Illinois's 2nd congressional district is a

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...

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 so ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. It stretches south from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's Kenwood community area through portions of the city's South Side and southern suburbs, extending into several more rural counties outside of

Chicagoland The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities ...

. Nearly two-thirds of its residents live in densely-populated

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 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...

. The 2nd district is nearly 50% Black and has voted reliably Democratic for decades. All four of its representatives since

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

have been Black. The seat is currently represented by Democrat Robin Kelly, who announced in 2025 that she would pursue a Senate campaign in lieu of reelection. In recent years, this district has been the site of multiple congressional scandals. Rep. Gus Savage lost his primary in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

after making

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

statements, and his two successors — Mel Reynolds and Jesse Jackson Jr. — resigned from office amid legal battles pertaining to sexual assault and campaign finance violations, respectively.

Composition

By county

Cities and CDP with 10,000 or more people

– 2,665,039 * Calumet City – 36,033 * Danville – 29,204 * Lansing – 29,076 * Chicago Heights – 27,480 * Kankakee – 24,052 * Blue Island – 22,558 * Park Forest – 21,687 *

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

– 21,465 * Dolton – 21,426 * Harvey – 20,324 * Frankfort – 20,296 * Matteson – 19,073 *

Bourbonnais The Bourbonnais (; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Borbonés'') was a Provinces of France, historic province in the centre of France that corresponds to the modern ''département in France, département'' of Allier, along with part of the ''dépar ...

– 18,164 * Country Club Hills – 16,775 * Bradley – 15,419 * Hazel Crest – 13,382 * Richton Park – 12,775 * Rantoul – 12,371 * Markham – 11,661 * Pontiac – 11,150 * Riverdale – 10,663

2,500 to 10,000 people

* Sauk Village – 9,921 * Flossmoor – 9,704 * Steger – 9,584 * Lynwood – 9,116 * Glenwood – 8,662 *

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

– 8,465 * University Park – 7,145 * Monee – 5,128 * Hoopeston – 4,915 * Olympia Fields – 4,718 * Beecher – 4,713 * Watseka – 4,679 * Paxton – 4,450 * Peotone – 4,150 * Burnham – 4,046 * Dwight – 4,032 * South Chicago Heights – 4,026 * Fairbury – 3,633 * Gibson City – 3,475 * Westville – 3,167 * Momence – 3,117 * Dixmoor – 2,973 * Tilton – 2,660 Following the 2020 redistricting, the district will still encompass the south suburbs of

, eastern

Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

County, most of Kankakee County, and

's far southeast side. Additionally, it now takes in

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

County; most of Ford and

Vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide). It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a moder ...

; eastern Livingston County including half of Pontiac; and the portion of Champaign County north of County Road 3000 N. The 2nd district takes in the

neighborhoods of Hegewisch and Riverdale; most of South Deering and Pullman; the coastal portion of Kenwood; the eastern part of Woodlawn and Hyde Park taking up Jackson Park; the portion of South Shore east of East 71st Street and South Yates Blvd (including Rainbow Beach Park); and part of Roseland. Outside of the Chicago city limits, the district takes in the

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * C ...

County communities of Dolton,

, Chicago Heights, Sauk Village, Park Forest (shared with Will County), Lansing, Burnham, Calumet City, Phoenix, Hazel Crest, East Hazel Crest, Thornton, Flossmoor, Glenwood, Olympia Fields, Ford Heights, Lynwood, Richton Park, South Chicago Heights, and Steger (shared with Will County); part of Blue Island; part of Riverdale; part of Dixmoor; part of Markham; part of Frankfort (shared with Will County); most of Harvey; most of Country Club Hills; and most of Matteson. Will County is split between this district and the 1st district. They are partitioned by South Harlem Ave, West Peotone Rd, North Peotone Rd, West Kennedy Rd, Rock Creek, and South Center Rd. The 2nd district takes in the communities of Peotone, Beecher,

, Steger (shared with Cook County), Park Forest (shared with Cook County), Monee, University Park, Goodenow, Plum Valley, Willowbrook, Eagle Lake, and part of Frankfort (shared with Cook County) Kankakee County is split between this district and the 1st district. They are partitioned by North 5000E Rd, East 6000N Rd, Cardinal Drive, Durham St, East Armour Rd, East Marsile St, Bisallion Ave, and the Kankakee River. The 2nd district takes in the communities of Kankakee, Momence, Aroma Park, Grant Park, Herscher, Hopkins Park,

St. Anne According to apocrypha, as well as Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's na ...

