Max Solomon, a Republican attorney, is running for Illinois Treasurer in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. Solomon, who immigrated to the United States from Lagos, Nigeria, in 1992, said he is seeking the office "to reduce the heavy tax burden by bringing fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability to elective office."
Solomon said he arrived in the country with $40 and became a U.S. citizen, attorney and adjunct professor. He describes himself as a "Christian Conservative Republican who believes in lower taxes, cutting fraudulent and wasteful spending, smaller government."
Candidate information
Party: Republican
Office sought: Illinois Treasurer
Education: Associate's degree in political science, South Suburban College; bachelor's in political science with a minor in religious studies, DePaul University; master's in theology, Valparaiso University; J.D., Valparaiso University School of Law
Occupation: Attorney
Endorsement: Madison County GOP
Experience and public service
Solomon listed the following experience in his questionnaire responses:
- Attorney at law
- Adjunct professor at South Suburban College
- Committeeman, Bremen Township Republican Party (former)
- Trustee, Grande Prairie Public Library (former)
Asked what qualifies him for the role, Solomon said in his questionnaire response: "I immigrated legally to the United States with only $40. With God's grace, hard work, and education, I became a US citizen, an attorney, and an adjunct professor of political science and law."
On the issues
The following positions are drawn from Solomon's questionnaire responses and his campaign website.
State spending and investment: Solomon said he would focus on fraud investigations and work to eliminate wasteful spending. "Illinois does not have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem," he said in his questionnaire response. He has called for modernizing the state's investment strategy and directing state deposits to community banks and credit unions across all 102 Illinois counties.
Transparency: Solomon's campaign platform calls for a real-time public dashboard so taxpayers can track every dollar invested by the treasurer's office.
Taxes: Solomon supports tax cuts, a property tax freeze, a flat-rate income and business tax, and a balanced budget. He said the changes he would bring to the office "will pay off for the taxpayers when our income becomes higher than our expenditure without raising taxes."
Education savings: Solomon said he would strengthen the Bright Start and Bright Directions college savings programs. The goal is to make higher education more attainable for Illinois families.
Other positions: Solomon's campaign website also lists positions on issues outside the treasurer's office, including support for school choice, opposition to abortion and support for national and border security.
The general election is Nov. 3, 2026.
