Illinois's 13th Senate district explained

State:	Illinois
District:	13
Chamber:	Senate
Image Caption:	The 13th district since 2023.
Representative:	Robert Peters
Party:	Democratic
Residence:	Chicago
Percent White:	23.5
Percent Black:	55.0
Percent Hispanic:	12.8
Percent Asian:	9.0
Percent Native American:	1.7
Percent Pacific Islander:	0.2
Population:	217,228
Population Year:	2020
Voting Age:	180,325
Citizen Voting Age:	153,965

Illinois’ 13th Senate district is one of 59 districts in the Illinois Senate. The seat stretches along the southern shoreline of Lake Michigan, from Chicago’s Magnificent Mile to the Indiana border. The seat is home to several Chicago landmarks, including Navy Pier, Millennium Park, Grant Park, the Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium, Soldier Field, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the University of Chicago. Neighborhoods located within its boundaries include Streeterville and the South Side communities of Kenwood, Hyde Park, and South Chicago.

The 13th district is home to 119,000 Black residents, who comprise a majority of the seat’s 217,000 total inhabitants. In recent years, this has made the seat a launching pad for several Black elected officials in Illinois. Notable examples include former President Barack Obama, who springboarded from this seat to the U.S. Senate in 2004, and state Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who represented the district from 2004 to 2019.

Democrats have held this seat with ease for more than six decades. In 2020, Joe Biden (who spent eight years as Obama’s vice president) carried it by an 89%-10% margin over Donald Trump.

Prominent legislators

Senators

Senator	Notes
John M. Palmer	Served as a Major General during the American Civil War (1861–1866) Appointed Military Governor of Kentucky (1865–1866) Elected the 15th Governor of Illinois (1869–1873) Elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois (1891–1897) National Democratic Party nominee in the 1896 United States presidential election
Dawn Clark Netsch	Elected the 4th Illinois Comptroller (1991–1995) Democratic Party nominee in the 1994 Illinois gubernatorial election
Richard H. Newhouse Jr.	First African American person to run for Mayor of Chicago in the 1975 Chicago mayoral election
Barack Obama	Elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois (2005–2008) Elected the 44th President of the United States (2009–2017)
Kwame Raoul	Elected the 42nd Illinois Attorney General (2019–present)

Representatives

List of senators

1849 – 1871

Senator^[1]	Party	Years	General Assembly (GA)	Electoral History	Counties Represented
Franklin Witt	Democratic ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5]	January 1, 1849 – ???	16th	Elected in 1848 Left the 17th General Assembly at an unknown time.	Calhoun Greene Jersey Macoupin
	17th
John M. Palmer		??? – January 1, 1855	Served in the 17th GA Redistricted to the 14th Legislative district and re-elected in 1854.
18th
Hugh L. Sutphin	January 1, 1855 – January 3, 1859	19th 20th	Elected in 1854 Was not re-elected in 1858.	Calhoun Pike Scott
Chauncey L. Higbee	January 3, 1859 – January 5, 1863	21st 22nd	Elected in 1858 Was not re-elected in 1862.
Bryant T. Schofield	January 5, 1863 – January 7, 1867	23rd 24th	Elected in 1862 Was not re-elected in 1866.	Adams Hancock
Samuel R. Chittenden	January 7, 1867 – January 4, 1871	25th 26th	Elected in 1866 Was not re-elected in 1870.
Apportionment of 1870 gave the district two senators to elect cumulatively.

1871 – 1873

Senator	Party	Party Control	Years	General Assembly (GA)	Electoral History	Counties Represented
Apportionment of 1870 gave the district two senators to elect cumulatively.
James H. Richardson	Democratic	2 Democrats	January 4, 1871 – January 8, 1873	27th	Elected in 1870 Was not re-elected in 1872.	Adams Hancock
Jesse C. Williams
Apportionment of 1872 now gives the district one senator and three representatives to elect.

