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Spin relaunches November 12 with a new look, a new voice and at a new time. Watch your inbox for the Spin in the afternoons for a quick take on what’s happening in local politics. Subscribe here.
Topspin
Illinois turned a darker shade of blue Tuesday night, as billionaire J.B. Pritzker led a Democratic Party sweep of statewide constitutional offices.
The mounting Illinois electoral victories also saw two high-profile congressional seats switch hands and the party’s vice-grip control of the legislature got a bit more taut.
Residents saw drastic change in their congressional representation in the north and northwestern suburbs, which for the past few months has been a political battleground with national implications. Democrats Lauren Underwood and Sean Casten unseated longtime Republican U.S. Reps. Randy Hultgren, 14th, and Peter Roskam, 6th.
State Sen. Kwame Raoul defeated Republican Erika Harold, while Treasurer Michael Frerichs and Comptroller Susana Mendoza each retained their offices.
House Speaker Michael Madigan edged closer to regaining a super-majority in his chamber while Senate President John Cullerton also saw another set of big majorities in Springfield.
Here’s a list of stories to catch you up:
*Illinois takes deep blue dive as national Democrats hope for wave election.
*Democrat J.B. Pritzker topples first-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in Illinois governor race.
*Challenger Lauren Underwood declares victory against Hultgren in close 14th Congressional race.
*Democrat Sean Casten declares victory over U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam in pivotal 6th Congressional District.
*Democrat Kwame Raoul cruises to easy win in Illinois attorney general race.
*Holocaust-denier Arthur Jones loses in Illinois 3rd District, but still got 25 percent of the vote.
*Speaker Madigan edges toward supermajority with anti-Trump push in suburbs.
*Young people drive high turnout as Chicago area sees voting surge.
What’s on tap
*Mayor Rahm Emanuel will preside over the City Council meeting and will take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at O’Hare International Airport.
*Gov. Bruce Rauner has no official events scheduled.
*Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker will be out greeting voters in Chicago.
From the notebook
*What ex-Illinois governors Edgar, Quinn were watching on Election Day: They are grizzled veterans of Illinois politics.
One’s not quite declaring an end to politics while banging the drum about Chicago mayoral term limits. The other was out of state for Election Day, missing his role as TV pundit but OK to keep an eye on election result via his iPad and CNN.
“Ah, never say never,” ex-Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said Tuesday.
As he talks, flashes of the politician who used to walk into news conferences clutching files bulging with reams of paper come to mind. He voted early – on Saturday with his college-age son – so he could use his time today to collect signatures to get a referendum question on the February municipal ballot about a community mental health services program.
And he was planning to tune in to catch the results on Tuesday night.
“There’s some irony here. Last election, when I lost the run for governor, Rauner outspent us 2-to-1. The ironic thing now is listening to Rauner complain about how much money (was) spent on the race,” said Quinn who made an unsuccessful bid this election cycle for Illinois Attorney General.
Two-term Republican governor Jim Edgar, who resides in Springfield but is out of state, said by phone that given the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows candidates to pour an unlimited amount of money into their campaigns, it’s “no surprise.”
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