Illinois's 90th District: meet the candidates

John Ping, a resident of South Beloit and John Cabello, a former South Beloit police officer, are running for State Representative for the 90th District. The district encompasses Roscoe, Rockton, South Beloit, Shirland, and Machesney Park (but not Loves Park, Rockford, or Poplar Grove).

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

John Ping

Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573062908449

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

I would like to bring workers rights and protections back into the mainstream conversation. I did not get a paid vacation until I was 33. When my son was born there was no maternity or paternity leave offered to myself or his mother. I have been let go from two jobs because of errors that my supervisors had made to HR and HR did no investigation into if I was discharged for an appropriate reason.

In addition to workers rights I will be fighting for state funded universal healthcare. Increase public transportation, restrictions on housing ownership.

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

I was born in Beloit, Wi and raised in South Beloit. I am a three time high school drop out due to family issues and self esteem issues from being the targets of bullying. I graduated high school because a teacher convinced the principal and superintendent to allow me to just take the test. I was not required to do homework nor attend class; just to show up and take the test. After high school I was homeless about five times and held various jobs from bar tending, non-union factory work, construction, food service, and cleaning truck stop bathrooms. In 2006 I enrolled for my first semester of college. I had to leave due to lack of funds. In 2009 I reenrolled thanks to the Pell Grant. I eventually obtained two associate degrees at RVC. I enrolled at NIU in 2012. I had to leave due to becoming the primary caregiver of a small child. I reenrolled in 2016 and ultimately obtained my master’s degree in Public Health in 2023.

What I bring to the table is life experiences in the art of struggling. I know what it is like to be the average person struggling to get by. I also bring a master’s degree in a field of science whose mission is to do the maximum amount of good for the population. Public health is about making sure that the population is healthy and happy. Part of what the field does is use science to advocate our leaders for change that will improve the quality of life of the populace. A lot of politicians don’t know what it is like to be a regular person. I know what it’s like to need social safety nets to survive. Thus my final offering is my willingness to fight for the average person with the same determination that I did for myself to obtain my degrees.

Q. Why did you decide to run?

Well, when I was nine my mother gave me a college prep book. It was about 1600 pages and it covered everything a college freshman should know. That was my favorite book for about 7 years. The first few chapters of that book was about the formation of our nation. I use to dream of being the President and thus one of the reasons I worked so hard to get my education was because I thought maybe I could be a Congressman because the odds of being the President are pretty narrow.

Anyways, the current 90th district representative called for Governor Pritzker to resign because he called the Republican Party Nazis. I wrote the representative an essay outlining how the current Trump administration’s policies resemble the polices the Nazis uses in their rise and consolidation of power in the 1930’s. I explained how they are socially engineering the population in the same way the Nazis did. I touched on how a lot of the projects proposed in Project 2025 are similar to some of the projects the Nazis did before they started executing people. I also included how the current administration is working with the AfD in Germany and that the AfD is about as legal as a Nazi Party one can get in Germany, as well as as how the AfD is working with extremist organizations that are preparing for race wars in other European nations. And I asked him to reconsider his stance because comparing the Republicans to Nazis is not political, it’s academic. John Cabello told me he would respond shortly. He then blocked me on all social media. I called him, I threatened him with a lawsuit if he did not unblock me, and I gave him the law and the evidence I would use to win my case. He unblocked and then posted a picture of himself standing with Kristi Noem after it came out she doesn’t think Americans should have due process. This was frightening to me because John Cabello is a former police officer. This said to me that he wanted unchecked power.

I then reflected on my decision to run. My family came to this nation in 1740. During the Revolutionary War two family members fought, John Ping Sr and John Ping Jr. They were captains of their own ships and every war since then a Ping has fought in to preserve our nation. I don’t think I would be honoring my ancestors and this nation if I sat back and let a guy who turns a blind eye and cheers for the people who are trying to destroy our democracy.

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

Unlike my opponent I care about our nation and the constitution and the values that we as a nation hold dearly. But I am different and people should vote for me because I come from the lowest place in society. I flipped burgers, cleaned toilets. I know what it is like to have your pay not grow enough to keep up with inflation, what it’s like to dig yourself by the bootstraps. And I am tired of a society that punishes people for being poor. Shoot, I live in a trailer that I rebuilt for my childhood babysitter who eventually lost the place because of drug addiction. People who come from where I come from rarely attempt to rise above and chase their dreams. I know what it’s like to not have something handed to you and what’s it’s like being ridiculed for needing help. My opponent was raised in a union home and worked a union job his whole life, and now seeks to end unions so that more people are stuck in the dead end jobs that don’t pay you enough to live.

Also my education. Most politicians are lawyers, real estate agents, or some type of business owner. Very few are scientists and none of them have my knowledge and educational background in a field that is dedicated to serving and uplifting communities.

Q. Is there anything you agree with Donald Trump about? Is there anything you disagree with Gov. Pritziker about?

I don’t think there is anything I currently agree with Trump about. I recognized Trump and his authoritarian tendencies back in 2015. I spent a decade trying to convince people that this guy was dangerous because of what he is saying and doing... Throughout the last hundred years people have observed violent and authoritarian movements using the same language, imagery, and policies. Further the guy is committing crimes left and right.

I think Pritzker is doing an okay job. I don’t like that we might be losing the Bears.

John Cabello

Website: https://repcabello.com/

Cabello did not respond to our emailed questions, but his website provides information about him.

About

State Representative John Cabello (R-Machesney Park) was appointed to fill a vacancy in the 68^th District and sworn into office in August of 2012. He was then elected to that seat in November of 2012 and re-elected in 2014, 2016 and 2018.  

In 2022, John was elected State Representative for the new 90th District which starts in Boone County and cuts across the top of Winnebago County out to Stephenson County and Freeport.

Originally from Texas, John and his family moved to Machesney Park when he was a young child. He is a graduate of Harlem High School in Machesney Park. He was also a member of the acclaimed Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps.

John began serving his community after graduation from the police academy by becoming a police officer for South Beloit. He later worked for the Rockford Police Department and in a short period of time, he became a detective. John has served nearly three decades as a police officer and is currently on the roster of the Rockford Police Department.

Representative Cabello previously served on Appropriations-Capital; Appropriations-Public Safety (Republican Spokesperson); Transportation: Regulation, Roads; Labor & Commerce; Judiciary – Criminal committees. His expertise in law enforcement was utilized during his terms in office and was especially needed during the riots and the rise of the anti-police movement.

John has been elected, and served, as a Harlem Township Trustee and a Winnebago County Board member for District 8. In those positions, he declined to pay and benefits further demonstrating his commitment to public service. He resides in Machesney Park.

John is a conservative Republican who has opposed the tax and fee increases and believes that government should live within its means. In Illinois, state policies and taxation have driven people and businesses out leaving the remaining to pay the bills for the state spending. John is going back to Springfield to fight for the principles that will make our state great again.