In their first general election following the departure of indicted ex-Speaker Michael Madigan, Illinois House and Senate Democrats declared Tuesday they held onto their supermajorities as Republicans struggled to gain ground throughout the state.
“We know that when we fight, we win — and tonight, that couldn’t be more true,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside. “House Democrats have fought tirelessly for working families and have secured important legislative wins to protect reproductive rights, rebuild our infrastructure, fund critical public safety initiatives, and so much more.”
The post-Madigan election represented a major test of the political skills of the rookie speaker and Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, because they led the once-a-decade overhaul of legislative district boundaries following the federal census and worked to hold or build on their lopsided numbers in both chambers.
“The people have spoken. Now it’s time to get to work governing,” Harmon said.
The Democratic success led to the decision by House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs to announce he would not seek another term as the head of his GOP House troops, saying he was disappointed with the results but accepted them.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as leader of the House Republican caucus, but it’s time for the Illinois Republican Party to rebuild with new leaders who can bring independents back to the party that are needed to bring change to the state,” Durkin said.
“I began this journey as a voice of moderation and conclude this journey the same way I started, a voice of moderation,” Durkin said, adding: “To the people of Illinois disappointed with these results, don’t give up hope. Tomorrow is a new day.”
Despite Democrats hanging on to the supermajority, Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie of Hawthorn Woods pointed to modest GOP pick-ups in his chamber as one of the few bright spots of the night for his party. He said his caucus members will keep serving as “strong voices for the people of Illinois, who are dissatisfied with the failed policies that have come out of Springfield and want to see change.”
But McConchie castigated the way Welch and Harmon redrew district boundaries into a “rigged system” that favored Democrats with “some of the most gerrymandered districts we’ve ever seen.”
One high-profile Democratic race that remained close included an incumbent southwest suburban senator that fellow Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker wanted to step down over allegations of inappropriate behavior with women.
An indicted Democratic senator won reelection without opposition. And a House Democrat under federal investigation led overwhelmingly as unofficial results rolled in Tuesday night.
The final partisan breakdowns in each chamber were still taking shape.
Republicans recognized it would take a near-biblical turnout for them to win the majority in either legislative chamber, but GOP leaders in the House and Senate both held out hope that they could break the Democratic supermajorities that have allowed one party to dominate major votes on important issues for years.
A handful of races — predominantly in the Chicago suburbs, where Democrats over the past decade have claimed territory in longtime GOP strongholds — remained key battlegrounds in determining the final outcome in a divided state and country.
Long the undisputed master of redistricting, Madigan left Springfield last year shortly after his own House Democrats refused to give him another term as speaker in light of a growing bribery and conspiracy scandal that eventually led to two rounds of federal indictments, one tied to ComEd in March and one tied to AT&T in October.
Madigan, who served a nationwide record 36 years as speaker, resigned within weeks of being dethroned and more than a year before his first indictment. The Chicago Democrat has pleaded not guilty.
Madigan bequeathed Welch a 73-45 Democratic majority in the House. Harmon went into Tuesday night with an extraordinary 41-18 edge over Republicans.
Like Madigan before them, the Democratic legislative leaders stuck with the political practice of tilting the political makeup of the legislative districts to keep their party in charge on both sides of the Capitol rotunda.
They passed highly partisan maps that Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker happily signed, over protests from GOP critics who accused him of breaking a campaign promise to ensure more fairness in the reapportionment of voters.
Heading into Tuesday, the greatest pressure was on Welch to prove he could uphold the Madigan mystique and to ensure House Democrats held at least 71 of 118 seats, the minimum number needed to control a three-fifths, supermajority vote.
While most bills require only a simple majority for passage, the three-fifths votes come into play on major borrowing bills, overrides of a governor’s vetoes or attempts to place proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot for voters.
Durkin suffered a major blow in his failed efforts to win three more seats to break the Democratic supermajority. Durkin had hoped to harness voter anger fueled by crime issues and the inflationary high prices for gasoline, groceries and mortgage rates lifted Republican chances of making headway in Springfield if ballots are cast in a throw-the-bums-out rage.
