For an institution that is supposed to represent every corner of the state, the Illinois General Assembly can often be a stratified place where insiders thrive, outsiders feel unwelcome and change is slow.

But with the March 17 primary just days away, fresh faces are vying to replace experienced lawmakers and outside campaign cash has infiltrated a string of races for the Illinois House and Senate.

Some lawmakers are leaving to chase higher office or abandoning Springfield politics altogether. One veteran Democratic lawmaker faces primary opponents after a federal corruption case ended last year in a mistrial before he admitted wrongdoing to avoid further prosecution and jail time.

All 118 state House seats are on the ballot, in addition to 39 of the 59 state Senate seats, and the fight to fill those seats has drawn an influx of political action committees. That includes a PAC co-founded by gun-violence-prevention activist David Hogg and a $50,000 cash infusion from the state attorney general. In at least one race, a candidate’s family has bankrolled much of his campaign. In another, a well-heeled lobbying past has become a liability.

Democrats control both chambers of the legislature by wide margins — 78 to 40 Republicans in the House and 40 to 19 Republicans in the Senate.

Here is a look at competitive primary races that will set the field for the Nov. 4 general election.

Higher office ambitions lead to an open Lincoln Park seat

In the Lincoln Park area, four Democrats are competing in a relatively big-budget primary to succeed state Rep. Margaret Croke, who is running for comptroller.

Karim Lakhani, a political newcomer, has flooded streaming platforms with ads in a campaign largely funded by his family and its businesses. He had more than $426,000 at the start of this year, far outpacing opponents. He has the backing of some labor groups, including the Chicago Teachers Union.

Paul Kendrick, endorsed by both Croke and the district’s Democratic state senator, Sara Feigenholtz, has held leadership roles at nonprofits and the local chapter of Indivisible Chicago. He is one of four legislative candidates statewide benefiting from a PAC funded by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.

Mac LeBuhn is running on his experience as legal counsel and policy advisor to former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, emphasizing ethics reform and his work with the city under the sometimes-polarizing former mayor.

And Litcy Kurisinkal is a former Local School Council chair and human rights advocate who campaigned for then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential run. 

Though Lakhani has a sizeable lead in fundraising, his past has become an issue in the 12th District race.

As a student at Cornell University in the early 2010s, Lakhani wrote for a conservative student newspaper where he repeatedly criticized then-President Barack Obama and characterized himself as a supporter of Republican Mitt Romney. Kendrick’s campaign launched a website dedicated to screenshots of those college-era writings.

In an interview, Lakhani said his views had changed.

“My political evolution reflects my life. It’s not opportunism,” he said. “I didn’t grow up in an educated household where politics kind of came packaged. My parents were really focused on survival, and I had to figure out politics a lot on my own.”

Kendrick said he’s running in part because, “We are not as safe as we should be in Chicago.”

“We are not growing as we should be. We need more housing. We need to seize industries of the future,” he said.

LeBuhn points out his work for Lightfoot, including on the city’s so-called sanctuary city law, the Welcoming City Ordinance, which the Trump administration has targeted.

“I’ve sat across the conference table from (the federal Department of Homeland Security) and (the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency) before, pushing back on them when we rewrote the Welcoming City Ordinance. So it’s not going to be the first time I do it, if I get elected,” LeBuhn said. “I’ve got the experience to take on these challenges.”

LeBuhn outraised Kendrick last quarter, and Kendrick beat LeBuhn in terms of cash on hand at about $176,000 to $145,000. Kurisinkal had close to $33,000.

“Money should not be dictating the race,” Kurisinkal said. “We often complain about Trump, but are we upholding our democratic processes?”

A new House rep for Uptown

North along the lakefront, another competitive field of five Democrats is vying for the open seat representing several Chicago neighborhoods, including Uptown. Rep. Hoan Huynh is vacating the 13th District seat as he runs to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky in Congress.

Adam Braun, who led fundraising at the start of this year with $242,000, served as deputy attorney general under Attorney General Kwame Raoul for five years until 2024 and now has Raoul’s endorsement.

But his campaign has drawn scrutiny for its ties to corporate PACs. A PAC backed by DraftKings — a company that was a client of Braun’s lobbying firm at the time he was there — has spent more than $250,000 supporting Braun and opposing rival James O’Brien. The DraftKings-backed PAC had poured close to $1.9 million into 10 races this primary cycle as of this past week. The Meta-backed PAC has also spent heavily in the race.

