The 42nd district stretched from Montgomery in the south to St. Charles in the north and included all or parts of Batavia, Geneva, and Aurora, Illinois.
[4][5] In what local media noted was a competitive race, Schmitz won the Republican primary against Patrick Jaeger, the Geneva Township Supervisor, Jim Pilmer, a trustee for Waubonsee Community College, and novice candidate Ravi Singh.
[6] In the 1998 general election, Schmitz defeated Democratic candidate and West Aurora School Board member Juan Thomas.
[7] After the 2001 decennial redistricting process, Schmitz's district was shifted northward with its southern end in Batavia stretching northward to include Geneva, St. Charles, South Elgin, Elgin, Hampshire, Burlington, Huntly, Algonquin, Carpentersville, Gilberts, Sleepy Hollow, and Pingree Grove and renumbered the 49th district.
[3][13] After his time in the Illinois House of Representatives, Schmitz took a position with the governmental affairs team at the International Code Council.