Illinois
See Illinois primary election results for Senate, House, governor
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Nothing like St. Patrick’s Day in Illinois.
Results from a busy primary election as of the morning of Wednesday, March 18, show a blue state ready to select its next roster of congressional leadership. Races for the Senate, House of Representatives and Governor were highlighted by an opportunity to replace longtime incumbent Senator Dick Durbin, a liberal stalwart who is retiring since first being elected in 1996.
Here are the results from the primary and what they mean for the November midterms.
Senate race results
All eyes are on Illinois’ Senate race in 2026. A U.S. Senate seat is up for grabs after Durbin, 81, announced his retirement in April 2025. The opening of Durbin’s seat comes as the GOP fights to maintain a majority on Capitol Hill that ensures success for President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda. Both of Illinois’ senators are currently Democrats, with Durbin serving alongside Sen. Tammy Duckworth. Democrats in the loyally blue state are looking to lockdown a stronghold.
For the Democratic ticket, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won by 40%, according to AP and CNN. She bested Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who lead in campaign finance leading up to the race. Stratton, was backed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, would bring a more progressive agenda to Capitol Hill: She said she would not support Sen. Chuck Schumer as Democratic leader and has called for abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. If she wins in November, Stratton could become just the 6th Black woman in history to serve to the upper chamber.
Stratton will face the winner of the Republican race, Don Tracy, who won his party’s race by 39.8%, according to AP and CNN. Tracy is the former chair of the Illinois Republican Party in the heavily-Democrat state.
House race results
There’s lots of room for new faces in the House come January 2027. Voters in each of Illinois’ 17 congressional districts cast ballots for one Republican and one Democrat to be on the November 2026 ballot, which determines who gets elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Because two incumbent Illinois House members, Krishnamoorthi and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly are currently running for Senate, their seats are up for grabs. And two more seats are open after Rep. Jan Schakowsky, 81, and Rep. Danny Davis, 84, announced their retirement. A clamor of fresh candidates entered the race to fill these seats.
Here are the results in those key races, according to AP and CNN:
- 2nd District (Kelly): Donna Kelly beat Jesse Jackson Jr., son of the late civil rights leader, stalling his political comeback run, by 40%. She will face the GOP’s Michael Noack, who ran unopposed.
- 7th District (Davis): La Shawn Ford won by 23.9% and Chad Koppie won by 65%.
- 8th District (Krishnamoorthi): Former Rep. Melissa Bean earned her Democratic ticket spot by 31% to reclaim her old seat. She will face Republican Jennifer Davis, who won by 51.5%.
- 9th District (Schakowsky): Evanston mayor Daniel Biss won by 29% and John Elleson won by 49%. Biss prevailed over Kat Abughazaleh, a well-financed Gen Z opponent and influencer among a large field of opponents.
Pritzker tests presidential tone
Pritzker is staring down his own campaign to become the state’s first-ever third-term Democratic governor. Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run on the same ticket. Pritzker and Christian Mitchell ran unopposed in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, which was a bellwether of his political appeal. Come November, Pritzker will face the Republican Darren Bailey, who won his race by 53%, according to AP and CNN.
Pritzker, who is a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, also used the March 17 victory speech to slam Trump, referring to the president as the GOP’s “dear leader.” He also called Trump the “carnival barker-in-chief” and “commander-in-thief” while speaking out against the immigration enforcement campaign in the state last year known as “Operation Midway Blitz.”
Why this race matters
There are state-level and national implications of the Illinois race. For voters on the ground, Tuesday’s primary delivered a fresh intake of energy from new faces bent on keeping the Democratic mission alive in a staunchly blue state.
And there’s the impact on America writ large. The election comes as both parties attempt to hold on to Congressional power, either tanking or securing the success of Trump’s second-term agenda.
Contributing: Philip Bailey, Jay Stahl
Illinois
1 dead, 3 injured after interstate crash in Morton, State Police say
MORTON (25News Now) – One person is dead and three others are injured after a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 74 in Morton Thursday.
Illinois State Police said the crash happened around 5:40 a.m. at mile marker 102 the eastbound lanes of I-74 in Morton.
