Illinois Senate 45th District: meet the candidates

Joshua Atkinson, Andrew Chesney, and Joe Berning are running for Illinois Senate 45th District. The district encompasses Roscoe, Rockton, and South Beloit (but not Rockford or Belvidere). It extends west to the Mississippi River and includes Freeport, Oregon, Genoa, and Galena. 

Andrew Chesney appears as the only candidate on your Republican primary ballot, but Joshua Atkinson is also running, as an official write-in. Write-in votes are not counted for unofficial candidates (such as Mickey Mouse), but they are for official candidates.

As is our custom, Rockton-Roscoe News emailed several questions to each candidate. We traditionally list the challengers before the incumbents.

Joshua Atkinson

Website: https://www.atkinsonforsenate.com/

Atkinson did not respond to our emailed questions, but his website provides information about him. Because of a petition challenge, he does not appear on the Republican primary ballot but his name can be written in.

About Josh

Joshua T. Atkinson was born in the Midwest and raised by his hardworking, middle-class grandparents who adopted him at a young age. They didn’t put a silver spoon in his mouth—but they filled him with discipline, integrity, a strong work ethic, and the courage to stand up for what’s right.

He’s a proud product of public schools as well as private and military institutions. Benefiting from a well-rounded education, Joshua studied and traveled abroad—gaining global perspective on leadership, culture, and community. After college, he was called to the U.S. Navy, serving overseas, studying languages, and standing watch in defense of our country.

When his military service ended, Joshua took those same values into the business world. He managed operations across the country, from major cities to rural communities, seeing firsthand what drives economic growth—and what happens when leadership fails. Later, he transitioned from profit to purpose, serving 10 years as Vice President of a Chamber of Commerce, helping business owners, towns, and families move forward.

In 2021, Joshua and his fiancée, Michal Urban, moved to Freeport, Illinois. They bought a historic home and chose a simpler life—rooted in community, heritage, and hope.

“I didn’t come to Freeport looking for a fight. But I found one worth taking on.” – Joshua T. Atkinson

What Joshua discovered was a city—and a region—stuck in place. Not because of bad luck, but because of intentional decisions made by the powerful few. Infrastructure crumbling. Jobs disappearing. Housing neglected. Families divided. A district kept small so the connected can stay big.

Joshua T. Atkinson has accepted the call to step up and go toe to toe by primarying MAGA Loyalist Andrew Chesney—a career politician who inherited power, leveraged daddy’s money, and built a network of insiders to keep the machine running for themselves. While District 45 struggles, Chesney chases cameras, rewards friends, and grandstands in Springfield like it’s a high school debate club.

“Andy is not delivering results. He’s delivering favors. And he’s made a joke out of what public service is supposed to be.” – Joshua T. Atkinson

Joshua isn’t just running against something—he’s running for something. He believes in:

• Investing in local infrastructure and modernizing rural roads, safe water systems, and broadband.
• Expanding trade education and career opportunities for working-class youth.
• Cutting red tape to help small businesses thrive and stay local.
• Defending parental rights, protecting farms, and keeping taxes low.
• Ensuring law enforcement has the tools and support they needed to serve and protect.
• Defending constitutional freedoms and stopping government overreach at every level.
• Holding elected officials accountable and restoring integrity to Springfield.

Joshua T. Atkinson is not a politician. He’s a veteran, a business leader, and a man who knows what transparency, accountability, and integrity look like. He’s here to continue to serve—not to play games. He’s stepping up to protect and fight for every person who calls the 45th District home.

It starts with ending the culture of political protection and pay-to-play politics.
It starts with giving power back to the people—not Chesney’s friends, donors, and family.
It starts with firing Andrew Chesney—and rebuilding District 45 with leadership that listens.

Andrew Chesney

Website: https://chesneyforillinois.com/

Chesney did not respond to our emailed questions, but his website provides information about him. He appears on the Republican primary ballot.

About Andrew

As a lifelong Northwest Illinois resident, I am privileged to serve as your State Senator. I was raised on the same conservative values I now fight for at the State Capitol. With every vote taken, I want to ensure that the opportunities I have been afforded in this part of Illinois are available for generations to come.

It has been my honor to serve the people of this region, first as the State Representative for the 89th District from 2018 to 2023 and now as the Senator of the 45th District since my election to the upper chamber in November of 2022.

