The primary unfolded with at least one incumbent House Democrat loyal to Madigan conceding he lost and another who served in Madigan’s leadership team trailing late in a tight race, based on unofficial results. And one House Democrat with a convincing lead declared victory despite being under federal investigation. […]
Rep. Kathy Willis, the Addison Democrat that Madigan recruited years ago to take the seat away from Republicans, found herself trailing challenger Norma Hernandez, a Triton College trustee from Melrose Park. Hernandez’s camp claimed victory Tuesday night. […]
Holding a solid lead late Tuesday, incumbent Democratic Rep. Sonya Harper of Chicago said: “It looks like voters still want me to represent them in Springfield, and I’m very happy for that.”
Appointed Democratic incumbent Rep. Michael Kelly, who replaced longtime Rep. John D’Amico of Chicago, declared victory, according to his campaign manager, over fellow Chicagoan Michael Patrick Rabbitt, who acknowledged he lost.
The GOP’s more moderate wing, reeling from the collapse of Irvin’s candidacy, is now fearful of the impact of Bailey’s candidacy as he leads the ticket for Springfield offices.
“We are really going to get our ass handed to us,” predicted one Republican in party legislative leadership, where the GOP has been a superminority to House and Senate Democrats. “If we thought where we were was bad, this is going to be a helluva lot worse.”
But Bailey said people should dismiss the naysayers.
“Springfield and the political elites have failed every one of us and now the elites and the press say that Pritzker is a shoo-in. They say our fate’s set, that a farmer can’t beat a billionaire,” he said. “Friends, the funny thing is these same people said that we couldn’t win the primary.”
* Press release…
Not even 24 hours after breaking out of an ugly Republican gubernatorial primary, GOP nominee for governor Darren Bailey wasted no time doubling down on his incendiary comments calling Chicago, the largest city in the state, a “hellhole.”
During an interview with WLS, Bailey showed Illinoisans more of his extremist MAGA brand of politics that puts divisive rhetoric over policy solutions. Host Steve Cochran pressed Bailey for solutions, even saying, “I’m asking you as the nominee, what will you do? Give me the specific, what will you do? It’s not a conversation. What’s the idea?”
“Even when given the opportunity to walk back his hateful rhetoric, Darren Bailey chooses to stand by his out of touch views that disparage the millions of Illinoisans who live in and around Chicago,” said JB for Governor spokeswoman Natalie Edelstein. “A politician who calls for separating Chicago from the rest of the state and embraces the divisiveness of Donald Trump is entirely unfit to represent Illinois’ diverse and vast population.”
* I get emails…
Rich -
Hope you’re well.
With the recent Dobbs decision and the primary behind us, I wanted to update you on the status of the 10th district candidates.
Joe Severino is an anti-choice extremist in a district that has been pro-choice for 50 years. Following the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Severino said, “I applaud the courage of the court,” and “It’s time to celebrate life.”
As Joe put it in a recent interview, “I’m pro life… I’m a pro life candidate” Joe will use racist, disproven conspiracy theories to try to justify his position, comparing black babies to cattle meant to be sold for parts.
In his own words: “85% of abortions are black babies drawing HUGE returns in baby parts. This includes late term abortion. “Like steer-the bigger the baby the more profitable”.
[Schneider] gets millions from the death of black babies.”
Brad Schneider’s comment: “Joe Severino’s racist, misogynist stance speaks for itself, and speaks volumes about who Joe Severino is. Illinois’s Tenth District has been pro-choice for 50 years—represented by both Democrats and Republicans. Severino’s extremism is totally out of step with the values of the Tenth Congressional District.”
Schneider’s statement on the decision can be found here.
I think Severino’s statements illustrate further the Bailey/Miller “White Life” positions of ILGOP. Further, both Jesse Reising and Regan Deering supported the SCOTUS decision
* Press release…
On Tuesday night, three candidates supported by Restore Justice Illinois won their primary elections! Representatives Sonya Harper and Lindsey LaPointe, and Senator Robert Martwick will be the Democratic nominees in November’s General Election; as of now, they do not have Republican challengers.
With our Political Action Team, we proudly supported these legislators because they voted for the SAFE-T Act and other needed criminal legal system reforms. They faced opposition funded by people and groups that oppose compassionate steps forward.
