Republican Seth Lewis of Bartlett narrowly lost his bid to unseat state Sen.Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park), a cousin of Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), in Senate District 23 by a margin of less than 800 votes.
Lewis was confident that he could win the race in the district, which includes parts of Bartlett, Bloomingdale, Glendale Heights, Roselle, Wood Dale and Villa Park, based on his stance on tax reform and term-limit reform and his conservative values.
He had also been endorsed by several area politicians.
Just before the election, six mayors from the 23rd District endorsed Lewis, including former state Rep. and current Bloomingdale Mayor and former state Rep. Franco Coladipietro and Mayors Kevin Wallace of Bartlett, Rodney Craig of Hanover Park, Ruben Pineda of West Chicago, Steve Morley of Elmhurst and Keith Giagnorio of Lombard, an Oct. 31 DuPage Policy Journal article said.
Tom Cullerton campaigned on a socially liberal but fiscally conservative platform, which may have been the reason he squeaked by in the close race, a Nov. 8 Daily Herald article said. “During the campaign, Cullerton promised to vote for no new taxes and to continue to push for fiscal reforms,” the Daily Herald said.
Cullerton also pledged to support term limits for legislative leaders, a highly popular move in Illinois with the history of House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) and similar long-term Democrats who have held office for up to 40 years.
"Allowing for power to be held in the hands of one or two people for an unlimited period of time is not in the best interest of Illinois residents," Cullerton said. "This leads to partisanship and gridlock at every step of the way."
Lewis ran on a similar platform, saying that if he was elected, he would also propose term-limits be on the ballot in the next election as a constitutional amendment.
“We all share the same vision for our state — that we must make it a place where people want to stay and raise their families,” Lewis said. “Too many are fleeing for better jobs and opportunities outside of Illinois. I look forward to working together with local leaders in both parties to bring common-sense reforms to improve our individual communities and our state as a whole.”
Cullerton has been a member of the Illinois Senate representing the 23rd District since 2013; prior to holding that office, he was the village president of Villa Park from 2009 to 2013 and served one term as a village trustee from 2005 to 2009.
Cullerton prides himself on making government efficient and effective for the people and was honored in October for government efficiency measures.
“By making local governments more efficient, we also are making our local governments more responsive to their constituencies,” Cullerton said. “It has been a top goal of mine since joining the state Senate and I am proud of the good work we have done this year.”
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