Longtime incumbent Wheeler congratulates Hanson on victory in 83rd state House race

Voters in the redrawn state House 83rd District elected a former Kane County Board member to represent them in Springfield over a longtime incumbent.

Unofficial vote totals released in Kane and Kendall counties late Tuesday night show Democrat Matt Hanson of Aurora with 20,152 votes to 17,637 votes for Republican Keith Wheeler of Oswego.

Wheeler, who had represented the district for the past seven years, released a statement congratulating Hanson on his victory.

"Since taking office in 2015, I've always taken a collaborative approach to getting the people's work done and will continue to do so until I leave office in January. Our state faces many challenges, and the only way to address them is to work together for the betterment of Illinoisans," Wheeler said.

Hanson previously served two years on the Kane County Board and is an engineer with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad.

"The policies of my opponent aren't really the way I view things ... there are some things that haven't been represented the way I want them in Springfield," Hanson said when asked prior to the election why he is running. "As someone in the working class, I don't feel those needs and values are represented as well in the area now as they could be."