Population (2011 est.) 707,238 Cook PVI R+11 | Median income 54,571 Area 27,236 km² | |
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Distribution 63.7% urban36.3% rural Ethnicity 91.4% White3.9% Black2.4% Asian2.3% Hispanic0.2% Native American0.6% other | ||
The 18th Congressional District of Illinois covers central and western Illinois, including all of Jacksonville and Quincy and parts of Bloomington, Peoria, and Springfield. Republican Aaron Schock had represented the district since January 2009, but resigned March 31, 2015. Special elections were called to select Schock's replacement, with a primary on July 7 and the main election on September 10, 2015, which was won by Republican State Senator Darin LaHood.
Contents
- 2011 redistricting
- Election results
- 2008
- Current Representative
- Living former members from the district
- References
Abraham Lincoln served much of the area that now lies within the 18th district for a single term; it was numbered as the 7th district at the time. It also contains most of the territory that was represented by future United States Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen (1933-1949. when it was the 16th District) and longtime House Minority Leader Bob Michel (1957-1995).
From 1949 to 2015, it was represented by men who attended Bradley University, and from 1957 from 2015 by a Bradley graduate.
2011 redistricting
The district covers parts of McLean, Peoria, Sangamon, Stark and Tazewell counties, and all of Adams, Brown, Cass, Hancock, Logan, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, Menard, Morgan, Pike, Schuyler, Scott and Woodford counties, as of the 2011 redistricting which followed the 2010 census. All or parts of Bloomington, Chatham, Jacksonville, Lincoln, Macomb, Morton, Normal, Peoria, Quincy and Springfield are included. The representatives for these districts were elected in the 2012 primary and general elections, and the boundaries became effective on January 5, 2013.
Election results
* Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1994, write-ins received 955 votes. In 1998, write-ins received 2 votes. In 2008, Green Party candidate Sheldon Schafer received 9,857 votes. In 2010, Schafer received 11,256 votes.
2008
Ray LaHood decided not to seek re-election in 2008 and was chosen by Barack Obama to serve as U.S. Secretary of Transportation. Illinois State Representative Aaron Schock of Peoria won the seat for the Republicans in the November 4, 2008 election. His main opponent was Democrat Colleen Callahan, of Kickapoo, a radio and television broadcaster. Green Party candidate and educator Sheldon Schafer, of Peoria, was in a distant third place on the ballot.
Current Representative
Current representative, Darin LaHood received criticism from constituents for declining to hold an open town hall during the February 2017 recess. Constituents from across the 18th congressional district gathered in Bloomington Normal and Jacksonville to request a town hall to discuss a variety of issues, including access to health care, immigration laws, and the freedom of the press. LaHood argued that he did not need to hold a town hall because he received 72% of the vote in 2016.
Living former members from the district
As of January 2017, two former members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 18th congressional district are alive.