, Sun River Terrace, Sammons Point, Chebanse (shared with Iroquois County), Irwin,

Limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, Bonfield,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, Reddick, Union Hill,

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

, Cabery (shared with Ford County); most of Bradley; and half of

. Vermilion County is split between this district and the 15th district. They are partitioned by Twin Hills Rd, 1730 East, 1295 North, 1700 East, 1200 North, 1670 Rd East, 1050 North, Highway 150, Westville Ln, 1100 North, 800 East, 1200 North, and Lincoln Trail Rd. The 2nd district takes in the communities of Danville, Tilton, Bismarck, Hoopeston, Rankin, East Lynn, Rossville, Potomac, Henning, Alvin, Fithian, Muncie, Oakwood, Catlin, Westville, and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Ford County is split between this district and the 16th district. They are partitioned by E 900N Rd, N Melvin St, E 8th St, and N 500E Rd. The 2nd district takes in the municipalities of Paxton, Cabery (shared with Kankakee County), Elliott, Kempton, Piper City, Roberts, Sibley, Melvin, Roberts; and part of Gibson City. Livingston County is split between this district and the 16th district. They are partitioned by N 1800 Rd East, E 1550 Rd North, N 1600 Rd East, E 1500 Rd North, N 1500 Rd East, W Reynolds St, Highway 55, The Slough, E 1830 Rd North, Old IL-66 South, N 1700 Rd East, N 2125 Rd North, and N 1800 Rd East. The 2nd district takes in the municipalities of Fairbury, Chatsworth, Strawn,

Forrest Forrest may refer to: Places Australia *Forrest, Australian Capital Territory *Forrest, Victoria, a small rural township *Division of Forrest, a federal division of the Australian House of Representatives, in Western Australia *Electoral distric ...

, Saunemin, Cullom, Odell, Emington,

Campus A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls. By extension, a corp ...

; most of Dwight; and half of Pontiac. Champaign County is split between this district, the 13th district, and the 15th district. They are partitioned by County Road 3000 N, County Road 1200 E, East Chandler St, and County Road 2000 E. The 2nd district takes in the municipalities of Rantoul, Dewey,

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

, and Foosland; most of Fisher; and part of Gifford.

Demographics

The southeast side of Chicago was for many decades the home of numerous

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

an and Irish

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

who sought the industrial work of the steel mills and railroad companies which were then dominant in the area. However, as local industry declined in the 1950s and 1960s, these groups were increasingly displaced by African Americans who were gradually migrating southward from other parts of the city. Whereas barely 20% of district residents were black in the 1960s, this figure increased to 70% by the 1980s, and by the 1990s the racial demographics of the 1st and 2nd congressional districts were very similar. At the same time, decreasing population in the district required expanding its borders into the suburbs, and it is now nearly three times the size it was in the 1980s, when it covered only . Following redistricting for the 2000s (decade), 59% of the 2nd congressional district's population resides in the suburbs, with a total of 98.4% living in Cook County. The district's white population (almost 30% of its residents) now primarily resides in the southern suburbs and a few far southeastern Chicago neighborhoods such as East Side and Hegewisch. Several suburbs closer to Chicago near Interstate 57 have black populations exceeding 75%: Calumet Park, Country Club Hills, Dolton, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Markham, Matteson, Phoenix, Richton Park, Riverdale, and University Park. In contrast, there are five suburbs further southeast with white populations exceeding 75% – Homewood, Lansing, South Chicago Heights, Steger and Thornton – although they surround Ford Heights, with a population of only about 2800 the district's most racially one-sided population (96% black). Chicago Heights features the most even racial mix, with a population that is 45% white and 38% black. The district's largest white ethnic groups are German (5.8%), Irish (4.4%), Polish (4.4%) and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

(3.1%), similar to other districts in southern Cook County. Hispanics represent 10% of the district's population, with sizable communities in East Side and Chicago Heights. Chicago's South Shore neighborhood was the longtime home to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community which has since migrated to suburbs such as Homewood and Flossmoo

South Shore is now primarily a middle-class black community and is also home to a notable minority of African American Muslims, Black Muslims including the national headquarters of the

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A centralized and hierarchical organization, the NOI is committed to black nationalism and focuses its attention on the Afr ...

, Mosque Maryam. The district includes some sharp economic disparities. Olympia Fields, Country Club Hills and Matteson are affluent suburbs with black majority populations, but Ford Heights (only four miles east of Olympia Fields) is one of the most impoverished places in the United States, with a median household income of just $17,500 in 2000 – less than 42% of the national average. It is home to more single mothers per capita than anyplace else in the country.

Recent election results from statewide races

Presidential voting

This table indicates how the 2nd District has voted in U.S. presidential elections; election results reflect voting in the district as it was configured at the time of the election, not as it is configured today. The candidate who received the most votes in the district is listed first; the candidate who won the election nationally is in CAPS, and the candidate who won the state of Illinois is indicated with a †.

History

2011 redistricting

The district covers parts of

and

counties and all of Kankakee, as of the 2011 redistricting which followed the 2010 census. All or parts of Bradley,

, Calumet City,

, Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Dolton, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Homewood, Kankakee, Lansing, Markham, Matteson, Park Forest, Richton Park, Riverdale, Sauk Village, Steger and Thornton are included. The representatives for these districts were elected in the 2012 primary and general elections, and the boundaries became effective on January 3, 2013.

