The Democratic Party of Illinois is the affiliate of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. It is the oldest extant state party in Illinois and one of just two recognized parties in the state, along with the Republican Party. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling the majority of Illinois'

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

seats, both

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

seats, both houses of the state legislature, and the

governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

History

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 Governors

Ninian Edwards Ninian Edwards (March 17, 1775July 20, 1833) was a founding political figure of the State of Illinois. He served as the first and only governor of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to until the territory was dissolved in 1818. He was then one of ...

and

Shadrach Bond Shadrach Bond (November 24, 1773 – April 12, 1832) was a representative from the Illinois Territory to the United States Congress. In 1818, he was elected Governor of Illinois, becoming the new state's first chief executive. In an example of A ...

. As the Democratic and Whig 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 Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun, also sometimes Moseley-Braun (born August 16, 1947), is a former U.S. Senator, an American diplomat, politician, and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999. Prior to her Senate ...

became the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

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 Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

was elected in 2004 (the same seat that Senator Moseley-Braun once held), and later elected

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

in 2008. Democrats currently hold supermajorities in both the Illinois Senate and

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

Organization and leadership

The Democratic Party of Illinois is run by a Democratic State Central Committee of 38 members, two from each of the state's 19 congressional districts. The Central Committee has four officers: a chairman, a vice-chair, a secretary, and a treasurer.

Calvin Sutker Calvin Sutker (May 23, 1923 – April 25, 2013) was an American politician and lawyer. Over his nearly four decades in politics, Sutker served as a Skokie Village Board member, Niles Township Democratic Committeeman, Democratic National Commi ...

of Skokie served as state party chairman until 1986 when he lost his committeeman seat to reform Democrat Jeffrey Paul Smith. Sutker was succeeded by

Vince Demuzio Vince Demuzio (May 7, 1941 – April 27, 2004) was a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate from January 1975 until his death in April 2004. During his time in the Senate, he represented various portions of southwestern Illinois. At the time ...

, who served from 1986 to 1990 and is credited with rebuilding the Illinois Democratic Party. Demuzio was then defeated by Gary LaPaille, then-chief of staff for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Madigan himself succeeded LaPaille, serving in the role until he stepped down in 2021. He was succeeded by U.S. Representative

Robin Kelly Robin Lynne Kelly (born April 30, 1956) is an American politician from Illinois who has served as the U.S. representative from since 2013. A Democrat, Kelly served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007. She then served as ...

. In 2022, Kelly was replaced by State Representative Lisa Hernandez.

Cook County Democratic Party

The

Cook County Democratic Party The Cook County Democratic Party is a political party which represents voters in 50 wards in the city of Chicago and 30 suburban townships of Cook County. The organization has dominated Chicago politics (and consequently, Illinois politics) si ...

represents voters in 50 wards in the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and 30 suburban

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

s of

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

. It relies on a organizational structure of ward and township

committeemen In the United States, a political party committee is an organization, officially affiliated with a political party and registered with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), which raises and spends money for political campaigning. Political party ...

to elect candidates.

Current elected officials

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate

Democrats have controlled both of Illinois's seats in the

since 2016: File:Dick Durbin 117th Congress portrait (1) (cropped).jpeg, Senior U.S. Senator
(

Majority Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology ...

) File:Tammy Duckworth, official portrait, 115th Congress (cropped).jpg, Junior U.S. Senator

U.S. House of Representatives

Out of the 18 seats Illinois is apportioned in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, 13 are held by Democrats:

Statewide officials

Democrats control all six of the elected statewide offices: File:Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.jpg,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

File:Juliana Stratton (cropped).jpg, Lieutenant Governor File:Jesse White 2011 (cropped).jpg, Secretary of State File:Kwame Raoul RFCG (1) (a).jpg,

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

File:Susana Mendoza Blue Suit (1).jpg,

Comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...

File:Frerichs June 30 2016.jpg,

Illinois Treasurer The Treasurer of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. The office was created by the Constitution of Illinois. Current Occupant The current Treasurer of Illinois is Democrat Mike Frerichs. He was first elected to head t ...

