Retiring Illinois Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin took a victory lap of sorts as guest speaker at the Peoria County Democratic Party’s President’s Day Dinner, delivering a speech that focused on the Democratic whip’s 43-year career as a congressman and senator.

Peoria County Democratic Party Chairman Rick Fox offered Chronicle Media a glimpse inside the media-restricted event held at the Peoria Civic Center on Feb. 16.

“A lot of the evening was spent talking about the work he and his wife, Loretta, have done to nurture younger people with political aspirations and help them get engaged.” Fox said. “One of the notable things he spoke about was the change in the smoking culture in the U.S. He introduced the legislation initially to ban smoking on airline flights, and how that led to the public smoking ban. It seemed pretty unlikely at the time with the tobacco lobby.”

“Surprisingly, there was not a lot of talk about current politics,” he added. “Instead, the focus was on his years of political service, though there was some brief discussion around the current political climate. There are plenty of things to be outraged about at the moment, but somewhat surprisingly that was not the focus of the night.”

With Durbin’s visit behind them, the focus of Peoria County Democrats will turn to the upcoming midterm elections, when the national party hopes to flip several congressional districts considered to have “vulnerable” GOP candidates running for reelection against Democratic challengers.

Asked if he considered 16th Congressional District Rep. Darrin LaHood’s seat as among those vulnerable in the election, Fox said, “LaHood’s district is gerrymandered to be very Republican just by the nature of how gerrymandering works, so on the surface it’s going to be a huge uphill battle to win as a Democrat.”

However, he said LaHood’s reluctance to standup to President Donald Trump opens the possibility of a Democratic victory.

“If there are enough outraged Democrats that maybe don’t normally come out (to vote), and independents and Republicans that will stand up due to their frustration with LaHood, there is a reasonable chance that Paul Nolley could win,” he said.

Nolley, a Rockford-raised Illinois State University graduate, is looking to unseat LaHood, a Dunlap (Peoria County) resident who has held office since 2015. Fox described Nolley as “a young, passionate guy with a young family who has worked for about a year to get on the ballot and build his skills to be able to stand up to Congressman LaHood. There is a lot of grassroots support for Nolley.”

As chair of Peoria County Democrats, Fox said the most asked question he receives is “who is running against Congressman LaHood.” With Nolley as the sole Democratic candidate on the March 17 primary election ticket, Fox said he is “excited” to be able to promote the young candidate’s chance to unseat LaHood in November. “This is our chance, and many of us are going to be working very hard to win,” Fox said.

With funding for healthcare and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program identified as top priorities for Democrats in the 2026 midterms and crucial to many local residents, Peoria County Democrats are urging all voters to get behind Nolley’s push for Congress.

“Healthcare costs are an issue that really affects a lot of folks across party lines, and I think the Democrats are the ones standing up for us,” Fox said. “I get phone calls all the time about health care costs and do my best to send them to the right people. We’re a political organization, and don’t have resources to deal with policy problems, but we get calls because this is something that is on people’s minds and I think is going to (motivate) some people to vote.”

Though Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not yet made a reported appearance in Peoria, Trump’s immigration policies are another polarizing issue that could spark a shift among the county’s voters, according to Fox.

“I think it’s pretty clear that Trump’s policy on immigration is outrageous,” he said. “There certainly are immigration issues that need to be dealt with. We need secure borders, but the way the Trump administration is going after people is obviously a way that is not making us any safer. It doesn’t do anything but intimidate people and play to his base.”

From now until the November general election Peoria County Democrats will be engaged in getting election information to the county’s eligible voters, including those historically supportive of Republican or independent candidates. “We feel most people share our values, but sometimes are not motivated to get out and act on those values by voting for people who would support them. It’s our work to reach out to people and make sure they understand who they should vote for,” Fox said, adding that outreach will include door-knocking, phone calls and other forms of contact spearheaded by precinct leaders.

In addition to Nolley’s quest to unseat LaHood in the 16th District, Peoria County Democrats are promoting a write-in campaign for Randy Stevens for county treasurer, the reelection of County Clerk Rachael Parker and the bid to reelect Congressman Eric Sorensen, who represents a portion of Peoria County.