Whether it is fighting for your Second Amendment rights, parental rights, job creation, or a robust law enforcement system, I work hard to make sure my constituents have a voice in the Illinois Legislature. I am your advocate now and will always be a voice for you when it comes to addressing issues that are important to you.

My voting record is clear when it comes to standing up to the liberal agenda of legislative Democrats. I voted against the SAFE-T Act, the so-called “assault weapons” ban, and many other bills that whittle away at our constitutional freedoms. I also voted against ending cash bail, against bills that strip our law enforcement of their ability to do their jobs effectively, against allowing biological males in girls’ bathrooms and vice versa, and against efforts to strip local control away from our communities and counties.

Make no mistake. Our traditional family values and belief in fiscal responsibility are under attack, and you need a strong voice in Springfield to stand up for the values and freedoms we hold dear. Through my previous service as a Freeport Alderman, which taught me how much state laws affect local governments, and the last six years in the State Legislature, I have developed a reputation as a fiscal hawk and protector of personal freedoms. I will always oppose measures that silence local voices and diminish your right to live your life, raise your family, or run your business the way you see fit.

In 2013, I was blessed to marry my wife, Kelly. Today, we live in Freeport with our two dogs, Hector and Rufus. Together, we have one adult son, Nicholas. I was raised in Shannon, Illinois, and am a proud graduate of Eastland High School. In 2004, I graduated cum laude from Arizona State University with a degree in Communication.

As your State Senator, I hope to meet with you personally to hear your thoughts on how we can bring about much-needed reform in our state government.

Joe Berning

Website: https://www.berningforillinois.com/

Q: What do you hope to accomplish in this office in the future?

There are several goals I hope to accomplish as senator for District 45 here in Northwestern Illinois.
I think it is safe to say that I plan to be a catalyst in (re-starting) legislation to see our state adopt a fair and progressive tax system, without which, other important goals will not be achievable.
I want to bring money into this district that can be used to expand the quantity and quality of nursing home care, care for our veterans, and public health care in general.
I also have a goal to make it easier to pass family farms on to next generations, specifically by reducing the amount of death taxes currently being paid.

Q: Tell us about your background and accomplishments that you bring to the table.

I have a very diverse background of first, growing up and working on the family farm with six siblings, and then, at age 24, moving on to work for 45 years in sales, including marketing and management with several fortune 500 companies, and most recently my own consulting business for about seven years.
Through continuing education with those companies, and my own self-education, I was able to put a good work ethic to use in order to achieve some important sales and personal family goals. My wife and I have been married for more than 45 years and are very proud of our three children, their three spouses, and our eleven grandchildren. I truly feel that all of my life experiences in the "people business" gives me an advantage in being a senator that will listen to and do my best to meet the needs of our district.

Q: Why did you decide to run?

Which brings me to the biggest reason I decided to run for this office; Senator Chesney, who is the incumbent, has a very bad habit of not communicating with the constituents of District 45, unless he knows they are in total lockstep with him. Unfortunately, he seems to be proud of the fact that he is in total lockstep with everything today's federal regime does, even to the point of just recently ordering and promoting ICE hats. This is not acceptable behavior at a time when more than 70% of all Americans want ICE to be defunded or discontinued, and it does nothing to help the voters who pay his salary.
I intend to spend my time doing whatever I can to help our friends and neighbors right here in northwestern Illinois. When I am in Springfield, I will work with both Democrats and Republicans to get results that can help all of us.

Q: Why should people in far northern Winnebago County vote for you? How are you different from other candidates?

I think the people living in northern Winnebago County should vote for me, not just for the reasons described above, but also because I am a candidate that genuinely cares about the people whom I serve.
I think a big part of what makes me different from other candidates is that I grew up in and am continually educated in a faith and schooling system that firmly believes we are on this earth to serve one another. It helps that I have always loved and appreciated the beauty of northwestern Illinois, and have come to appreciate it all even more in this past year, as I visit wonderful, like-minded folks in beautiful towns, like Rockton, Roscoe, South Beloit, and more.
I certainly appreciate votes in this primary election, and hope that everyone will watch and follow my campaign from now until November, where the opportunity to make me your next senator can become a