Over the weeks since the March 20 Illinois primary, people have texted, emailed, Facebook messaged and stopped me on the street. They begin with “Thank you for running,” and after a brief conversation, usually wrap it up by saying, “I hope you run again. We need more good people in office.”

An entrepreneur, I am a former eighth-grade teacher. I also am an American Muslim woman of color who wears a hijab and advocates for all residents of Illinois. I never thought I would run for elected office, but we have to roll up our sleeves and commit to the hard work of getting Illinois back on track. This is why I tossed my scarf into the ring seeking to become the state representative of the 5th District of Illinois.

Why don’t more good people run? When I ask colleagues and friends if they would run for political office, they most often reply, “H#&% no! I can’t raise that kind of money, it’s too ugly and nothing will change anyway.”

Elected officials manage billions of tax dollars and they make our laws — two excellent reasons why I think it’s worth fighting for even a chance at change.

Although I didn’t win my party’s nomination, I have no regrets about my run. But experiences like mine, and those of many other candidates, provide some answers as to why more good people don’t run for office.

Money.During the campaign, I met dozens of candidates. At one point or another, every one of them shared his or her frustration regarding the amount of money needed to run a successful campaign. Political races fluctuate greatly in expense, but a typical U.S. congressional race can cost more than $1 million, a state legislator race is around $300,000 and local races can cost tens of thousands of dollars and up.

If we want more good people to run for office, we have to ensure that candidates are able to spend less time raising money and more time discussing the issues and listening to voters. Candidates who do not have “funder connections” or extensive financial assets should be able to apply for public matching funds. There also should be limits on overall campaign funding. Special interest groups are now able to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars into campaigns with very little oversight.

Lack of honesty.In the last 12 days of my campaign, an opponent promoted a news article that falsely suggested I had paid money for positive news coverage; delivered campaign literature to voters’ homes that called me a National Rifle Association candidate who wants assault weapons on our streets; and apparently was behind the robocalls accusing me of being a Trump supporter (no offense if you are either of the above, but I am not).

In fact, one woman said to me at the polls, “Girl, I’ve gotten so many ugly cards about you this last week, you must be doing something right. They are scared you’re gonna win.”

My entire professional career has been spent protecting families and teaching children, and I am strong enough to withstand bullying tactics — I have all my life. But voters who did not have time to review my website or whom I didn’t meet while I was canvassing door to door are likely to have been easily fooled.

If we want more good people to run for office, we have to hold political candidates and officeholders to the same standards of slander and libel that everyone is held to. “Anything goes” cannot be the rule of thumb in politics. And, unfortunately, the ugly untruths will follow me.

Apathy. Voter turnout in America continues to slide downward. During primaries and nonpresidential elections, it can fall as low as 20 percent. And yet, voters across the nation say they want change.

Going into this election cycle, there were about 30 seats coming open in the Illinois legislature; 30 opportunities for fresh voices and new faces.

Most candidates who won in the primary, however, are establishment candidates, those supported by politicians in power. One race had seven candidates with pretty clear differences in each of their professional backgrounds as well as their stances on education funding and gun violence. An exasperated contender told me that “the last (candidates) forum had less than 30 attendees. And our district has over 100,000 residents.”

If we want more good people to run for office, we have to get out and vote for them. In addition, voters have to be willing to do some homework before casting a ballot. They can start by reviewing candidates’ websites for policies, reading endorsements from major newspapers or other unbiased sources, and watching or attending forums and debates. Nothing will change if voters do nothing before it comes time to vote.

To be sure, there are good people in elected office. But we need more. We have made running for office such a money-driven, toxic undertaking that few good people want to pursue it. Many of those in power won’t change the rules because, well, the rules help keep them in power.

You and I, citizens of this country, must step up. And we must demand that our leaders do the same. We have to say more than, “We need more good people in office.” We have to make it possible for them to get there.

Dilara Sayeed came in second in a four-person Democratic race for state representative of the 5th District in the March 20 Illinois primary.