But Braun has pushed away those concerns, saying he didn’t ask for outside help and would work to regulate the social media giant. He also has said he’d help Illinois fight efforts being pushed by President Donald Trump.

“People are angry at the conduct that we’re seeing coming out of the Trump administration. They’re looking for people who can help protect us from the most harmful aspects of what the federal government is doing,” Braun said. 

O’Brien, who had $139,000 at the start of the year, worked on education policy in Springfield, including on the legislation for “evidence-based funding” that now helps guide the K-12 state budget. Most recently, according to his LinkedIn profile, he’s served as a legal and policy adviser to a member of the Illinois Commerce Commission, which regulates utilities. O’Brien has made Braun’s lobbying background a focus of his campaign.

“We need good people that have experience with budgets and delivering systemic reforms,” O’Brien said.

Demi Palecek, endorsed by Schakowsky, had $14,000 on hand at the start of the year but has since received more than $100,000 from a PAC co-founded by Hogg, according to records. A National Guard member, Palecek said in the fall she would refuse orders from the Trump administration to assist with the administration’s immigration enforcement actions — and said in a more recent interview she is “under investigation in the military” as a result.

Community organizer Sunjay Kumar, who had $51,000 to start the year, was among seven people detained after a planned civil-disobedience action at Chicago’s West Loop Target in late January amid demands that the retailer publicly denounce ICE.

“My focus has been on public safety for all, on immigrant rights, on queer rights, LGBTQ liberation,” said Kumar. 

Ridge Knapp, a Gen Z data analyst who previously worked in the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and on the Harris 2024 campaign, had $33,000 to start the year. He is running, he said, as “a young progressive running to keep the seat in progressive hands and bring a new generation’s perspective.”

Austin-area voters to elect new state rep

For the 8th District seat representing the West Side and some western suburbs, four Chicago Democrats are competing to fill the seat of state Rep. La Shawn Ford, who is running in a crowded field for a congressional seat to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Danny Davis. No Republican filed to run for Ford’s Illinois House seat.

Latonya Mitts, daughter of veteran Ald. Emma Mitts, 37th, has served as chief of staff to state Rep. Jawaharial Williams. She said she learned from her mother’s more than 25 years on the City Council what “a great servant leader” looks like, and would focus on youth advocacy issues in Springfield.

“I’m all about our children, our future, and creating that next generation and being able to put forth the resources and show them what our democracy looks like,” Latonya Mitts said.

Shantel Franklin, currently on leave from her job as a legislative liaison in Raoul’s office, grew up experiencing homelessness and has worked in community outreach. She said, if elected, she would focus on housing and education policy. On Jan. 20, Franklin received a $25,000 contribution from Raoul’s campaign, followed by a $25,000 loan from his campaign on March 3. She ended 2025 with about $32,580 on hand; Mitts finished the year with roughly $39,900.

“I do think that we have to do a lot more if we want to see a real change in terms of making sure that our schools are properly resourced,” Franklin said.

John Harrell, pastor of two Chicago-area Baptist churches and president of Black Men United — an organization that advocates for formerly incarcerated people and connecting youths with jobs — said he would focus on lowering the cost of living, from property taxes to prescription drugs.

“How do you make these pharmaceutical companies not overcharge our elders and our elders have to decide whether they’re going to pay (for) their prescription or buy some food?” he said. Harrell ended 2025 with about $18,300 on hand.

Jill Bush, who works as the director of community engagement for Chicago Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th, said she wants to “help pass some laws that are going to sustain our community” — including working across the aisle on taxes, which she called too high. She ended 2025 with about $6,000 on hand.

“I think I’m one of those people who can help build bridges,” Bush said.

Trial shadows South Side race

In the 14th Senate District covering parts of Chicago’s South Side and south suburbs, incumbent Democrat Emil Jones III faces two primary challengers for the first time in his 17 years in office in the seat — and the circumstances are not hard to explain.

Jones was federally charged in 2022 with agreeing to take bribes from a red-light camera company executive in exchange for protecting the company from adverse legislation in Springfield. Though Gov. JB Pritzker previously called for him to step down, the case ended in a mistrial last year, after which Jones entered into a deferred prosecution agreement admitting he made false statements to the FBI.