One westbound lane is closed. All eastbound lanes are being directed off and back on the interstate at North Morton Avenue.
No further information is available.
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Copyright 2026 WEEK. All rights reserved.
Illinois
UChicago Medicine performs first-known quadruple transplant surgery in Illinois
CHICAGO (WLS) — Jasmine Jones says cystic fibrosis was slowly destroying her body.
Months after she had both lungs, her kidney and her liver replaced, she’s thankful for her donor and doctors for giving her a second chance at life.
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Jones, 28, has spent her entire life battling the genetic disease that attacks the lungs and digestive system with thick, sticky mucus.
Over time, the disease ravaged multiple organs.
First, her liver began to fail.
“I was retaining a lot of fluid. I was in pain, very fatigued, no energy,” Jones said.
And last year, she slipped into a coma for two days.
SEE ALSO: Long Island teen’s parents issue plea for kidney donor, a surprise neighbor responds
Doctors at University of Chicago Medicine suggested replacing the liver with a donor organ, but one of Jones’ kidneys was shutting down. And her lungs were severely compromised.
“We as a team decided that it was the best option for her long-term survival was to replace all her organs in one surgery,” said Dr. Pablo Sanchez, with UChicago Medicine.
So in January, surgeons performed the first-known quadruple transplant in Illinois, replacing both of Jones’ lungs, her liver and a kidney with organs from one donor.
The procedure took place over two days.
“My donor’s organs fit perfectly. They thought they would have to shave something down or alter certain things, but everything just fit into place,” Jones said.
Jones goes to rehab three times a week, and her ultimate goal is to learn how to roller skate.
In the meantime, she says she’s grateful to the donor who made her recovery possible.
“Thank you for another chance at life and for giving me a new outlook on life,” Jones said.
Jones faces months of rehabilitation and lifelong anti-rejection medications. But she says she hopes her story will inspire others to register as organ donors.
Copyright © 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Illinois
2 ways to improve Illinois spending decisions
Lawmakers make costly decisions without understanding the economic impact.
Illinois lawmakers should get economic impact studies before enacting major taxes and regulations and review costly policies they’ve already enacted.
The state faces nearly $21 billion in projected budget deficits in the next five years, with expenditures projected to grow nearly 20% and revenues only 11%.
Lawmakers can revisit policies that were enacted with limited analysis of their long-term cost. Illinois vastly underestimated spending on migrant health care. In 2023 alone, the state expected to spend $220 million, but the total came in nearly three times higher, at $644 million. Lawmakers eventually reversed part of this policy, but only after lengthy audits after the policy was enacted. A quicker reviewing of the policy that didn’t require audits could have helped.
State lawmakers also passed economically damaging business taxes for fiscal 2026 with little discussion or debate, prioritizing short-term increases in revenue while risking long-term economic growth in a state whose economy is already falling behind.
The bipartisan Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules is required to consider the financial impact of proposed rules on small businesses and local governments, but its authority is limited. Either expanding its role or creating a similar mechanism to include comprehensive economic impact reviews of major tax and policy changes and their long-term consequences would provide lawmakers more information before making decisions. Too often, policy changes are adopted with little scrutiny, often in the final hours of the legislative session.
Regulations are another issue. As the fourth-most regulated state in the U.S., with over 282,000 restrictions, many of them unnecessary and costly, Illinois should more closely review economically significant regulations before they take effect.
The state should look to the federal Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act. That bill would mandate that the U.S. Congress explicitly approve any “major rules,” or those that would have a significant impact on the economy or business.
Illinois could adopt a similar approach, requiring legislative approval for regulations with at least $10 million in economic impact. This could ensure that major regulatory decisions receive both thorough analysis and democratic accountability.
A threshold of $10 million in annual economic impact would ensure that:
- Economic impacts are evaluated early in the rulemaking process.
- Lawmakers have ample time to review proposed rules.
- Costly or ideologically driven rules are prevented from taking effect by default.
- There is legislative responsibility for economically significant policy decisions.
Illinois finances will only deteriorate further if lawmakers focus on short-term policymaking rather than the future health of Illinois. For a more thorough roadmap on fiscal reforms, see our report Illinois Forward 2027.
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