Queer representation in the Illinois General Assembly expanded Tuesday as two openly LGBTQ+ candidates won seats in the state House, joining returning lawmakers as other queer candidates secured victories in races across Illinois.
Democrats Demi Palecek and Cleopatra Cowley will join the state House, while openly pansexual Drake Warren won a seat on the Cook County Board. Their victories came alongside wins for LGBTQ+ incumbents, including U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen.
The victories came amid broader Democratic gains nationally, as the party flipped Republican-held seats across the country and seized control of both the U.S. House and Senate.
Palecek defeated Republican Terry Le in the 13th House District. She will succeed state Rep. Hoan Huynh, who left the seat to pursue an unsuccessful congressional bid.
Palecek’s victory restores LGBTQ+ representation to a district previously represented by openly gay former House Majority Leader Greg Harris, who retired in 2023.
Palecek celebrated her victory Tuesday night at “Blue Wave on the Lake,” an election watch party at the Annoyance Theater, 851 W. Belmont Ave., featuring progressive candidates and elected officials. When a host joked about the small number of Republicans who voted against her, Palecek joined in, joking that she knew one of them personally.
Speaking earlier in the evening, Palecek described herself as a democratic socialist and explained her views on the government’s responsibility to meet people’s basic needs.
“You want healthcare, housing, education, food, basic needs met, so you’re not in survival mode,” she said.
In the 34th House District, Cowley was elected without opposition, adding another openly LGBTQ+ member to the Illinois General Assembly.
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a lesbian Democrat who represents the 14th District, also ran unopposed and secured another term. State Rep. Amy “Murri” Briel, an openly LGBTQ+ Democrat, won reelection in the 76th District, defeating Republican Liz Bishop.
Warren, a Democrat, was elected to represent the Cook County Board’s 10th District after running unopposed in the general election. Warren defeated incumbent Commissioner Bridget Gainer in the March Democratic primary, securing 57.3% of the vote. He will succeed Gainer on the board.
Warren’s election comes as openly gay Commissioner Kevin Morrison prepares to leave office in December after declining to seek reelection in the 15th District to pursue an unsuccessful congressional bid.
In the 9th District, incumbent Commissioner Maggie Trevor, an openly lesbian Democrat, won reelection, defeating Republican Jon Luers.
Precious Brady-Davis, an openly transgender Democrat, declared victory in her reelection bid for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners. Brady-Davis, the first Black openly transgender woman elected to public office in Cook County, was appointed to the board in 2023 and won election in 2024.
Sorensen, an openly gay Democrat representing Illinois’ 17th Congressional District, defeated Republican Dillan Vancil, securing another two-year term in Congress.
Other openly LGBTQ+ candidates who won their races included Zach Bachmann, who was elected Kendall County clerk and recorder; Julie Forbes, who won a seat on the Kane County Board in the 11th District; Joshua Crockett, who was elected McLean County clerk; John D. Poling, who won a seat on the McLean County Board in the 7th District; and Dustin Heuerman, who won reelection as Champaign County sheriff. Beverly Bell won an uncontested race for the McLean County Board’s 6th District seat.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat and longtime ally of the LGBTQ+ community, secured another term Tuesday, defeating Republican Darren Bailey. Pritzker’s running mate, Christian Mitchell, was elected lieutenant governor, succeeding Juliana Stratton.
Stratton, meanwhile, defeated Republican Don Tracy in the race for U.S. Senate. She will succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.
The significance of LGBTQ+ representation
Jin-Soo Huh, a Chicagoan and co-chair of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund Campaign Board, said Illinois has benefited from having LGBTQ+ allies like Pritzker and Stratton in statewide office. But he said it’s also important to have LGBTQ+ elected officials who can draw on their own experiences when shaping public policy.
“They can speak from firsthand experience about … the challenges that are unique to our community that need to be legislated on,” Huh said.
Huh pointed to lawmakers such as Cassidy and State Sen. Mike Simmons, whose work extends beyond LGBTQ+ issues to include the environment, the economy and women’s rights.
Huh said he attended a Chicago fundraiser for Crockett’s campaign for McLean County clerk. That event was hosted by the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund Campaign Board, a national group of community leaders who help the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund endorse and support openly LGBTQ+ candidates running for office.
“It’s important that it’s not just Chicago that has LGBTQ+ electeds,” Huh said. “We’re everywhere, and that representation needs to be reflected by electing these qualified LGBTQ+ folks.”
What LGBTQ+ voters had to say
Outside Center on Halsted, an LGBTQ+ community center in Lake View that served as an Election Day polling place, voters said representation in government was important, even as issues including immigration, healthcare and LGBTQ+ rights weighed on their minds.
Juniper Kelly-Swing, a nonbinary and bisexual DePaul University student, said they grew up in a queer family in Minnesota and became interested in politics partly because they rarely saw people like themselves holding elected office.
“It’s huge to see yourself represented in politics and in elections, which is part of why I’m interested in going to law and politics because I didn’t see that representation growing up,” Kelly-Swing said.
Kelly-Swing said they were particularly concerned about bodily autonomy, transgender rights and affordability. They were unaware of the LGBTQ+ candidates running in Illinois but said they hoped Tuesday’s election would shift the balance of power in Congress.
Jared Spilka, who voted early and wore his “I voted” sticker while walking through Lake View on Election Day, also emphasized the importance of representation in government, saying elected officials should reflect the diversity of their constituents.
“I think that our government should look like the people they serve, and that includes LGBTQ+ people,” Spilka said.
Spilka said healthcare, human rights and government corruption were among his biggest concerns. He also pointed to what he described as an erosion of marriage, abortion and other rights in recent years.
Emily Smith, 27, a lesbian who lives in Lake View, said immigration was a particularly important issue for her. Her mother immigrated to the United States from Mexico at 18 and did not gain the right to vote until nearly two decades later.
“I watched her work so, so hard to vote that it’s very important for me to vote,” Smith said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated Nov. 4 to reflect additional election results.