1873–present

Senator	Party	Years	General Assembly (GA)	Electoral History	Counties Represented
Apportionment of 1872 now gives the district one senator and three representatives to elect.
Miles B. Castle	Republican	January 8, 1873 – January 8, 1879	28th 29th 30th	Elected in 1872 Re-elected in 1874 Was not re-elected in 1878.	DeKalb Grundy Kendall
John R. Marshall	January 8, 1879 – January 3, 1883	31st 32nd	Elected in 1878 Was not re-elected in 1882.
Millard B. Hereley		Democratic	January 3, 1883 – January 5, 1887	33rd 34th	Elected in 1882 Was not re-elected in 1886.	Cook
Michael F. Garrity		Republican	January 5, 1887 – January 7, 1891	35th 36th	Elected in 1886 Lost re-election in 1890.
John F. O'Malley	Democratic	January 7, 1891 – January 2, 1895	37th 38th	Elected in 1890 Was not re-elected in 1894.
Joseph P. Mahoney	January 2, 1895 – January 7, 1903	39th 40th 41st 42nd	Redistricted from the 5th Legislative district and re-elected in 1894 Re-elected in 1898 Was not re-elected in 1902.
Albert C. Clark	Republican	January 7, 1903 – January 6, 1915	43rd 44th 45th 46th 47th 48th	Elected in 1902 Re-elected in 1906 Re-elected in 1910 Retired.
John A. Swanson	January 6, 1915 – 1917	49th	Elected in 1914 Resigned to become a judge in 1917.
		50th
Vacant			1917 – April 1917
Albert C. Clark	Republican	April 1917 – January 5, 1927	50th 51st 52nd 53rd 54th	Elected back in 1917 special election Re-elected in 1918 Re-elected in 1922 Retired.
Harry W. Starr	January 5, 1927 – January 7, 1931	55th 56th	Elected in 1926 Lost re-election in 1930.
Francis J. Loughran		Democratic	January 7, 1931 – January 6, 1943	57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd	Elected in 1930 Re-elected in 1934 Re-elected in 1938 Lost re-election in 1942.
Walker Butler		Republican	January 6, 1943 – 1953/1954	63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th	Elected in 1942 Re-elected in 1946 Re-elected in 1950 Resigned after being elected a judge of the Superior Court of Cook County in 1953.
Vacant		1953/1954 – January 5, 1955	68th
Daniel Dougherty	Democratic	January 5, 1955 – January 4, 1967	69th 70th 71st 72nd 73rd 74th	Elected in 1954 Re-elected in 1958 Re-elected in 1962 Re-districted to the 30th Legislative district and re-elected in 1966.
James P. Loukas	January 4, 1967 – January 13, 1971	75th 76th	Elected in 1966 Retired.
Ben E. Palmer	January 13, 1971 – January 10, 1973	77th	Elected in 1970 Redistricted to the 12th Legislative district and re-elected in 1972.
Dawn Clark Netsch	January 10, 1973 – January 12, 1983	78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd	Elected in 1972 Re-elected in 1974 Re-elected in 1978 Redistricted to the 4th Legislative district and re-elected in 1982.
Richard H. Newhouse Jr.	January 12, 1983 – May 29, 1991	83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th	Redistricted from the 24th Legislative district and re-elected in 1982 Re-elected in 1984 Re-elected in 1988 Resigned in 1991.^[6]
Vacant		May 29, 1991 – June 6, 1991	87th
Alice Palmer	Democratic	June 6, 1991 – January 8, 1997	87th 88th 89th	Appointed in 1991 Elected in 1992 Failed to qualify for nomination and lost renomination in 1996.
Barack Obama	January 8, 1997 – November 4, 2004	90th 91st 92nd 93rd	Elected in 1996 Re-elected in 1998 Re-elected in 2002 Elected U.S. Senator from Illinois and resigned his state senate seat in 2004.
Vacant		November 4, 2004 – November 6, 2004	93rd
Kwame Raoul		Democratic	November 6, 2004 – January 5, 2019	93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th	Appointed in 2004 Elected in 2006 Re-elected in 2010 Re-elected in 2012 Re-elected in 2016 Elected Illinois Attorney General in 2018.
Vacant		January 5, 2019 – January 6, 2019	100th
Robert Peters		Democratic	January 6, 2019 – present	100th 101st	Appointed in 2019 Elected in 2020