We will now turn our attention to the General Election so we can help make sure candidates who believe in fairness and equity win in November. Join us by signing up for our Political Action Team. The team will make phone calls, canvass, and engage in other activities to support candidates. We will also hold regular check-ins to provide updates and information on the races.
*** UPDATE *** Gryder declares victory…
After securing the Republican Party nomination to challenge Lauren Underwood for the right to represent Illinois’ 14th Congressional District, Kendall County Board Chairman, Scott Gryder released the following statement:
“To all who gave their precious time, resources, and votes, thank you!
Because of your support, our campaign for the future of Illinois’ 14th Congressional District continues.
Lauren Underwood is in trouble because we are in the grips of the worst economy in over 40 years. With gas, groceries, medicine, rent, and everything else skyrocketing in price, the results of this primary show people are concerned and focused on the rising cost of everyday necessities.
We need to change course, away from the failing policies and leadership Joe Biden and his allies in Congress like Lauren Underwood are offering, toward pro-growth, pro-family, pro-freedom policies backed by leaders who know how to get the job done.
While honored to be nominated as your messenger of change as we carry on toward November 8, this election was a win for the hard-working people of the 14th District who need real relief, not more of the same.”
* ILGOP…
Rich,
Thank you for showing up at the polls in last night’s primary! Not only did we nominate strong, conservative candidates up and down the ballot, but we also SHATTERED the last midterm’s turnout with 50,000 MORE VOTES than 2018’s Republican primary.
We couldn’t have done it without you. We are so grateful for everything you’ve done, from donating, to volunteering, to showing up to the polls, to make this possible.
This election will not be easy. Billionaire Bully Pritzker is ready to throw his entire war chest at us, but Republicans are motivated to turn out and FIRE Pritzker in November!
We’ve also nominated strong candidates in all of our competitive Congressional races. Esther Joy King, Regan Deering, Scott Gryder, and Keith Pekau are all ready to FIRE PELOSI and return Congress to Republicans.
We can’t wait for November. Thanks for being a part of our team.
Illinois — Vote Mama, the first PAC focused solely on electing Democratic moms, is thrilled to share our wins in this heated primary cycle.
CONTESTED
• Rachel Ventura — Illinois State Senate, District 43
• Laura Faver Dias — Illinois House of Representatives, District 62
• Samantha Steele — Cook County Board of Review, District 2
UNCONTESTED
• Tammy Duckworth –U.S. Senate, Illinois
• Margaret Croke — Illinois House of Representatives, District 12
“After a long election cycle I am thrilled to share that we have come out on top with important wins and especially for our contested races for Samantha Steele, Rachel Ventura and Laura Faver-Dias. Both Ventura and Faver-Dias have been declared victorious. With Steele 99% of the votes are in and there is a comfortable lead of 4,500 votes. We are optimistic about Steele’s victory, and look forward to celebrating her win that brings much needed reform to our broken property tax system that unfairly over taxes homeowners while giving breaks to big corporations. Samantha is confident of victory and looks forward to serving the people in the 2nd District of Cook County.” said Alexandra Eidenberg, Illinois Vote Mama State Chair.
“Thank you so much! I truly couldn’t have done this without your support and early belief in me. I am so appreciative of the help and support you provided. This win is ours.” said Rachel Ventura, candidate for Illinois Senate District 43.
“Through my involvement in my community, I know the power of moms working together and their ability to make change. We need more moms with young children in office to be a voice for all kinds of families and advocate for change that will improve the lives of our children and future generations,” said Laura Faver Dias, Democratic Nominee for Illinois House of Representatives District 62.
“From lapses in childcare to economic instability, the past two years have been devastating for so many families. Now more than ever, Illinois deserves representatives who understand these struggles firsthand and are committed to taking action. ” said Liuba Grechen Shirley, Vote Mama Founder and CEO.
* G-PAC…
The Gun Violence Prevention PAC Illinois (G-PAC), the state’s leading political force in ending gun violence, is proud to announce the victories of more than two dozen gun-safety candidates in races in Tuesday’s primary election. Chief among them was an upset in House District 16, where Kevin Olickal (D-Skokie) defeated incumbent State Representative Denyse Wang Stoneback.
