OPINION: Eight Schools. One Purpose. Elevating the 8th District. 

By the time I graduated high school, I had attended eight different schools.

Eight schools means constantly being the new student. It means adjusting to new teachers, new classmates, and new neighborhoods while trying to stay focused academically. It means understanding, at a young age, what instability feels like.

For my family, those moves were tied to homelessness and housing insecurity. For me, they became lessons in resilience and a deep understanding of how critical stability is to a child’s future.

Today, I am running to represent the 8th District, and I cannot ignore the symbolism.

Eight schools taught me how instability shapes opportunity. The 8th District deserves leadership focused on building stability and delivering real results.

My name is Shantel Franklin. I was raised on Chicago’s West Side, and my path into public service was shaped by lived experience. I saw firsthand how policy decisions affect whether families have stable housing, access to education, and a fair chance to succeed.

Education became my foundation. I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and later a Master’s degree in Public Affairs from Indiana University. I chose that path intentionally because I wanted to understand how policy works and how to make it more responsive to the communities it serves.

Growing up, I also witnessed another cycle of instability that continues to affect families across our district. I saw individuals return home determined to rebuild their lives, only to face barriers to employment and opportunity. Too often, the lack of pathways led them back into the system. Those experiences strengthened my commitment to expanding housing stability, economic opportunity, and pathways to long-term success.

If we want safer communities, we must reduce recidivism by expanding workforce development, education access, and reentry programs that provide real second chances. Stability is built when people have opportunity and returning citizens can work, contribute, and support their families.

The 8th District stretches from Austin to Countryside. While our neighborhoods may look different, families across the district want the same fundamental things: safe streets, strong schools, affordable housing, and economic opportunity.

Regardless of zip code, no parent wants their child switching schools repeatedly because housing isn’t secure. No small business owner wants to feel unsupported. No returning citizen wants to find every door closed.

Stability should not depend on which side of the district you live on. It should be the foundation of the entire 8th District.

I have spent my career working in public policy, including serving in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, where I worked alongside lawmakers to protect consumers, support victims of violent crime, and strengthen protections for working families. I am also a licensed realtor, a small landlord, a block club president, and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., an organization rooted in public service and sisterhood. My involvement reflects my belief that leadership is not about title. Leadership is about commitment to community uplift.

Through each of these roles, I see how state policy intersects with everyday life — from housing affordability to consumer protection to neighborhood development. I understand how policy moves from idea to law, and how those decisions affect families at the kitchen table.

Elevating the 8th District means putting people over politics. It means creating long-term stability across every community, urban and suburban alike. It means responsible housing policies that keep families in their homes. It means economic pathways that help people rebuild and thrive. It means leadership grounded in lived experience and ready to deliver results.

Eight schools shaped my understanding of instability.

The 8th District shapes my commitment to stability.

My story is not simply about overcoming adversity. It is about turning experience into action and ensuring that the next generation growing up in this district has fewer disruptions and more opportunities.

From eight schools to the 8th District, one lesson remains clear:

Stability changes lives.

I am ready to serve and ready to deliver stability and opportunity for every family in the 8th District. 

— Shantel Franklin, candidate for 8th District state representative