Senator election results

1880 – 1872

Historical list of representatives

1873 – 1957

Representative	Party	Party Control	Years	General Assembly (GA)	Electoral History	Counties Represented
Apportionment of 1872 now gives the district one senator and three representatives to elect.
Perry A. Armstrong		Democratic	2 Republicans 1 Democrat	January 8, 1873 – January 6, 1875	28th	Elected in 1872 Was not re-elected in 1874.	DeKalb Grundy Kendall
George M. Hollenback	Republican
Lyman Beecher Ray
D. B. Bailey	2 Independents 1 Republican	January 6, 1875 – January 3, 1877	29th	Elected in 1874 Was not re-elected in 1876.
Philip Collins	Independent
Joshua McGrath
William M. Byers		Republican	2 Republicans 1 Democrat	January 3, 1877 – January 5, 1881	30th 31st	Elected in 1876 Re-elected in 1878 Was not re-elected in 1880.
Amos D. Clover		Democratic	January 3, 1877 – January 8, 1879	30th	Elected in 1876 Was not re-elected in 1878.
Peter S. Lott	Republican
Robert M. Brigham	2 Republicans 1 Greenback	January 8, 1879 – January 5, 1881	31st	Elected in 1878 Was not re-elected in 1880.
Alonzo B. Smith					Greenback
John C. Clark		Democratic	2 Republicans 1 Democrat	January 5, 1881 – January 3, 1883	32nd	Served during the 32nd GA Was not re-elected in 1882.
Hiram Loucks	Republican
Henry Wood	Served during the 32nd GA Redistricted to the 17th Legislative district and re-elected in 1882.
Benton F. Kleeman	Unknown	Unknown	Served during the 32nd GA Was not re-elected in 1882.
John F. Dugan	Democratic	2 Democrats 1 Republican	January 3, 1883 – January 7, 1885	33rd	Elected in 1882 Was not re-elected in 1884.	Cook
Gregory A. Klupp	Elected in 1882 Lost re-election.
Peter Sundelius		Republican	January 3, 1883 – January 5, 1887	33rd 34th	Elected in 1882 Re-elected in 1884 Was not re-elected in 1886.
Barney Brachtendorf	Democratic	January 7, 1885 – January 5, 1887	34th	Elected in 1884 Lost re-election.
Thomas F. Mulheran	Elected in 1884 Was not re-elected in 1886.
Victor Carlowski		Socialist	1 Democrat 1 Republican 1 Socialist	January 5, 1887 – January 9, 1889	35th		Elected in 1886 Was not re-elected in 1888.
J. J. Furlong		Democratic
Frank E. Schoenwald		Republican
Stanley H. Kunz	Democratic	2 Democrats 1 Republican	January 9, 1889 – January 7, 1891	36th	Elected in 1888 Was not re-elected in 1890.
William H. Lyman	January 9, 1889 – January 4, 1893	36th 37th	Elected in 1888 Re-elected in 1890
Peter Sundelius	Republican	January 9, 1889 – January 7, 1891	36th	Elected back in 1888 Was not re-elected in 1890.
Samuel E. Erickson	January 7, 1891 – January 4, 1893	37th	Elected in 1890
John A. Kwasigroch					Democratic
Samuel E. Erickson		Republican	January 4, 1893 – January 9, 1895	38th	Re-elected in 1892 Was not re-elected in 1894.
John A. Kwasigroch	Democratic
William H. Lyman	Re-elected in 1892 Redistricted to the 23rd Legislative district and re-elected in 1894.
James P. Cavanagh		Republican	January 9, 1895 – January 7, 1903	39th 40th 41st 42nd	Elected in 1894 Re-elected in 1896 Re-elected in 1898 Re-elected in 1900 Redistricted to the 15th Legislative district and re-elected in 1902.
Edward J. Novak	Democratic	January 9, 1895 – January 4, 1899	39th 40th	Redistricted from the 5th Legislative district and re-elected in 1894 Re-elected in 1896 Was not re-elected in 1898.
Simon Shaffer	January 9, 1895 – January 6, 1897	39th	Elected in 1894 Lost re-election in 1896.
William Carmody	January 6, 1897 – January 7, 1903	40th 41st 42nd	Elected in 1896 Re-elected in 1898 Re-elected in 1900 Was not re-elected in 1902.
John Churan	January 4, 1899 – January 9, 1901	41st	Elected in 1898 Was not re-elected in 1900.
Cyril R. Jandus	January 9, 1901 – January 7, 1903	42nd	Elected in 1900 Elected state Senator from the 15th Legislative district in 1902.
Henry V. Meeteren	2 Republicans 1 Democrat	January 7, 1903 – January 4, 1905	43rd	Elected in 1902 Was not re-elected in 1904.
Benton F. Kleeman	Republican	January 7, 1903 – January 9, 1907	43rd 44th	Elected in 1902 Re-elected in 1904 Was not re-elected in 1906.
James Herbert Wilkerson	January 7, 1903 – January 4, 1905	43rd	Elected in 1902 Was not re-elected in 1904.
William T. Monroe	January 4, 1905 – January 9, 1907	44th	Elected in 1904 Was not re-elected in 1906.