“Rep. Stoneback failed her constituents when she worked against and refused to vote for life-saving legislation that would require universal background checks for all gun sales and provide funding for mental health. Elected leaders must be held accountable, and while Rep. Stoneback claimed to be an advocate, we need leaders who will consistently work with us to end gun violence, not just use it as a talking point to win their elections,” said Kathleen Sances, President, and CEO of the Gun Violence Prevention PAC. “Since we founded G-PAC in 2013, we have created an electoral and legislative infrastructure that has made Illinois a safer state, and today we are proud to build on that legacy with major victories all across the state. We are confident that these gun safety candidates will be victorious in November and go on to further strengthen Illinois’ laws to help end the public health crisis of gun violence.”
More than two dozen endorsed candidates have won their primary election with G-PAC’s support. The organization was heavily involved in delivering victories in many contested races, including:
• Sen. Omar Aquino (SD 2)
• Sen. Robert Martwick (SD 10)
• Sen. Celina Villanueva (SD 12)
• Kevin Olickal (HD 16)
• Rep. Lindsey La Pointe (HD 19)
• Rep. Justin Slaughter (HD 27)
These resounding victories showcase G-PAC’s political strength by organizing hundreds of supporters. Each candidate has G-PAC’s continued support going into the general election as we continue to build and defend our gun safety majority in the Illinois legislature.
Following Tuesday’s election, each candidate will now regroup and get back on the campaign trail as they look to secure their seat on November 8, 2022, in the General Election. Once elected, these candidates will ensure that the Illinois legislature has a gun safety majority so Illinois can continue to protect and pass life-saving legislation as violence continues to affect our communities.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch came out of Tuesday’s Democratic primary a winner — and not only because he faced no challenger in his legislative race.
Flexing his newfound political muscle since succeeding Michael Madigan as House speaker, Welch also helped his wife, attorney ShawnTe Raines-Welch, win her Democratic primary contest for a seat as a Cook County judge from a suburban district.
Raines-Welch bested three opponents in the primary, getting about 35% of the vote. There were no Republicans running for the seat. So, barring last-minute ballot additions before the Nov. 8 general election, she has all but clinched a seat on the bench.
Raines-Welch’s campaign raised around $666,000 — a whopping amount for this type of judicial race and far more than all of her primary opponents.
Google is negotiating to buy the spaceship-like James R. Thompson Center in Chicago in a deal that could provide a much-needed boost to the city’s Loop business district.
The Mountain View, California-based tech giant is seeking to buy the Helmut Jahn-designed building at 100 W. Randolph St., where it plans to expand its Chicago offices into a large portion of the 17-story building’s soon-to-be-renovated office space, according to people familiar with the deal.
It’s the latest twist for a 37-year-old building that faced the wrecking ball until Chicago developer Prime Group emerged last year with a plan to buy it from the state for $70 million.
Google plans to add 1,000 jobs in Chicago in the next few years and is looking for more office space to accommodate them in a surprising location: LaSalle Street. […]
“Chicago continues to be an important and growing hub for Google here in the Midwest,” a Google spokeswoman said in an e-mail. “What started as a two-person outpost in River North has expanded to a two-building campus that’s home to nearly 2,000 employees in Fulton Market. As Google grows in Chicago, we’ll continue to explore opportunities to ensure our physical space meets the needs of local Googlers.” […]
But Gov. J.B. Pritzker told Crain’s today: “I’m excited that Google appears to be expanding its presence and its jobs in Chicago.” Asked directly if that expansion might involve the purchase of the Thompson Center, he would say only, “That’s not something I can talk about. . . .I’m not at liberty to talk about it.”
But Google could try to inject itself into the deal by purchasing the Thompson Center for its own use and finding a different destination for the state’s offices. A source familiar with the discussions said one option could be the LaSalle Street property that BMO Harris Bank is vacating at 115 S. LaSalle St., which Reschke is also nearing a deal to buy.
* “I’m JB Pritzker and I’m gonna beat Donald Trump’s candidate for governor, Darren Bailey!” the governor said last night at his victory party.
It occurs to me that if Pritzker is really trying to set up a presidential bid, then helping to maneuver a Trumpist into the opposing role and then thumping him in what could likely be an otherwise Republican year would look pretty good from afar.
More than a decade after leaving public office, his political star fallen, Alexi Giannoulias landed the Democratic nomination for Illinois secretary of state Tuesday night, the culmination of a heated primary that pitted him against a new up-and-comer in the party.
Giannoulias declared victory over his top challenger, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, a notable comeback for someone who served one term as Illinois treasurer, failed to parlay that into a U.S. Senate seat and then mostly bowed out of the public eye.