But Democrats looked to pro-abortion rights voters to provide a political counterweight to help their party in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion case.
In the rare June primary, the volatility in the electorate demonstrated an “anti-establishment” attitude that culminated in some incumbents from both parties losing.
Senate Republicans needed to gain six seats to deny Senate Democrats the minimum supermajority of 36 lawmakers needed for a three-fifths vote in the upper chamber.
And while that was a tall order, given how Democrats have held sway in Springfield for years, Senate Republicans initially wanted to take advantage of national trends going their way.
Even so, many candidates walked through the election without a worry. Only 78 of 118 elections for House seats contained more than one candidate. In the Senate, only 25 of 59 seats were contested, a product of decades of legislative redistricting maneuvers that let lawmakers pick their constituents rather than the other way around.
In one race, a federal indictment did not cause one incumbent Democrat to sweat his reelection.
Nobody ran against Sen. Emil Jones III, D-Chicago, clearing the path for the son of former Senate President Emil Jones Jr. to win a new term.
Jones III was indicted in September for allegedly taking a $5,000 bribe from a red-light camera company to kill legislation requiring traffic studies of the systems and lying to federal agents about his actions. He has pleaded not guilty.
In a close, contentious southwest suburban race, Democratic Sen. Michael Hastings of Frankfort suffered from a string of negative headlines centered on accusations that he acted inappropriately toward women.
Republican challenger Patrick Sheehan of Lockport was getting major support from Will County voters, and Hastings was receiving his heaviest support from Cook County in a race going down to the wire.
Sheehan said he was optimistic, saying, “We worked our tail off.” A Hastings spokesperson had no comment.
Hastings’ ex-wife accused him of domestic abuse while they were married. He has not been charged with a crime. Records also showed the state paid nearly $150,000 to settle and cover costs of a 2019 lawsuit brought by Hastings’ former female chief of staff, who alleged retaliation as well as race and gender discrimination.
Despite being a fellow Democrat, Pritzker took the unusual step of asking both Jones and Hastings to resign once their troubles became public. Neither did.
Also reelected without opposition was Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, who was approached in the spring by FBI agents investigating potential influence peddling involving a police body-camera manufacturer. Sims’ attorney has said the senator, who spearheaded the massive criminal justice reform package passed a year ago, has done nothing wrong.
Playing defense, Democratic incumbent Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton of Western Springs was running ahead in a challenge from former Republican Rep. Dennis Reboletti of Elmhurst, who conceded.
In a hard-fought House race, two-term Democratic Rep. Anne Stava-Murray of Naperville declared victory, but Republican Paul Leong, a Naperville City Council member, said he was not ready to concede.
Freshman Democratic Rep. Janet Yang Rohr of Naperville was facing a challenge from Republican Rich Janor, a Naperville Park District commissioner who conceded.
In the south suburbs, Democratic Rep. Thaddeus Jones of Calumet City — whom the Tribune has reported as being under federal investigation — held a big lead over Republican Rep. Jeffery Coleman of Dolton.
House Democrats took aim at four-term Rep. Keith Wheeler of Oswego, an assistant GOP leader trailing Democratic challenger Matt Hanson of Aurora.
In a Senate race between two Bartlett candidates, Democrat Lauren Nowak was behind Republican Rep. Seth Lewis. But Lewis said he was not ready to declare victory. Nowak could not be reached for comment.
Democratic Sen. Kris Tharp of Bethalto said he was still holding out hope but was running slightly behind Republican Erica Hariss of Glen Carbon.
One of several other downstate battles pitted two General Assembly members from Springfield against each other.
The close race in the capital featured appointed incumbent Democratic Sen. Doris Turner of Springfield, where she once served on the City Council, and her Senate challenger, appointed Republican Rep. Sandy Hamilton, a Springfield real estate agent.