John J. Poulton		Democratic	January 4, 1905 – January 4, 1911	44th 45th 46th	Elected in 1904 Re-elected in 1906 Re-elected in 1908 Was not re-elected in 1910.
Edward C. Fitch	Republican	January 9, 1907 – January 6, 1909	45th	Elected in 1906 Was not re-elected in 1908.
Cornelius J. Ton	January 9, 1907 – January 4, 1911	45th 46th	Elected in 1906 Re-elected in 1908 Was not re-elected in 1910.
Benton F. Kleeman	January 6, 1909 – January 6, 1915	46th 47th 48th	Elected back in 1908 Re-elected in 1910 Re-elected in 1912 Was not re-elected in 1914.
John A. Swanson	January 4, 1911 – January 8, 1913	47th	Elected in 1910 Lost re-election in 1912.
Timothy Dunne					Democratic
Elmer Jacob Schnackenberg	/bgcolor=#CE3D3D	Progressive	/bgcolor=#ef7171 rowspan=2	1 Progressive 1 Republican 1 Socialist	January 8, 1913 – January 6, 1915		48th	Elected in 1912 Was not re-elected in 1914.
Seymour Stedman		Socialist
James W. Ryan		Democratic	2 Republicans 1 Democrat	January 6, 1915 – January 3, 1923	49th 50th 51st 52nd		Elected in 1914 Re-elected in 1916 Re-elected in 1918 Re-elected in 1920 Was not re-elected in 1922.
Gotthard A. Dahlberg	Republican	January 6, 1915 – January 7, 1925	49th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd	Elected in 1914 Re-elected in 1916 Re-elected in 1918 Re-elected in 1920 Re-elected in 1922 Was not re-elected in 1924.
C. A. Young	January 6, 1915 – January 3, 1923	49th 50th 51st 52nd	Elected in 1914 Re-elected in 1916 Re-elected in 1918 Re-elected in 1920 Lost renomination in 1922.
William W. Powers		Democratic	January 3, 1923 – January 4, 1939	53rd 54th 55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th	Elected in 1922 Re-elected in 1924 Re-elected in 1926 Re-elected in 1928 Re-elected in 1930 Re-elected in 1932 Re-elected in 1934 Re-elected in 1936 Retired.
Elmer Jacob Schnackenberg	Republican	January 3, 1923 – January 3, 1945	53rd 54th 55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd	Elected back in 1922 Re-elected in 1924 Re-elected in 1926 Re-elected in 1928 Re-elected in 1930 Re-elected in 1932 Re-elected in 1934 Re-elected in 1936 Re-elected in 1938 Re-elected in 1940 Re-elected in 1942 Retired.
Theo D. Smith	January 7, 1925 – January 5, 1927	54th	Elected in 1924 Lost re-election in 1926.
John C. Garriott, Jr.		Democratic	/bgcolor=#c4c8ec	2 Democrats 1 Republican	January 5, 1927 – January 4, 1933		55th	Elected in 1926 Re-elected in 1928 Re-elected in 1930 Retired.
		Republican	/bgcolor=#eabbc8	2 Republicans 1 Democrat			56th 57th
John G. Ryan	Democratic	2 Democrats 1 Republican	January 4, 1933 – January 9, 1957	58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th	Elected in 1932 Re-elected in 1934 Re-elected in 1936 Re-elected in 1938 Re-elected in 1940 Re-elected in 1942 Re-elected in 1944 Re-elected in 1946 Re-elected in 1948 Re-elected in 1950 Re-elected in 1952 Re-elected in 1954 Redistricted to the 25th Representative district and re-elected in 1956.
Adam S. Mioduski	January 4, 1939 – January 6, 1943	61st 62nd	Elected in 1938 Re-elected in 1940 Lost re-election.
Ragnar G. Nelson		Republican	/bgcolor=#eabbc8	2 Republicans 1 Democrat	January 6, 1943 – January 5, 1949		63rd 64th 65th	Elected in 1942 Re-elected in 1944 Re-elected in 1946 Lost re-election.
Adam S. Mioduski		Democratic	/bgcolor=#c4c8ec	2 Democrats 1 Republican	January 3, 1945 – January 8, 1947		64th	Elected back in 1944 Lost re-election.
Edward Schneider		Republican	/bgcolor=#eabbc8	2 Republicans 1 Democrat	January 8, 1947 – January 9, 1957		65th 66th 67th 68th 69th	Elected in 1946 Re-elected in 1948 Re-elected in 1950 Re-elected in 1952 Re-elected in 1954 Redistricted to the 25th Representative district and re-elected in 1956.
Adam S. Mioduski		Democratic	/bgcolor=#c4c8ec	2 Democrats 1 Republican	January 5, 1949 – January 3, 1951		66th	Elected back in 1948 Lost re-election.
Marie H. Suthers		Republican	/bgcolor=#eabbc8	2 Republicans 1 Democrat	January 3, 1951 – January 7, 1953		67th	Elected in 1950 Lost re-election.
Henry M. Lenard		Democratic	/bgcolor=#c4c8ec	2 Democrats 1 Republican	January 7, 1953 – January 9, 1957		68th 69th	Elected in 1952 Re-elected in 1954 Redistricted to the 24th Representative district and re-elected in 1956.
Representative districts re-established in 1957

