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Democratic Party of Illinois | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Elizabeth Hernandez |
| Governor | JB Pritzker |
| Lieutenant Governor | Juliana Stratton |
| Senate President | Don Harmon |
| House Speaker | Chris Welch |
| Headquarters | Springfield, Illinois |
| National affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Colors | Blue |
| Statewide Executive Offices | 6 / 6 |
| Seats in theU.S. Senate | 2 / 2 |
| Seats in theU.S. House of Representatives | 14 / 17 |
| Seats in theIllinois Senate | 40 / 59 |
| Seats in theIllinois House of Representatives | 78 / 118 |
| Election symbol | |
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| Website | |
| ildems | |
TheDemocratic Party of Illinois is the affiliate of theDemocratic Party in theU.S. state ofIllinois. It is the oldest extant state party in Illinois and one of just two recognized parties in the state, along with theRepublican Party. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling the majority of Illinois'U.S. House seats, bothU.S. Senate seats, both houses of thestate legislature, and thegovernorship.
The Democratic Party of Illinois took shape during the late 1830s. Prior to that time, Illinois did not have organized political parties; instead, political competition in the state was more personalist, with prominent factions centered on GovernorsNinian Edwards andShadrach Bond. As the Democratic andWhig parties began to form at the national level during the late 1820s and 1830s, Illinois politicians began sorting themselves accordingly and, in the summer of 1837, leading Democrats met to lay the groundwork for a Democratic Party organization in the state.
Before 2010, the party had been extremely successful in statewide elections for the past decade. In 1992,Carol Moseley Braun became the firstAfrican American woman to be elected to the United States Senate. Her election marked the first time Illinois had elected a woman, and the first time a Black person was elected as a Democratic Party candidate to the United States Senate. A second African American Democratic Senator,Barack Obama was elected in 2004 (the same seat that Senator Moseley-Braun once held), and later electedPresident of the United States in 2008. Democrats currently hold supermajorities in both theIllinois Senate andIllinois House of Representatives.
The Democratic Party of Illinois is run by a Democratic State Central Committee of 34 members, two from each of the state's 17 congressional districts. The Central Committee has four officers: a chairman, a vice-chair, a secretary, and a treasurer.
Calvin Sutker of Skokie served as state party chairman until 1986 when he lost his committeeman seat to reform Democrat Jeffrey Paul Smith.[1] Sutker was succeeded byVince Demuzio, who served from 1986 to 1990 and is credited with rebuilding the Illinois Democratic Party.[2] Demuzio was then defeated byGary LaPaille, then-chief of staff forIllinois House SpeakerMichael Madigan. Madigan himself succeeded LaPaille, serving in the role until he stepped down in 2021. He was succeeded by U.S. RepresentativeRobin Kelly. In 2022, Kelly was replaced by State RepresentativeLisa Hernandez.
Democrats have controlled both of Illinois's seats in theU.S. Senate since2017:
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Out of the 17 seats Illinois is apportioned in theU.S. House of Representatives, 14 are held by Democrats:
| District | Member | Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jonathan Jackson |  |
| 2nd | Robin Kelly |  |
| 3rd | Delia Ramirez |  |
| 4th | Jesús "Chuy" García |  |
| 5th | Mike Quigley | .jpg) |
| 6th | Sean Casten | .jpeg) |
| 7th | Danny K. Davis |  |
| 8th | Raja Krishnamoorthi |  |
| 9th | Jan Schakowsky |  |
| 10th | Brad Schneider |  |
| 11th | Bill Foster |  |
| 13th | Nikki Budzinski |  |
| 14th | Lauren Underwood |  |
| 17th | Eric Sorensen |  |
Democrats control all six of the elected statewide offices:
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