The 4th congressional district of Illinois includes part of Cook County, and has been represented by Democrat Jesús "Chuy" García since January 2019.
Illinois's 4th congressional district | |||
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Representative |
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Area | 97.0 sq mi (251 km2) | ||
Distribution |
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Population (2022) | 718,854 | ||
Median household income | $69,123[1] | ||
Ethnicity |
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Cook PVI | D+22[2] |
In November 2017, incumbent Luis Gutiérrez announced that he would retire from Congress at the end of his current term, and not seek re-election in 2018.[3][4] Jesús "Chuy" García was elected on November 6, 2018.
The previous version of the district from 2013–2023 was featured by The Economist as one of the most strangely drawn and gerrymandered congressional districts in the country,[5] inspired the "Ugly Gerry" gerrymandering typeface,[6] and has been nicknamed "earmuffs" due to its shape.[7] That version of the district was created after federal courts ordered the creation of a majority-Hispanic district in the Chicago area. The Illinois General Assembly responded by packing two majority Hispanic parts of Chicago into a single district.
The 2013–2023 version of the district formerly covered two strips running east–west across the city of Chicago, on the west side continuing into smaller portions of some suburban areas in Cook County, surrounding Illinois's 7th congressional district. The northern portion is largely Puerto Rican, while the southern portion is heavily Mexican-American. These two sections were only connected by a piece of Interstate 294 to the west; the highway is in the district while the surrounding areas are not. This version of the district was the smallest congressional district in area outside New York City and California.[8]
The Illinois 4th congressional district was originally formed in 1842. It included 17 counties, which were Cook, Lake, McHenry, Boone, De Kalb, Kane, Du Page, Will, Kendall, Grundy, LaSalle, Bureau, Livingston, Iroquois, McLean, Vermilion and Champaign Counties. Beyond this Ford and Kankakee Counties were part of Vermillion and Iroquois Counties respectively at this point and thus in the district's boundaries.[9]
In the redistricting following the 1990 United States census, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and Governor Jim Edgar both wanted a Latino district, as Latinos were the fastest growing demographic group in the state at the time. In June 1991, Congressman Dennis Hastert, a suburban Republican, filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the existing congressional map was unconstitutional;[10] the present congressional district boundaries emerged as a result of that lawsuit. A three-judge panel of the federal district court adopted the map proposed by Hastert and other Republican members of the Illinois Congressional delegation.[11] Subsequent lawsuits challenging the redistricting as racially biased[12] did not succeed in redrawing the district boundaries. The district, as it was in 2009, was in some places less than 50 yards (metres) wide and parts covered no more than one city block.[13]
The 4th district includes the Chicago community of Brighton Park, in addition to almost all of Hermosa, Lower West Side and Gage Park; parts of Albany Park, Irving Park, Avondale, Logan Square, West Town, Humboldt Park, Belmont Cragin, Austin, McKinley Park, South Lawndale, New City, West Elsdon and Archer Heights; portions of riverfront Bridgeport; the portion of North Center southwest of Clybourn Avenue; and the northwestern tip of Lincoln Park. Since the 2011 redistricting, the district also includes portions of Berwyn, Brookfield, Cicero, Lyons, Melrose Park, Riverside, River Forest, and Elmwood Park.[14]
# | County | Seat | Population |
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31 | Cook | Chicago | 5,173,146 |
43 | DuPage | Wheaton | 924,885 |
Due to the 2020 redistricting, this district will be primarily based around Chicago's Southwest Side and central Cook County, as well as a portion of eastern DuPage.
The 4th district takes in the Chicago neighborhoods of Brighton Park, West Elsdon, and South Lawndale; most of New City, Pilsen, and Chicago Lawn; the part of Clearing east of S Austin Ave and W Austin Ave; eastern Garfield Ridge; and half of Bridgeport west of S Halsted St.
Outside the Chicago city limits, this district takes in the Cook County communities of Burbank, Berwyn, Cicero, Brookfield, LaGrange Park, Northlake, and Melrose Park; most of Berkeley; and the portion of Franklin Park south of Franklin Ave.
