As an attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, now state Sen. Darby Hills, R-Barrington Hills, spent a lot of her time involved with cases dealing with children.
So, within six weeks of replacing former state Sen. Damn McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, after he resigned in February, she introduced her first bill that would toughen laws against people committing sex crimes against children.
“Protecting children is my passion and my purpose,” Hills said. “A person who records or livestreams a minor for a sexually material purpose will be placed on the (sexual offender) registry.”
Hills was appointed as the state senator representing the 26th Senate District on Feb. 28 in Palatine by a legislatively mandated committee to replace a sitting member of the Illinois General Assembly with a majority of the weighted vote.
The Senate’s 26th District encompasses parts of Lake, McHenry, Cook, and Kane counties, including Barrington, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Long Grove, Mundelein, North Barrington, Vernon Hills, Volo and Wauconda.
“I’m extremely honored and proud,” Hills said of her appointment. “I’m going to work hard and focus on what matters.”
Before joining the Senate, Hills was a Barrington Hills trustee. She was appointed to fill a vacant seat in 2022 and elected to the position the following year. As one of six people representing approximately 4,000 residents, Hills now has a constituency of more than 210,000 people.
Recognizing the breadth of her new job, Hills said she plans to meet the residents of her district in a variety of ways. Her local office in Lake Zurich is open during regular business hours and staffed with people to help those with needs. She is not waiting for them to walk in the door.
“I’m going to run through a lot of shoe leather,” she said. “I’m going to get out door-to-door all I can. I’m going to go where people are. I’m meeting (officials) in my district and going to events. I want to learn how I can make life better for the people I serve.”
Born in Cary, Hills said she and her siblings were raised by a single mother who worked two jobs. After graduating from high school, she spent a year at Lake Forest College on a basketball scholarship before transferring to the University of Iowa to earn a degree.
From Iowa, Hills went to Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she received her law degree and became an attorney. She joined the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office because she said it gave her the opportunity to help others.
“I liked being able to say, ‘for the people,’” she said. “You’re representing the people of the state of Illinois. You feel like you can make a difference.”
Between working as a prosecutor and doing employment law for a private firm, Hills said she also did some work in an immigration court. Helping children was and remains a continuing theme.
Along with practicing law, she founded Barrington Children’s Charities, a not-for-profit organization, which provides meals, medical assistance and social services to more than 500 children on a weekly basis, according to the Illinois General Assembly website.
With her first bill moving from the Criminal Law Committee to the Senate floor earlier this month, Hills said she is adding co-sponsors — she has 12 so far, seven Republicans and five Democrats — and trying to get enough votes to pass it.
Since introducing her first piece of legislation, Hills has partnered with colleagues Minority Leader John Curran, R-Woodridge, and Sen. Erica Harriss, R-Glen Carbon, to introduce two bills dealing with child care.
After McConchie tendered his resignation, Keith Brin, the chair of the Lake County Central Committee, convened a meeting with the GOP heads within the 26th District. The weighted votes were based on the number of Republican ballots cast in the 2022 election. Brin had more than 50%.
“She was an exciting applicant,” Brin said. “She surprised all of us on the committee in that she demonstrated she is not only well prepared, but ready to act as the senator representing the 26th District.”
