State Sen. Bill Cunningham, a Democrat from Beverly, will not seek re-election to the Illinois Senate when his term is up.

Since 2013, Cunningham has served as senator of Illinois’ 18th District, which includes parts of Beverly, Mt. Greenwood, Morgan Park and Auburn-Gresham as well as several surrounding suburbs including Worth, Palos and Orland townships.

Cunningham will not seek re-election to the Senate when his term ends in January 2027.

Cunningham said there is no single reason for his decision to retire; however, he emphasized a desire to spend more time with family.

“At the end of this term, I’ll have spent 16 years in the General Assembly,” Cunningham said. “That’s a good long run, and I feel like it’s time to hand the baton to someone else.”

Cunningham is the president pro tempore of the Illinois Senate. Throughout his time in Springfield, he has focused on a number of diverse issues, including public safety, energy policy and gaming regulation.

He is currently the chair of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, a bipartisan and bicameral panel that oversees the rulemaking process for all state government agencies.

Cunningham pointed to legislation expanding enrollment at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences and securing a $25-million grant for the AERO Special Education Cooperative as accomplishments in which he takes great pride.

“Those initiatives are going to help literally thousands of students and their families well into the future—and well after I’m gone,” he said. “I think they will be real impactful for our community for years to come.”

As he prepares to step aside, Cunningham is throwing his support behind a familiar face in the district: former 35th District state Rep. Fran Hurley.

“I’ve never worked with an elected official who personally interacts with constituents more than Fran,” Cunningham said. “She really does it better than anyone I know.”

Hurley, who served in the Illinois House for more than a decade, resigned in February 2023 to accept an appointment by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to serve on the Illinois Labor Relations Board.

Hurley said she is grateful for her experience on the board, but she is eager to return to a role that enables her to directly serve residents.

“I did miss that one-on-one with people in the neighborhood and the district,” she said.

Since leaving the Illinois House, Hurley has volunteered weekly at the 19th Ward Office.

She officially announced her candidacy for the 18th District Senate seat on Sept. 10, and she subsequently resigned from her role with the Illinois Labor Relations Board.

Hurley is now working as a member of Cunningham’s staff.

“Bill is a wonderful human being,” Hurley said. “He is smart; he’s reasonable; he’s kind; and he’s funny. He’ll be severely missed.”

Before being elected senator, Cunningham spent 20 years working in the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. He served as director of communications for Sheriff Mike Sheahan and later as chief of staff for Sheriff Tom Dart.

A lifelong Beverly resident, Cunningham is no stranger to the community. He served on the Local School Council at Sutherland Elementary School from 2004 to 2008, and his family has a long history in the Beverly area.

Cunningham will serve out the remainder of his term.

He said recently that his focus is on energy legislation aimed at reducing utility bills while expanding renewable power.

He also pointed to the growing energy demands of data centers as a challenge that Illinois must address.

“I feel like I still have a lot of work to do during the remainder of my time in the Senate,” he said. “We’ve seen increases in electric bills this summer.

“We’re going to try to focus on some policy changes that will, hopefully, reduce the size of those bills in the coming years.”