DuPage County is split between this district and the 6th district. They are partitioned by Illinois Highway 64, York St, Euclid Ave, Illinois Highway 38, Illinois Highway 83, West 22nd St, Kingston Dr, Regent Drive, 31st St, Kingey Highway, East Ogden Ave, Naperville Rd, Middaugh Rd, West Chicago Ave, North Prospect Ave, Walker Ave, 55th St, and 59th St.The 4th district takes in the municipalities of Hinsdale; part of Elmhurst; and part of Oak Brook.
Year | Office | Results |
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2000 | President | Al Gore 76% - George W. Bush 19% |
2004 | President | John Kerry 79% - George W. Bush 21% |
2008 | President | Barack Obama 81% - John McCain 18% |
2012 | President | Barack Obama 81% - Mitt Romney 17% |
2016 | President | Hillary Clinton 82% - Donald Trump 13% |
2020 | President | Joe Biden 81% - Donald Trump 17% |
Year | Office | Results |
---|---|---|
2016 | President | Hillary Clinton 72.4% – Donald Trump 21.7% |
Senate | Tammy Duckworth 68.7% – Mark Kirk 24.9% | |
2018 | Governor | J. B. Pritzker 70.5% – Bruce Rauner 25.2% |
Attorney General | Kwame Raoul 69.3% – Erika Harold 27.9% | |
Secretary of State | Jesse White 81.3% – Jason Helland 15.7% | |
2020 | President | Joe Biden 72.3% – Donald Trump 25.9% |
Senate | Dick Durbin 69.4% – Mark Curran 21.9% | |
2022 | Senate | Tammy Duckworth 70.0% – Kathy Salvi 28.2% |
Governor | J. B. Pritzker 68.5% – Darren Bailey 28.7% | |
Attorney General | Kwame Raoul 68.0% – Tom DeVore 29.3% | |
Secretary of State | Alexi Giannoulias 68.9% – Dan Brady 28.7% |
Representative | Notes |
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John Wentworth |
Elected the 21st Mayor of Chicago (1860 – 1861) |
William Kellogg |
Appointed Chief Justice of the Territorial Supreme Court of the Nebraska Territory (1865 – 1867) |
John B. Hawley |
Served as a captain for the Union Army during the American Civil War |
Daniel W. Mills |
Served as a captain for the Union Army during the American Civil War |
Stephen A. Hurlbut |
Served as a major general for the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861 – 1865) Appointed Minister Resident to the United States of Colombia (1869 – 1872) Appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Peru (1881 – 1882) |
Walter C. Newberry |
Served as a brigadier general for the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861 – 1865) |
Abner C. Harding |
Served as a brigadier general for the Union Army during the American Civil War (1862 – 1863) |
George M. O'Brien |
Served as a lieutenant colonel for the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II (1941 – 1945) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Luis Gutiérrez (incumbent) | 133,226 | 83.0 | |
Republican | Héctor Concepción | 27,279 | 17.0 | |
Independent | Ymelda Viramontes | 4 | 0.0 | |
Total votes | 160,509 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Luis Gutiérrez (incumbent) | 79,666 | 78.1 | |
Republican | Hector Concepción | 22,278 | 21.9 | |
Total votes | 101,944 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Luis Gutiérrez (incumbent) | 171,297 | 100.0 | |
Total votes | 171,297 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jesús "Chuy" García | 143,895 | 86.6 | |
Republican | Mark Lorch | 22,294 | 13.4 | |
Total votes | 166,189 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jesús "Chuy" García (incumbent) | 187,219 | 84.05 | -2.54% | |
Republican | Jesus E. Solorio Jr. | 35,518 | 15.95 | +2.54% | |
Total votes | 222,737 | 100.0 | |||
Democratic hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Jesús "Chuy" García (incumbent) | 91,036 | 68.42 | |
Republican | James Falakos | 37,352 | 28.07 | |
Working Class | Edward Hershey | 4,605 | 3.46 | |
Write-in | 54 | 0.041 | ||
Total votes | 133,047 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic hold |
41°49′55″N 87°42′36″W / 41.83194°N 87.71000°W