Not even the endorsement of retiring Secretary of State Jesse White — long one of Illinois’ most prolific vote-getters — could put Valencia over the top in a race that forced the state’s most powerful Dems to pick sides. She conceded late Tuesday.
Addressing more than a hundred supporters at a Streeterville hotel, Giannoulias said “we’re on a journey, a journey to restore trust in government to strengthen our democracy to make Illinois better.”
In a telephone interview late Tuesday, Brady acknowledged he’s “mismatched” when it comes to campaign funding compared to Giannoulias. It’s going to take an “individual candidate that can cross party barriers” to beat a Democrat like the ex-state treasurer in November, he said.
But Brady touted his qualifications to be the next secretary of state by showing that he’s worked with longtime Democratic Secretary of State Jesse White, who is retiring, on various legislation, from organ and tissue donation to distracted driving issues.
“I think the working relationship speaks to itself from the standpoint of what we’ve been able to find common ground with and that is service to the general public, to the people of Illinois, no matter what their political party is,” Brady said of his relationship with White.
Aside from funding winnable legislative contests, the Republicans should throw everything they have into that SoS race. Even then, though, it may not be enough. But at least Brady understands that he needs to embrace Jesse White as much as humanly possible.
Time for a change is one of the oldest and most effective arguments in politics. And that’s the argument that won out in the hard-fought Democratic primary race for the in the 21st District of the Illinois House, as 32-year-old Abdelnasser Rashid narrowly defeated seven-term incumbent state Rep. Michael Zalewski (D-Riverside) on June 28.
Rashid with now face Republican Matthew Schultz, a 26-year-old from Brookfield who works for the anti-tax group Taxpayers United in the November general election. Schultz ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
With all but one suburban precinct reporting, Rashid led Zalewski by a mere 255 votes. Despite the narrow margin, Zalewski conceded defeat in a phone call to Rashid around 9 p.m. Rashid received 51.7 percent of the vote to 48.3 percent for Zalewski. […]
Rashid’s campaign raised about a third as much as Zalewski’s, although final figures won’t be available until next month. But Rashid ran a sophisticated campaign with direct mail, television ads and an enthusiastic core of volunteers who went door to door throughout the district.
His campaign chairman, Clem Balanoff, said he thought Rashid was the first state legislative primary challenger to ever air ads on network television in the Chicago area.
Will County Board member Rachel Ventura appeared headed to victory in the Democratic primary for the 43rd Illinois Senate District race against Eric Mattson, who was put in the Senate seat mid-campaign. […]
“I feel like I didn’t win against Eric Mattson,” Ventura said. “I won against a broken political system.”
Ventura said her apparent victory “lit a candle of hope in a time in politics when a lot of people are seeing darkness.”
The SDems and their allies spent a fortune on Eric Mattson.
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi defeated challenger Kari Steele Tuesday, winning the Democratic nomination in his battle for a second term in what was the county’s most expensive and high-profile primary contest.
Kaegi unseated one of the most powerful politicians in Cook County in 2018 by vowing to overhaul the county’s unjust and error-ridden property tax assessment system to make it more equitable, transparent and free from political influence.
Kaegi led Steele with 54% of the vote with 62% of the vote counted, according to early and unofficial returns.
* Loami voters, by the way, approved allowing chicken coops within town limits by a 62-38 margin. I’ll have more later. I need to go outside and get some air and sunshine. I’ve spent too many days cooped up, so to speak.
* More…
* Congressional races: Jesse Jackson’s son clinches nomination, Delia Ramirez wins and Danny Davis ahead in tight fight to keep his seat
DeVore’s central theme has focused on Pritzker’s COVID mandates. On Tuesday, he said Raoul has been too complicit.
“Raoul has for the last two years done whatever the governor has asked him to do,” DeVore said in an interview. “I’ll tell whoever is governor that there will be no more mandates.” […]
Campaigning as “the People’s Attorney,” DeVore has the words “Freedom” and “Liberty” tattooed on his forearms and has frequently referred to Pritzker as a tyrant.
“The people have been paralyzed by fear and allowed J.B. Pritzker to rule as a king,” he says in a recent ad. “I’m running for attorney general to educate, empower and equip the people to take back their government and restore the power where it belongs.”