1973 – 1983

Representative	Party	Party Control	Years	General Assembly (GA)	Electoral History	Counties Represented
Apportionment of 1971 reallocates three representatives to Legislative districts.
James Houlihan	Democratic	2 Democrats 1 Republican	January 10, 1973 – January 10, 1979	78th 79th 80th	Elected in 1972 Re-elected in 1974 Re-elected in 1976 Lost renomination in 1978.	Cook
Robert L. Thompson	January 10, 1973 – January 8, 1975	78th	Redistricted from the 12th Representative district and re-elected in 1972 Retired.
Paul J. Randolph		Republican	January 10, 1973 – January 12, 1977	78th 79th	Redistricted from the 12th Representative district and re-elected in 1972 Re-elected in 1974 Retired.
Jesse White	Democratic	January 8, 1975 – January 12, 1983	79th	Elected in 1974 Retired.
Daniel P. O'Brien	January 12, 1977 – January 12, 1983	80th 81st 82nd	Elected in 1976 Re-elected in 1978 Re-elected in 1980 Retired.
Elroy C. Sandquist, Jr.				Republican	Elected in 1976 Re-elected in 1978 Re-elected in 1980 Redistricted to the 8th Representative district and lost re-election.
Jesse White		Democratic	January 10, 1979 – January 12, 1983	81st 82nd	Elected back in 1978 Re-elected in 1980 Redistricted to the 8th Representative district and won re-election.
Representative districts re-established with approval of the Cutback Amendment.

Representative election results

1890 – 1882

References

41.75°N -122°W

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2021–2022 ILLINOIS BLUE BOOK. 2021-11-04. Office of the Illinois Secretary of State. Illinois Secretary of State.
2. Web site: List of members composing the Illinois state legislature, assembled at the Capitol in Springfield, Monday, January 1st, 1849. 2021-10-22. Illinois Digital Archives. Illinois Secretary of State.
3. Web site: List of the members composing the nineteenth General Assembly of the State of Illinois. 2021-10-22. Illinois Digital Archives. Illinois Secretary of State.
4. Web site: List of members composing the Illinois state legislature, assembled at the Capitol in Springfield, Monday, January 1st, 1849. 2021-04-21. Illinois Digital Archives. Illinois Secretary of State.
5. Web site: Manual for the use of the twenty-fourth General Assembly of the State of Illinois. Prepared and compiled pursuant to a resolution of the House of Representatives, adopted Jan. 3, 1865. 2021-04-21. Illinois Digital Archives. Illinois Secretary of State. 42.
6. News: NEWHOUSE RESIGNS FROM STATE SENATE. May 30, 1991. 2021-10-26. Chicago Tribune.