HOMER GLEN, IL — Homer Glen Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike is on the Republican primary ballot as the running mate for Rick Heidner, who is running for governor.
Neitzke-Troike is listed as the lieutenant governor candidate for the Heidner campaign, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Heidner lives in Barrington Hills, and is a real estate developer and owner of a video gambling company. Neitzke-Troike has served as the Village Clerk and Village Trustee in Homer Glen, and is currently the Mayor of the Village. She was elected to the position in 2023.
Heidner owns Gold Rush Gaming, a video gaming terminal operator. The business has machines in over 700 locations across the state.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Heidner has "frequently butted heads with state gambling regulators under Pritzker’s administration." Heidner was also hit with a $5 million lien from the IRS in 2023 for past-due taxes.
The filing deadline was Monday for candidates who wish to be on the March primary ballot. Heidner joins a fairly crowded field for the Republican nomination, including:
- Darren Bailey, a former state senator and state representative who also ran against Pritzker in 2022. The Bailey campaign is on pause after the deaths of his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, who were killed Oct. 22 in a helicopter crash in Montana.
- Ted Dabrowski, of Wilmette, who runs Wirepoints.org, a conservative research publication (Carrie Mendoza for lieutenant governor)
- James Mendrick, of Woodridge, DuPage County Sheriff (Robert Renteria for lieutenant governor)
- Joseph Severino, of Lake Forest, a small business owner who ran as a write-in independent candidate in the Illinois’ 10th District race last year (Rantch Isquith for lieutenant governor)
- Max Solomon, of Hazel Crest, an attorney, who ran in the primary for election to the Illinois State Senate to represent District 19 last year (Geno Young for lieutenant governor)
- Gregg Moore, of Broadview, who has filed the paperwork to run for the position in other election cycles, even suing the Illinois State Board of Elections in 2022 after not being placed on the ballot, a lawsuit he lost.
