Illinois's 10th congressional district

2011 redistricting

The district covers parts of Cook and Lake counties, as of the 2011 redistricting which followed the 2010 census. All or parts of Beach Park, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Fox Lake, Grayslake, Highland Park, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Lindenhurst, Libertyville, Mundelein, North Chicago, Northbrook, Prospect Heights, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Vernon Hills, Waukegan, Wheeling and Zion are included. The boundaries became effective on January 3, 2013.

Economy

The 10th is home to several Fortune 500 Companies, including but not limited to: CDW, Walgreens, Underwriters Laboratories, Baxter Healthcare, AbbVie, Allstate Insurance and Mondelez International

Military

The Naval Station Great Lakes near North Chicago, hosting the United States Navy's only boot camp, trains 38,000 recruits each year. 5.2% of the district's inhabitants have performed military service.

History

The area of the district was originally represented by one of Abraham Lincoln's closest allies, Elihu B. Washburne (R-Waukegan). The district was created in 1982 redistricting out of districts represented by John Porter (R-Wilmette) and Robert McClory (R-Lake Bluff). On the retirement of McClory, the district was represented by Porter after winning the elections of 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1998. Following Porter's retirement, 11 Republicans and two Democrats ran to succeed him. Eventually 9 Republicans and one Democrat stood for election in the primary of March 2000. John Porter's former Chief of Staff, Mark Kirk, won the Republican primary over number two rival Shaun Donnely. Kirk then defeated State Representative Lauren Beth Gash (D-Highland Park) by 2% in the 2000 general election. Kirk remained in Congress until he decided to run for the United States Senate in the 2010 election. He was succeeded by Republican Robert Dold.

2006 election

Republican candidate for Governor, Judy Baar Topinka, and GOP candidate for Cook County Board President Tony Peraica both handily won the district in 2006, although both lost in the state- and countywide (respectively) count.

2008 election

Dan Seals, who had previously run against Mark Kirk in 2006, defeated Clinton Advisor Jay Footlik for the 2008 Democratic nomination. Dave Kalbfleisch received the Green Party nomination, but was removed from the ballot by the Illinois State Board of Elections. Independent candidate Allan Stevo was also nominated. Mark Kirk defeated Dan Seals in their rematch from 2006 by 54% to 46%, thus winning a fifth term in the House.

2010 election

The Republican Party nominee, Robert Dold, won against the Democratic Party nominee, Dan Seals.

2012 election

Robert Dold no longer lives in the redrawn district, but said he would move into the district if he won re-election.

Candidates for the Democratic nomination were: Ilya Sheyman, a community organizer from Waukegan, Brad Schneider, a business consultant, John Tree, a business executive and Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, and Vivek Bavda, an intellectual property attorney.

In the March 20, 2012 primary, Brad Schneider won the Democratic nomination. Schneider defeated Dold in the general election in November.

2014 Election

Brad Schneider, the incumbent, was selected to be the Democratic nominee, and Robert Dold was once again selected to be the Republican Nominee. Dold won the election with just over 50% of the vote.

2016 Election

Brad Schneider defeated Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering for the Democratic nomination on March 15. Democrat Brad Schneider defeated Republican Robert Dold by nearly 5% (14,000 votes), the largest victory margin in Illinois's 10th Congressional district since redistricting.

Living former Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 10th congressional district

As of January 2017, four former members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 10th congressional district are alive. The most recent representative to die was Abner J. Mikva (1975-1979) on July 4, 2016.