The son of a former Illinois Senate president, Jones said that while some people might have lost faith in him, he has been encouraged to run again, and others believe his case was “a setup” and an example of “overreach by the federal government.” He downplayed any suggestion it would hurt his reelection effort.

“I think once a person that pays attention and looks at the facts of my case, they’ll understand why that happened,” Jones said in an interview. “I have done a lot of great things for the South Side and the 14th legislative district, from healthcare to education to violence prevention. You name it.”

Going forward, Jones said he’d continue to be “a huge supporter” for safety-net hospitals and help maintain the hundreds of millions of dollars the state has provided to community violence intervention groups, and look for ways to expand those programs.

His two Democratic challengers are Ahmed Karrar of Orland Park and Kenny Williams of Chicago. 

Karrar, an attorney and community development worker, was raised in Michigan and is the son of Sudanese immigrants. He said he got his start in politics as a volunteer intern for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. He said his focus would be on bringing “faith in government,” including pro-union policies and child care incentives.

“It’s a matter of, from a policy standpoint, being pragmatic, but also…recognizing the suite of tools that are available to you as a policymaker,” Karrar said.

Jones ended 2025 with about $160,000 in his campaign account, while Karrar had more than $109,000. Williams reported no money on hand.

Williams, who works as a barber instructor and operates a cosmetology school, wants to push for policies strengthening small businesses. He noted that areas just east of the district have seen noticeable economic development, while the western portions have not.

“All of this is the same community, but only pieces of it are being improved,” Williams said.

DeWitte vacancy draws interest in northwest suburbs

In the northwest suburbs, two Republicans and one Democrat are competing to replace Republican state Sen. Donald DeWitte, who chose not to seek reelection as the senator from the 33rd District after serving since 2018. 

When DeWitte first won the seat, he defeated his Democratic opponent by barely a percentage point. Democrats think the district — which covers parts of Kane County — could be in play again, pointing to the party’s gains in collar counties in recent years.

Republican Jessica Breugelmans, a former teacher from Geneva endorsed by DeWitte, had about $39,700 in her campaign account at the end of December.

She cited her first job working for her family’s manufacturing business when she was 14, teaching in public and private schools and travel advising in saying she would focus on education and cost-of-living issues. She said she opposes “new tax hikes” as the Republican alternative to Democratic affordability proposals.

Republican Danielle Penman, a nurse from St. Charles who has also raised money to help elect other Kane County Republicans, had about $14,360 on hand. As a health care professional, she supports women who have experienced pregnancy loss. She advocates for school choice and better vocational pathways for students who don’t pursue college.

Like Breugelmans, Penman also emphasized the importance of addressing affordability issues, saying Democrats, who have been in charge of the legislature and other facets of state government for many years, need to answer for it.

“We’ve been in a Democrat stronghold for many years and, you know, you’ve got to look at the leadership in place,” Penman said.

Democrat Michele Clark of Algonquin, director of development for a school district food pantry, had about $29,000 in her campaign fund at year’s end. She said she would push to help small businesses become more profitable if she’s elected. She said she would also prioritize reducing the cost of child care by offering tax benefits to corporations that provide funding or reimbursement for it.

Clark said she feels like she has “my finger on the pulse of the district.” 

“Having lived here, having worked here, having (raised) a family here,” she said, “I like to think that I have a better understanding of the diversity that is in our district,” culturally and economically.

Replacing Fine and other competitive races

Also competitive: The Democratic primary race to replace state Sen. Laura Fine of Glenview, who is also running for Schakowsky’s seat, includes Patrick Hanley, who is endorsed by Schakowsky, and attorney and policy advocate Rachel Ruttenberg. The 9th Senate District primarily covers parts of the northern suburbs. 

Two other North Side races are also competitive. State Rep. Jaime Andrade, who has been in the House since 2013, goes up against Miguel Alvelo Rivera, a community activist. And Feigenholtz, who was in the House for about 25 years and has served in the Senate since 2020, squares off against community activist Nick Uniejewski. Jones, Andrade and Feigenholtz are all among the candidates receiving support from the DraftKings-backed PAC.