* Media advisory…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul will be joined by Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly, law enforcement representatives and gun safety advocates to announce a new state-of-the-art online platform to assist law enforcement agencies in investigating gun crimes and identifying the sources of illegal guns.
Who: Attorney General Kwame Raoul
Brendan F. Kelly, Director, Illinois State Police
Mitchell Davis, Past President, Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police
Leo Schmitz, Chief of Police, Cook County Sheriff
Dan Kotowski, President and CEO, Kids Above All
Kim Smith, Director of Programs, University of Chicago Crime Lab
Kayce Ataiyero, Chief External Affairs Officer, The Joyce Foundation
Valerie Burgest, Moms Demand Action
When: Wednesday, June 29, 2022
11 a.m.
Where: James R. Thompson Center
Blue Room, 15th Floor
* AG Raoul was asked about Tom DeVore’s GOP primary win and what it says about the state of the Republican Party here…
Raoul: Well, first of all, congratulations to Tom DeVore. Listen, in my role, I think in the role of Attorney General, it’s important not only for me in this state, but for my colleagues in other states to try to be as nonpartisan as possible. In our law enforcement role, for example, I don’t choose which state’s attorneys I collaborate with based on party affiliation, I don’t choose which police chiefs I collaborate with based on party affiliation. I count many of them, who may be Republicans, as my personal friends, who I’ve worked with on this project, as well as on making sure we get relief to those who are addicted to opioids, and trying to combat organized retail crime. We’ve collaborated and we haven’t talked a second about Tom DeVore or partisan politics.
I look forward to being able to compare my record, serving as Attorney General to Mr. Devore and whoever may have been nominated with any other parties.
Q: [Unintelligible.]
Raoul: Yeah, no, I understand your question. And believe me, I would have rather used those resources on on some of the other things that I mentioned to keep on continuously making successfully the same argument over and over again about mitigations that we put in place to save lives. What we’re doing here is aimed at saving lives. What we do with regards to opioid abatement is aimed at saving lives, not drawing attention to ourselves. We’re hosting a press conference here not to draw attention to ourselves, but to get the word out there to law enforcement partners and to the public at large that we need to focus not just on the shooter, but on those who are trafficking guns to the shooter.
US steelmakers rely on Russia and Ukraine for shipments of pig iron and steel slabs, used to produce raw steel at electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers and for rerollers to make flat-rolled products. […]
Russia and Ukraine have been critical pig iron suppliers to the US for years, comprising more than 60pc of the imports coming in since 2018.
U.S. Steel Corp., the nation’s third-largest steelmaker, announced it’s in talks to end production at its century-old furnaces in Illinois. Shares fell to their lowest since January.
The more than 120-year-old Pittsburgh-based company plans to sell the two blast furnaces at its Granite City Works facility to SunCoke Energy for an undisclosed amount to propel the use of so-called pig iron, a raw material needed to make steel in its mini-mills. Transitioning the facility to produce the raw material from steelmaking will take until 2024 and would result in the loss of as many as 1,000 jobs, according to the company.
Under the company’s plan, U.S. Steel would sell iron ore from its own mines to SunCoke. SunCoke would sell all of the material back to U.S. Steel for use in its own “mini mill” in Arkansas and other locations, creating a “significant cost advantage,” according to the letter. “We want to be as self-sufficient as possible,” said U.S. Steel spokesperson Amanda Malkowski.
United Steelworkers late Tuesday called United States Steel Corp.’s plans to sell two blast furnaces at its big Granite City, Illinois, facility a “betrayal” and another example of how the Pittsburgh-based manufacturer is reducing union facilities.
In a statement, USW International President Thomas Conway blasted U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) for its announcement to sell the two blast furnaces to an outside company, as well as its plans to only have one finishing mill at Granite City Works. It said the company “callously failed to mention a word about the massive job loss” at the Granite City plant, which makes hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated steel for automotive, construction and other industries. […]
United Steelworkers said the steelmaker was making investments in its electric arc furnace operations, such as the nonunion Big River Steel plant in Arkansas, at the detriment of union operations.
“U.S. Steel has established a trend in recent years of shutting down operations, as it has done at the Great Lakes facility in Detroit, Lone Star Steel in Texas, tubular operations in Ohio, and the company abandoned a previously announced major capital improvement project at the Mon Valley Works and announced the closing of its West Coast operations at UPI in California,” Conway said.
