Chair
• Insurance: Health & Life
• Mental Health

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Kifowit served on the following committees:

Illinois committee assignments, 2015
• Appropriations-General Service, Vice chair
• Financial Institutions
• Health Care Licenses
• Intermodal Infrastructure

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Kifowit served on the following committees:

Illinois committee assignments, 2013
• Agriculture & Conservation
• Appropriations-General Service
• Cities & Villages
• Economic Development
• Small Business Empowerment & Workforce Development

Elections

2026

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

The primary occurred on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.

General election for Illinois Comptroller

Bryan Drew is running in the general election for Illinois Comptroller on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Bryan Drew (R)

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Illinois Comptroller

Margaret Croke, Stephanie Kifowit, Holly Kim, and Karina Villa ran in the Democratic primary for Illinois Comptroller on March 17, 2026.

		Candidate
		Margaret Croke
		Stephanie Kifowit
		Holly Kim
		Karina Villa

	There are no incumbents in this race. The outcome of this election has not been called yet.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

George Danos (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Illinois Comptroller

Bryan Drew advanced from the Republican primary for Illinois Comptroller on March 17, 2026.

		Candidate
✔		Bryan Drew

	There were no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Kifowit received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

Illinois Veterans for Change