* Subscribers know more. Daily Line legislative reporter Ben Szalinski…

Rep. Kevin Schmidt declared victory this morning in his St. Clair County district. He's currently up 1,845 votes. LaToya Greenwood got 94% of the vote in East St. Louis and Republicans are still able to hold the seat for two cycles in a row #twill https://t.co/jl4Qul9Ktd

— Ben Szalinski (@BenSzalinski) November 6, 2024

* Results as of 11:20…

Rep. Kevin Schmidt GOP
22,670
52.1%

LaToya Greenwood DEM
20,825
47.9%

100% of precincts reporting
77.7% of expected votes counted

Speaker Welch pointed to this district as flippable in August.

* HD 97…

Harry Benton wins District 97.

AP race call at 8:29 AM on Nov. 6, 2024.

Rep. Harry Benton DEM
24,571
52.1%

Gabby Shanahan GOP
22,546
47.9%

100% of precincts reporting
92.4% of expected votes counted

I’ll be updating this post throughout the day as races are called.

…Adding… Leader McCombie…

Today, Tony McCombie, Illinois House Republican Leader, released the following statement:

“Election night was a victory for House Republicans. Holding our caucus together is a testament to our grassroots operation—the heart of our team, undeterred by the most partisan gerrymandered map in the nation and exponential spending against us. Illinois voters are exhausted by decades of one-party control. House Republicans remain committed to delivering economic growth, ending corruption and putting Illinois families first.”

* …Adding… More…

* Capitol News Illinois | Early results show Democrats likely to maintain supermajorities in Illinois General Assembly: Preliminary, unofficial election results show no seats in the state House or Senate have changed party hands, although a few races remained too close to call according to the Associated Press. That means Democrats will maintain supermajorities in each chamber of the General Assembly even as President Donald Trump appears to have vastly outperformed his previous two showings in the state in 2016 and 2020.

* WBEZ | Jennifer Custer wins in Far Northwest Side District 1 Chicago School Board race: Stay-at-home mom and former educator Jennifer Custer beat veteran educator Michelle N. Pierre by just under 2,000 votes in the race to represent District 1 on the elected school board with 98% of precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press. Pierre conceded on Wednesday. Custer, a former assistant principal and suburban union leader was endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, which strongly supports a neighborhood school focus.

* News-Gazette | Election ‘24:’I can’t believe that we have this issue’: The one thing a combustible election didn’t need got a heaping helping of it just as the first wave of voters showed up to cast their ballots Tuesday morning in Champaign County. Polling place problems — and not the kind involving Trump supporters in MAGA hats that led County Clerk Aaron Ammons to hire outside security to patrol precincts — dominated the discussion of the day, drawing unwelcome attention from USA Today, The Associated Press and other media outlets near and far. It started bright and early, at 6 a.m. That’s when Colleen and Mark Ruebke of rural Urbana went to vote at the Somer Township Building, one of 65 polling places due to open at that time around Champaign County. Only when they showed up, they found it closed, along with the three St. Joseph’s Sterling Frye tried on his way to work in Champaign.

* BND | Schmidt holds onto 114th State House District. What does that mean for southwest Illinois?: Schmidt has said he thinks voters in District 114 support him not because he’s a Republican but because he represents their interests. “I’ll continue to work hard in Springfield and give the people what they need,” Schmidt said Wednesday. “I’m definitely gonna work on funding for infrastructure as far as the sewage/drainage problem — yesterday we all saw how bad it was in Cahokia Heights and East St. Louis — and fight tax increases.”

* KHQA | 2024 Illinois Election Results: Reproductive Health Ballot Question: With 73% of the vote, Illinois voters said YES to the ballot question: “Should all medically appropriate assisted reproductive treatments, including, but not limited to, in vitro fertilization, be covered by any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides coverage for pregnancy benefits, without limitation on the number of treatments?”

* Block Club | Trump Attracted More Voters Than Ever In Chicago Amid Overall Victory: While Kamala Harris won Chicago with about 77 percent of the vote, support for Donald Trump went up by up 6 percentage points in the city compared to 2020. In Chicago, Harris received 652,919 votes, or about 77 percent of the vote, while Trump received 187,137 votes, or about 22 percent of the vote, according to early results.

* WICS | Planned Parenthood of Illinois respond to 2024 presidential results: “This is a devastating loss. I want to reassure the public that the full spectrum of reproductive health care is still safe and legal in Illinois including abortion, gender-affirming care and birth control. However, we will take our rage, sadness, loss and fear to fuel the next phase of our fight. The fight for reproductive freedom does not end here. The majority of Americans believe that sexual and reproductive health decisions — including abortion — should be made by patients, not politicians. PPIA and our supporters will turn our anger into action and work closely with elected officials at both the state and federal levels to continue making Illinois the strongest haven state for reproductive care possible.”

* News-Gazette | Danos celebrates likely reelection, failed referendum to eliminate office: Democratic county Auditor George Danos appears headed for re-election to an office that will continue to exist, as a referendum asking voters to eliminate it was losing by a margin of 60 to 40 percent and Danos was ahead of his Republican challenger, Alan Anderson, by 54 to 46 percent. “I was gratified to enjoy the loyalty of rank-and-file Democrats, who also agreed with me on the referenda,” Danos said. “The Champaign County Democratic Central Committee, led by Mike Ingram, has egg on its face: when all the votes are counted I’ll have a sound 55-45 victory, despite their treachery. Their pet referenda went down 2-1 (the tax) and 3-2 (the power grab to eliminate the Auditor).”

* PJ Star | Ranked choice voting referendum passes in Peoria Township: An advisory referendum asking Peoria Township voters if the state of Illinois should implement ranked-choice voting in statewide elections garnered strong support. According to the Peoria County Election Commission, with 100% of precincts reporting, “Yes” leads “No” by more than 11,000 votes, with 22,536 voting in the affirmative (66.98%) and 11,108 voting to reject it (33.02%).

* Daily Herald | Mosser wins second term as Kane County state’s attorney: Jamie Mosser defeated her Republican rival Tuesday to secure a second term as Kane County’s top prosecutor. Mosser, a Democrat, had 112,962 votes compared to 99,081 for Andrew Sosnowski, her challenger in the race for state’s attorney, according to unofficial totals.

* Daily Herald | ‘I’m humbled’: Rinehart wins in race for Lake’s top prosecutor: Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart emerged victorious after a tough election against Republican challenger Mary Cole late Tuesday in his bid for another term as the county’s top lawyer. Democrat Rinehart had about 54% of the vote to Cole’s nearly 46%, according to unofficial tallies.

* SJ-R | All incumbents on Sangamon County Board returned by voters; Milhiser, Roesch other winners: All seven incumbent Sangamon County Board members in contested races prevailed on Tuesday, including one cliffhanger. State’s Attorney John Milhiser and Circuit Clerk Joe Roesch both easily held on to their seats, while Recorder Josh Langfelder, the only Democrat to hold county-wide office, trails challenger Frank Lesko by 68 votes. Eight county board seats up Tuesday were uncontested.

* WCIA | Champaign County votes ‘no’ to public safety tax: A proposition to increase the sales tax for safety purposes has been rejected in Champaign County. WCIA previously reported that voters were asked if the tax should be raised a quarter cent for every $100 spent in the county. It failed with 66% of the community voting to reject the measure.