J.B. Pritzker was re-elected as the governor of Illinois in the 2022 midterm elections. Pritzker defeated his republican counterpart, Darren Bailey, in the election. For Illinois, The Democratic Party won 14 seats in the US House, while the Republican Party won three.
Bloomington-Normal also saw a left-wing win. Sharon Chung won the Illinois 91st House District race. She will be the first Democrat to represent Bloomington-Normal in the House since 1982, and the first Korean-American elected to the General Assembly.
Chung won 52% of the vote and told WGLT, the Bloomington-Normal NPR member-station, that she feels “hopeful for your future if we have young people like that getting involved.”
In September, she spoke at Illinois State University, where she highlighted the importance of student involvement and emphasized her role as a musician, teacher and mother. She advocated for additional funding for education and infrastructure, and supported abortion and the LGBTQ+ community. The McLean County Board ended in a 10-10 split between Democrats and Republicans. All 20 board members were up for election due to redistricting, and Democrats have never held a majority on the board.
Illinois Wesleyan was heavily involved in the election, as Student Senate set up voter registration events, where students could vote in the Hansen Student Center.
During the week of the elections, the Student Senate had its own election for presidential and vice presidential candidates. Zach Burhans won the position for president, and Nora Robinson won the position for vice president.
Despite her endorsement of Bryson Connor, the other presidential candidate, Robinson and Burhans will be working together to choose a new executive board. They’re set to begin their term officially at the beginning of the calendar year. Their swearing-in ceremony will take place on Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m. in Hansen Student Center with the rest of their chosen executive board.
“I just wanted to thank everyone who voted in the Student Senate Presidential Election, as I know it was a close race,” Burhans said in an email sent to the IWU student body.