State legislative leaders

President of the Illinois Senate The President of the Illinois Senate is the presiding officer of the Illinois Senate, the upper house of the Illinois General Assembly. The post dates from the General Assembly's 32nd session, in 1881. From 1881 to 1973, the lieutenant governor ...

Don Harmon Don Harmon (born November 26, 1966) is an American attorney serving as a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 39th District since 2003. His district includes Chicago's Austin neighborhood and the suburbs of Oak Park, Addi ...

*Senate Majority Leader:

Kimberly A. Lightford Kimberly Ann Lightford (born May 10, 1968) is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 4th district since 1998. She is Senate Majority Leader and also serves on Labor, Education, Executive, Financial Institutions and Redistr ...

*Assistant Senate Majority Leader/President Pro Tempore:

Bill Cunningham Bill Cunningham may refer to: People *Bill Cunningham (rugby union) (1874–1927), New Zealand rugby union player * Bill Cunningham (footballer), Irish international footballer active in the 1890s *Bill Cunningham (infielder) (1886–1946), profe ...

*Deputy Senate Majority Leader:

Laura Murphy Laura M. Murphy is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate representing the 28th district since October 2015. The 28th district includes all or parts of Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Bloomingdale, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Hanover Pa ...

*Assistant Senate Majority Leaders:

Linda Holmes Linda Holmes (born March 16, 1959) is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 42nd District since January 2007. The 42nd district includes all or parts of Aurora, Boulder Hill, Montgomery, Naperville, North Aurora and ...

Dave Koehler David Koehler (born December 16, 1948) is a Democratic politician from Illinois, and has been the Illinois State Senator from 46th Legislative District since December 2006. The district includes Canton, East Peoria, Fairview, Lewistown, Mapl ...

Iris Martinez Iris Y. Martinez (born February 25, 1956) is an American politician and administrator. In 2020, she was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County. She previously served as a member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 20th district ...

, and Antonio Munoz. *Senate Majority Caucus Chair:

Mattie Hunter Mattie Hunter (born June 1, 1954) is a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 3rd district since 2003. She is the Senate secretary for the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and the Senate major ...

*Deputy Senate Majority Caucus Chair:

Jacqueline Y. Collins Jacqueline Y. Collins is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 16th district from 2003 until 2023. Early life and education Born in McComb, Mississippi,Omar Aquino, Michael Hastings, Napoleon Harris III, and Laura Fine. *

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

: Emanuel “Chris” Welch *House Majority Leader: Greg Harris *Deputy House Majority Leaders:

Jehan Gordon-Booth Jehan A. Gordon-Booth (born 1981) is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 92nd district since 2009. Gordon-Booth was born and raised in Peoria County, Illinois, where she attended Limestone High School ...

, and

Art Turner ''For his father who also served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, see Arthur Turner'' Art Turner (born July 17, 1982) is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who serves as a representative for the ...

. *Assistant House Majority Leaders: Kelly M. Burke, Fred Crespo, Will Davis,

Elizabeth Hernandez Elizabeth Hernandez or Hernández may refer to: * Elizabeth Hernández (model), Puerto Rican television personality, author, spokesperson, professional model, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker * Elizabeth Hernandez (politician) (born 1961), ...

, Jay Hoffman, and

Natalie Manley Natalie A. Manley (born December 25, 1961) is a member of the Illinois House of Representatives representing the 98th district since 2013. She is a member of the Democratic party. The 98th district includes all or parts of Bolingbrook, Cres ...

. *House Majority Conference Chairperson:

Kathleen Willis Kathleen Willis (born 1962) is the Illinois state representative for the 77th district. The 77th district includes all or parts of Addison, Bellwood, Bensenville, Franklin Park, Maywood, Melrose Park, Northlake, Stone Park, and Wood Dal ...

References

External links

Democratic Party of Illinois
{{DEFAULTSORT:Democratic Party Of Illinois

Political parties in Illinois