The deal, if finalized, threatens the future of a 127-year-old operation, an economic engine of this Metro East suburb and a facility held up as a success story in a revitalized U.S. steel industry. Just four years ago, President Donald Trump visited the plant, lauding the impact of tariffs he imposed on imported steel. The plant had ground to a halt about two years prior. But, that summer, the facility was set to rekindle both blast furnaces. Rehiring had already begun.
This week’s announcement, however, shows U.S. Steel shifting directions.
U.S. Steel would supply the iron ore for the SunCoke plant from its own mines.
Lake County Associate Judge Elizabeth “Liz” Rochford won the Democratic primary for an open Supreme Court seat following Tuesday’s election, but whether she will face off in the fall against another Lake County judge or the former Lake County sheriff remains too close to call.
In the Republican primary, with 95% of precincts reporting, Lake County Circuit Judge Daniel Shanes and former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran were leading two other candidates and separated by less than two percentage points.
Shanes and Rochford were both rated “highly recommended” by the Illinois State Bar Association, while Curran was found “not recommended.”
Shanes, a former Lake County prosecutor and sitting judge since 2007, was the Republican primary candidate favored by an independent expenditure committee funded primarily by billionaire Citadel CEO Ken Griffin. The group, Citizens for Judicial Fairness, spent more than $170,000 in support of Shanes. He is a deputy chief judge in Lake County and oversees felony and law division cases.
Citizens for Judicial Fairness spent roughly $50,000 to oppose Curran’s bid. Curran was elected sheriff in Lake County in 2006 and remained in office until 2018. Before that, he worked as a local and federal prosecutor, and he now works on criminal defense and civil cases. He unsuccessfully ran against U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin in 2020 as the Republican Party candidate, scoring almost 40% of the vote statewide.
That Curran thing is so wild. Both the establishment and folks like Jeanne Ives were with Shanes. Curran started the quarter with $10,150.09 in the bank and didn’t report raising any other money since then.
Also, that was a huge 15,000-vote win for Rochford over Nancy Rotering. We’ll circle back to that part of the world later today or tomorrow.
* Then there was this…
Ken Griffin, the billionaire Citadel CEO and Republican megadonor, gave $1.5 million as sole donor to Illinois Values PAC that's spent ~$1.5 million opposing Rep. Mary Miller (R) in June 28 primary vs Rep. Rodney Davis (R): https://t.co/IQf8nYXjP9#il15#twill
“Except for wealthy politicians who bankroll their own campaign, this [Richard Irvin race] is the largest amount ever given by a single donor to a U.S. candidate at any level,” according to a report from the Center for Media and Democracy, a progressive watchdog group based in Madison, Wis. […]
It’s unclear if Griffin will continue his heavy spending in Illinois politics after he and his Citadel hedge fund have packed up and left for Miami. But what was obvious was that his latest big bet on elections in this state was a big failure, up and down the ballot.
The Griffin-supported candidate for secretary of state, John Milhiser, and his pick for attorney general, Steve Kim, also lost Tuesday.
Irvin is in third place and Bailey has a 42-point lead over second-place finisher Jesse “Big Mo” Sullivan.
Tom DeVore is ahead of Steve Kim by 11 points and Kim conceded. Rep. Dan Brady is absolutely annhilating John Milhiser by 53 points. Wow.
* Rep. Delia Ramirez worked her tail off and, as subscribers know, put together a very successful slate of candidates. Yes, Chuy Garcia played a very important role here. So did others. But, man, look at this huge margin over what many had considered a very legit, well-funded opponent who benefited from a ton of outside money. Here’s Mina Bloom…
State Rep. Delia Ramirez emerged victorious in the Democratic race to represent the newly-drawn 3rd Congressional District, which was left without a representative when boundaries were re-drawn.
Multiple news outlets called the race for Ramirez over Chicago Ald. Gilbert Villegas and others. With almost all precincts reporting, Ramirez held 65.8 percent of the vote to Villegas’ 23.7 percent, according to unofficial returns.
The predominately Latino 3rd congressional district had no incumbent. Illinois Democrats created the district during last year’s redistricting process to reflect the Chicago area’s surging Latino population. It stretches from Chicago neighborhoods like Belmont Cragin, Humboldt Park and Logan Square to largely Hispanic suburbs west of the city, including Elgin and Bensenville.
