Illinois's 7th House of Representatives district
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| Emanuel "Chris" Welch D–Hillside | |
| since 2013 | |
41.4% Black
21.9% Hispanic
3.1% Asian
0.1% Native American
0.0% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0.4% Other
2.5% Multiracial
1849–1873, 1957–1973
| Illinois's 7th State House of Representatives district | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Representative |
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| Demographics | 30.5% White 41.4% Black 21.9% Hispanic 3.1% Asian 0.1% Native American 0.0% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.4% Other 2.5% Multiracial | ||||
| Population (2020) | 109,744 | ||||
| Created | 1983–present 1849–1873, 1957–1973 | ||||
| Notes | |||||
Illinois's 7th House of Representatives district is a Representative district within the Illinois House of Representatives located in Cook County, Illinois and DuPage County, Illinois. It has been represented by Democratic Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch since January 9, 2013. Democrat Cory Foster was the previous incumbent for a couple of months.
Located in the Chicago metropolitan area, the district covers all or parts of Bellwood, Berkeley, Broadview, Elmhurst, Forest Park, Hillside, Hinsdale, La Grange Park, Maywood, Melrose Park, Northlake, Oak Brook, River Forest, Westchester, and Western Springs.[1]
Prior to the ratification of the 1848 Illinois Constitution, counties (or two or more counties) were designated a certain number of Senators and Representatives. With the ratification of the 1848 Illinois Constitution, Legislative and Representative districts were numbered and called by name. Each district was still assigned a certain number of Senators and Representatives. After the passage of the 1872 Apportionment, only Legislative districts were drawn with Representatives elected cumulatively. The 1954 amendment to the 1870 Illinois Constitution established Representative districts as separate from Legislative districts (with representatives still elected cumulatively). The boundaries of Representative and Legislative districts would differ.[2] After the United States Supreme Court ruled in Reynolds v. Sims (1964) that "both houses of state legislatures must be apportioned according to districts of equal population," new districts were redrawn for the Illinois Senate and Illinois House of Representatives. While the Legislative districts were redrawn, the Governor and General Assembly failed to agree on Representative district boundaries. Under the 1954 amendment, "a 10-man bipartisan commission appointed by the governor from recommendations made by both parties" were directed to redraw boundaries but failed to do so in 1963. Because of this failure, and with no district boundaries redrawn, all Representative districts were temporarily merged into one at-large district with 177 representatives (the total number of representatives at the time). The 1964 Illinois House election had several candidates running for all 177 seats throughout the state.[3] In 1965, the Representative districts were redrawn by the Illinois Legislative Reapportionment Commission and elections held in 1966 were done with separate districts.[4] With the 1971 Apportionment (and adoption of the 1970 Illinois Constitution), Representative districts were abolished and representatives were once again elected cumulatively per Legislative district.[5] After the passage of the Cutback Amendment in 1980, the number of Representatives was reduced from 177 to 118 with Representative districts re-established and now electing a single representative.
Prominent representatives
| Representative | Notes |
|---|---|
 John Cullerton |
Elected President of the Illinois Senate (2009 – 2020) |
 Emanuel Chris Welch |
Elected the 70th Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives (2021 – present) |
List of representatives
1849 – 1873
| Representative[6] | Party | Years[a] | General Assembly (GA) | Electoral history | Counties represented |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7th Representative district established with 1848 Illinois Constitution. | |||||
| Samuel Snowden Hayes | Democratic[7] | January 1, 1849 – January 6, 1851 |
16th | Elected in 1848 Was not re-elected in 1850. |
White |
| Samuel H. Martin | Unknown | January 6, 1851 – January 3, 1853 |
17th | Elected in 1850 Was not re-elected in 1852. | |
| Daniel L. Jones | Democratic[8][9] | January 3, 1853 – January 1, 1855 |
18th | Elected in 1852 Was not re-elected in 1854. | |
| P. E. Hosmer | January 1, 1855 – January 5, 1857 |
19th | Elected in 1854 Was not re-elected in 1856. |
Perry Washington | |