Prominent representatives

Economy

The 2nd Congressional District was, for most of the 20th century, a thriving center of heavy industry centered around Lake Calumet and the Port of Chicago, augmented by the nearby railroad industry which had the

Pullman Company The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

as its centerpiece. The

steel industry Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high elastic modulus, yield strength, fracture strength and low raw material cost, steel is one of the ...

was a major component, with U.S. Steel at one time employing 20,000 district residents, but the Wisconsin Steelworks in South Deering closed in March 1980, and U.S. Steel's South Works plant in South Chicago – source of the steel for Chicago skyscrapers including the Sears Tower – was closed in April 1992; both have since been dismantled. Virtually the last remnant of the industry in the area is ISG Riverdale (formerly the Acme Steel Co.), which began a shutdown in 2001 before being sold and restructured as a smaller company. The most significant remaining industrial presence in the district is now the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

, which operates the Chicago Assembly plant (where the

Ford Explorer The Ford Explorer is a range of Sport utility vehicle, SUVs manufactured by Ford Motor Company since the 1991 model year. The first five-door SUV produced by Ford, the Explorer, was introduced as a replacement for the three-door Ford Bronco II ...

is manufactured) on the border between South Deering and Hegewisch, as well as the Chicago Stamping facility in Chicago Heights. Like the 1st District, the area is struggling to overcome economic downturns in recent decades. Local educational institutions include

Governors State University Governors State University (Governors State, GSU, GovState, or GOVST) is a public university in University Park, Illinois, United States. The campus is located south of Chicago, Illinois. GovState was founded in 1969. It is a public universi ...

in University Park,

Chicago State University Chicago State University (CSU) is a Historically black colleges and universities, predominantly black (PBI) public university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It includes an honors program for undergraduates and offers bachelor's and master ...

in Roseland, Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, South Suburban College in South Holland and Olive-Harvey College, a Chicago city college, in Pullman. The

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

is directly west of the district's northern end. Hospitals in the district include Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, St. James Hospitals in Chicago Heights and Olympia Fields, Advocate Trinity Hospital in Calumet Heights, La Rabida Children's Hospital in Woodlawn, South Shore Hospital in South Chicago and Roseland Community Hospital in Roseland. The Museum of Science and Industry is located almost at the district's northern tip. Various areas of the

Cook County Forest Preserves The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is a governmental commission in Cook County, Illinois, that owns and manages land containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes. These land holdings are primarily managed as undeveloped nat ...

are scattered throughout the suburban part of the district, particularly in the area northeast of Chicago Heights. Other notable business and industrial presences in the district include Jays Foods, a manufacturer of snack foods based in Pullman; the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

; Allied Tube and Conduit, a piping and electrical manufacturer in Harve

and UGN Inc., an automotive soundproofing manufacturer in Chicago Height

Federal facilities in the district include Coast Guard Station Calumet Harborbr>
in East Side and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial United States Army Reserve, Army Reserve Center, home of the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade, in Homewood. In addition to the Jackson Park Historic Landscape District and the Museum of Science and Industry's , district locations on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

include: *

AVR 661 AVR ''661'' is an R-1 type United States Air Force "crash boat", a boat used in air-sea rescues. It is 85 feet long and has two Packard Marine 4M-2500 engines of 1500 horsepower, instead of the normal three that PT boats usually were equipped wi ...

, South Deering * Bloom Township High School, Chicago Heights * Calumet Park, East Side * Flamingo-on-the-Lake Apartments, Hyde Park * Flat Iron Building, Chicago Heights * Ford Airport Hangar, Lansing * Hotel Del Prado, Hyde Park * Jeffery-Cyril Historic District, South Shore * Lake-Side Terrace Apartments, South Shore * Allan Miller House, South Shore *

Olympia Fields Country Club Olympia Fields Country Club is a private golf club in the Midwestern United States, central United States, located in Olympia Fields, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, about south of Chicago Loop, The Loop. It contains two eighteen-hole courses, N ...

, Olympia Fields * Pacesetter Gardens Historic District, Riverdale (suburb) * Palmer Park, Roseland * Promontory Apartments, Hyde Park * Pullman Historic District National Historic Landmark, Pullman * Shoreland Hotel, Hyde Park * South Shore Beach Apartments, South Shore * South Shore Country Club, South Shore * Trumbull Park, South Deering

List of members representing the district

Election results

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2013 (special)

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

2024

References

External links

''Washington Post'' page on the 2nd District of Illinois''Village of Burnham Official Website''
* - Congressional District Profiles, U.S. Census Bureau *
U.S. Census Bureau - 2nd District Fact Sheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Illinois's 2nd Congressional District 02 Congress-02 Constituencies established in 1833 1833 establishments in Illinois