Incumbents leading in five suburban state legislative races
Election Day appeared to belong to the incumbents in five state legislative races scattered throughout the suburbs from the 10th District of the Illinois Senate to the House races of the 48th, 49th, 57th and 59th districts, according to unofficial results late Tuesday.
Democratic incumbent Robert Martwick of Chicago had 39,127 votes or 58.7% of those counted to his crosstown Republican challenger Jon Luers’ 28,037 in the 10th District Senate race with an estimated 72% of ballots counted.
They strongly disagreed on a number of policy issues but perhaps none more than climate change.
Martwick, who attributed climate change to “the realities of the human condition,” including population growth, the burning of fossil fuels, and excess use of disposable plastics, said he is terrified for the planet his young children are to inherit. Luers described it as irresponsible to spend a lot of public money on the fears of a few, saying he would rely on the “historical resilience of natural systems.”
In the 48th House District, Republican incumbent Jennifer Sanalitro of Hanover Park had 21,722 votes or 57% as she sought her second term while challenged by Democrat Maria Vesey of Itasca who had 16,379 with 69% of ballots counted.
In her bid for a third term in the 49th House District, Democrat Maura Hirschauer of Batavia had 16,553 votes or 53.9% of the total to her Republican West Chicago challenger Hannah Billingsley’s 14,182 with 65% of ballots counted.
Public safety was a key issue in their race, with Hirschauer defending cashless bail while Billingsley said she’s heard concerns from both law enforcement officials and residents.
In the 57th District, Democratic state Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl of Northbrook had 25,188 votes or 58.5% while her crosstown Republican challenger Daniel Behr had 17,849 with 85% of the vote counted.
During the campaign, they differed on immigration policy and the effectiveness of the state’s recent criminal justice reform law but agreed on wanting more gun control.
In the race for the 59th District, Democrat state Rep. Daniel Didech of Buffalo Grove had 17,331 votes or 66.4% while Republican challenger Chris Henning of Mundelein had 8,772 with 56% of ballots counted.
In their race, too, the merits of the SAFE-T Act were rigorously debated.