| Hawkins S. Osborn | Unknown | January 5, 1857 – January 3, 1859 |
20th | Elected in 1856 Was not re-elected in 1858. | |
| John D. Wood | Democratic[10] | January 3, 1859 – January 7, 1861 |
21st | Elected in 1858 Was not re-elected in 1860. | |
| Orson Kellogg | Unknown | January 7, 1861 – January 5, 1863 |
22nd | Elected in 1860 Was not re-elected in 1862. | |
| James R. Ford | January 5, 1863 – January 2, 1865 |
23rd | Elected in 1862 Was not re-elected in 1864. |
Clinton Washington | |
| Isaac Miller | Union[11] | January 2, 1865 – January 7, 1867 |
24th | Elected in 1864 Was not re-elected in 1866. | |
| Daniel Hay | Unknown | January 7, 1867 – January 4, 1869 |
25th | Elected in 1866 Was not re-elected in 1868. | |
| George Gundlach | Republican[12] | January 4, 1869 – January 4, 1871 |
26th | Elected in 1868 Was not re-elected in 1870. | |
| Addison Reese, Jr. | Democratic[13] | January 4, 1871 – January 8, 1873 |
27th | Elected in 1870 Was not re-elected in 1872. |
Williamson |
| District abolished with 1872 Reapportionment as 3 Representatives were now elected cumulatively from Legislative districts. | |||||
1957 – 1973
| Representative[6] | Party | Party Control | Years[a][b] | General Assembly (GA) | Electoral history | Counties represented |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District re-established in 1957. | ||||||
| Frances L. Dawson | Republican | 2 Republicans 1 Democrat |
January 9, 1957 – January 6, 1965 |
70th 71st 72nd 73rd |
Elected in 1956 Re-elected in 1958 Re-elected in 1960 Re-elected in 1962 Ran in the At-large district election and won re-election in 1964. |
Cook |
| Marion E. Burks | January 9, 1957 – January 9, 1963 |
70th 71st 72nd |
Elected in 1956 Re-elected in 1958 Re-elected in 1960 Ran for Republican nomination in Illinois's 13th congressional district in 1962 and lost. | |||
| Jeanne Hurley Simon | Democratic | January 9, 1957 – January 4, 1961 |
70th 71st |
Elected in 1956 Re-elected in 1958 Retired. | ||
| Robert Marks | January 4, 1961 – January 6, 1965 |
72nd 73rd |
Elected in 1960 Re-elected in 1962 Retired. | |||
| Alan R. Johnston | Republican | January 9, 1963 – January 6, 1965 |
73rd | Elected in 1962 Ran in the At-large district election and won re-election in 1964. | ||
| The district was temporarily abolished from 1965 to 1967 due to the Redistricting Commission in 1963 failing to reach an agreement. An at-large election was held electing 177 Representatives from across the state. | ||||||
| Joseph G. Sevcik | Republican | 2 Republicans 1 Democrat |
January 4, 1967 – January 10, 1973 |
75th 76th 77th |
Elected in 1966 Re-elected in 1968 Re-elected in 1970 Redistricted to the 7th Legislative District and re-elected in 1972. |
Cook |
| Henry Klosak | ||||||
| Gerald W. Shea | Democratic | |||||
| District abolished with 1971 Reapportionment as Representatives were once again elected from Legislative districts. | ||||||
1983 – Present
| Representative[6] | Party | Years[b] | General Assembly (GA) | Electoral history | Counties represented |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District re-established with representatives now elected one per district with the passage of the Cutback Amendment | |||||
John Cullerton |
Democratic | January 12, 1983 – January 31, 1991 |
83rd 84th 85th 86th |
Redistricted from 12th Legislative district and re-elected in 1982 Re-elected in 1984 Re-elected in 1986 Re-elected in 1988 Re-elected in 1990 Appointed to the 6th Legislative district in 1991. |
Cook |
| 87th | |||||
| Vacant | January 31, 1991 – 1991 | ||||
| Ann Stepan | Democratic | 1991 – January 13, 1993 |
Appointed in 1991 Retired. | ||
| Eugene Moore | January 13, 1993 – January 1999 |
88th 89th 90th |
Elected in 1992 Re-elected in 1994 Re-elected in 1996 Re-elected in 1998 Appointed Cook County Recorder of Deeds in January 1999. | ||
| 91st | |||||
| Vacant | January 1999 – January 29, 1999 | ||||
| Wanda Sharp | Democratic | January 29, 1999 – January 10, 2001 |
Appointed in 1999 Lost renomination in 2000. | ||
.png) Karen Yarbrough |
January 10, 2001 – December 2012 |
92nd 93rd 94th 95th 96th |
Elected in 2000 Re-elected in 2002 Re-elected in 2004 Re-elected in 2006 Re-elected in 2008 Re-elected in 2010 Elected Cook County Recorder of Deeds in 2012 and resigned in December. | ||
| 97th | |||||
| Vacant | December 2012 – December 2012 | ||||
| Cory Foster | Democratic | December 2012 – January 9, 2013 |
Appointed in 2012 for the remainder of Yarbrough's term. | ||
Emanuel Chris Welch |
January 9, 2013 – present |
98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd |
Elected in 2012 Re-elected in 2014 Re-elected in 2016 Re-elected in 2018 Re-elected in 2020 Re-elected in 2022 | ||