Politician Roundup: U.S. Reps. Schakowsky, Schneider coast; Gabel and Gong-Gershowitz too; Dems take local state’s attorney races

Voters in the 9th Congressional District elected U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston) to her 14th term in Congress on Tuesday.

Schakowsky, 80, handily defeated challenger Seth Cohen (R-Chicago) to retain the seat she has held since 1999.

As of publication time, the incumbent Schakowsky received approximately 66 percent of the vote to Cohen’s 33 percent, with roughly 95 percent of votes reported, according to data from The New York Times.

The Evanston resident will head back to the U.S. House of Representatives once again to serve the 9th District, which includes Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Northfield and a portion of Glencoe.

In 2022, Schakowsky defeated Republican challenger Max Rice in the general election. She topped Sargis Sangari (R-Skokie) to retain the seat in 2020 and rolled past John Elleson (R-Arlington Heights) in 2018 by a 35-point margin.

Schakowsky currently serves in the House Democratic Leadership as a chief deputy whip, according to her website. She is also a member of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, House Budget Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Schneider wins 6th term, retains seat in 10th District 

Incumbent Brad Schneider (D-Highland Park) is headed back to the U.S. House for his sixth term in Congress. Schneider defeated challenger Jim Carris (R-Lake Forest), according to the Associated Press.

Per New York Times data, with 89 percent of the vote reported, Schneider captured just over 59 percent of the vote, winning a total of 181,886 votes compared to Carris’ 40 percent and 125,689. 

What was once one of the most competitive congressional districts in the state has now shifted blue. The district, which covers a portion of Glencoe as well as Northbrook and Lake County, has now gone to the Democratic party each of the last four election cycles.

Schneider reclaimed the district for Democrats eight years ago by defeating former State Rep. and New Trier High School graduate Bob Dold (R-Kenilworth) with 52 percent of the vote, compared to Dold’s 48 percent.

The 2016 matchup marked the third time Schneider and Dold vied for the seat, with Schneider winning in 2012 and 2016, and losing to Dold in 2014.

In 2018, Schneider delivered an impressive showing of support to ensure the district would stay blue by defeating Republican challenger Douglas Bennett (R-Deerfield) with 65.4 percent of the vote.

Gabel tops Wilmette resident, re-elected to state’s 18th District representative seat

Robyn Gabel, the majority leader of the Illinois House of Representatives, defeated Republican opponent and Wilmette resident Charles Hutchinson. 

The 2024 race between the two candidates was a rematch of the 2022 election for the 18th District seat. Gabel defeated Hutchinson by a wide margin last cycle, earning more than 80 percent of the vote to earn what was then her seventh term in the Illinois General Assembly. 

The 2024 race was slightly closer, but voters still heavily favored the longtime incumbent. Gabel won 79 percent of the vote this year, with just over 95 percent reported, according to the New York Times. 

Gabel also previously defeated Wilmette resident Julie Cho in 2018 by a 45-point margin.

The 18th district includes all or parts of Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Northbrook, Glenview, Glencoe, Northfield and Evanston.

Voters tab Gong-Gershowitz for fourth term 

Democrat Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-Glenview), an immigration lawyer, was re-elected to the Illinois State House of Representatives Tuesday, Nov. 5, topping Republican challenger Jim Geldermann. 

With 95 percent of votes reported, the incumbent Gong-Gershowitz picked up 68 percent of the vote in the 17th District, while Geldermann gained 32 percent of the votes cast in the race.

Gong-Gershowitz was first elected to office in 2018 when she defeated Republican challenger Peter Lee by a margin of more than 18,000 votes.

Illinois’ 17th District includes parts of Glenview, Wilmette and Northbrook.

Longtime Northbrook resident Katz Muhl wins Illinois House race for 57th district 

A close race for the 57th district seat ended with Northbrook resident Tracy Katz Muhl edging Republican Daniel Behr, also from Northbrook. 

With just under 90 percent of the vote reported, Katz Muhl won approximately 58 percent of the vote in her district, which includes Northfield and Glencoe.

Katz Muhl was appointed to fill the seat of former State Rep. Jonathan Carroll after he resigned from office earlier this year. She had previously served on the Northbrook School District 28 Board of Education. 

O’Neill Burke, Rinehart win state’s attorney races 

Democrat Eileen O’Neill Burke defeated Republican Robert Fioretti in the quest for one of Cook County’s most-prized offices. 

O’Neill Burke won just under 60 percent of the vote in Cook County State’s Attorney election. That total represents a figure of 571,244 votes compared to Fioretti’s 339,710 (35.6 percent) votes. 

Cook County voters elected Kim Foxx (D-Chicago) to two terms in the office before she announced she would not run for a third term as the county’s top prosecutor. 

In Lake County, Democrat Eric Rinehart won 54.2 percent of the vote to win the office. Republican Mary Cole earned just under 46 percent. Just over 24,000 votes separated the candidates, according to Lake County election data.

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