Dupage Policy Journal

State Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove) was elected Senate Minority leader with unanimous support in mid-November. 

Senate Republicans chose its new leader on Nov. 15, a week after the election.

“I am humbled and honored to have the full support of my Senate Republican colleagues to serve as their new leader in the 103rd General Assembly,” Curran said in a statement. “We stand ready, with our focus directed toward the future, on developing solutions that will address the critical issues facing our state. We are equally dedicated to growing our ranks, which will give all Illinoisans greater representation and balance in their state government.”  

Curran replaces State Sen. Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorne Woods) who lost his bid to resume the role after a disastrous Nov 8 election. “Illinois’s problems are not a mystery. While people for years have flocked to states with lower taxes and better standards of living, Illinois’s net population has largely stayed flat. We all know people who have left our state for better environments,” McConchie said according to WTTW. “It is the moral responsibility of the state’s leadership to attempt to address the real systemic problems facing our state so that we once again can become the people magnet we once were. On this point, the Democratic leadership fails miserably while the Senate Republicans stand strong.” Both Republican General Assembly leaders are new. State Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) will be serving as House Minority Leader. 

McConchie’s chances of returning as a leader dimmed after poor outcomes in the Nov. 8 General Election. Particularly disappointing were the re-elections of tarnished Democrats. Despite undergoing a very public inquiry into credible accusations of domestic battery State Sen. Michael Hastings (D-Frankfort) was re-elected over a Republican challenger. State Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) – who currently facing bribery charges – did not face a GOP challenger. GOP losses included the governor’s race being called within 10 minutes of polls closing and the maintenance of supermajorities in the House, Senate and State Supreme Court as well as all statewide offices by Democrats.

Curran has been in office since 2017. He was previously an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County and also served on the DuPage County Board.

Since assuming the role Curran has already begun work to attempt to roll back parts of the Safe-T Act and has said that “the Democrats decided to go it alone on this issue two years ago.”  Curran added that the Democrats “placated the extremes of their base. And what they got was an extreme product that has caused nothing but divisiveness in this state over the last two years on the issues of balancing civil liberties and public safety,” according to WSIU.