Illinois 17th Congressional District (IL) — Elections 1876–2024

Illinois 17th Congressional District, Illinois: Bellwether district. In 2024, voted R+6%. Republican peak: R+52 in 1920.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: R+6MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: BellwetherAkashic typology
Population: 553,6572024 5-year
Median household income: $67,1282024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 77.4%2024 5-year
Black: 8.8%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 9.6%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+15 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+52 in 1920MIT Election Lab

SORENSEN, EricCongress 119 · Democratic

−1 liberal

+1 conservative

Predecessors: BUSTOS, Cheri (2021–2023), BUSTOS, Cheri (2019–2021), BUSTOS, Cheri (2017–2019), BUSTOS, Cheri (2015–2017)

Source · Voteview / Lewis, Poole, Rosenthal et al. (CC-BY).

2024 results by constituent county

14 counties · 4 D · 10 R

R+60

D+60

One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	−6.0%	118,235	133,692	256,981
2020	R	−3.2%	126,493	135,197	268,419
2016	R	−4.5%	111,519	123,023	253,661
2012	D	+8.2%	134,187	113,424	252,836
2008	D	+14.2%	148,427	111,098	263,563
2004	D	+1.6%	133,662	129,458	265,007
2000	D	+5.1%	124,968	112,392	244,319
1996	D	+11.6%	117,027	90,435	229,394
1992	D	+10.9%	122,745	94,233	261,869
1988	D	+1.3%	120,925	117,819	240,000
1984	R	−10.6%	118,172	146,393	265,856
1980	R	−21.0%	88,717	142,867	258,281
1976	R	−8.6%	113,516	135,213	252,526
1972	R	−24.4%	93,381	153,997	248,233
1968	R	−9.4%	100,966	123,905	242,995
1964	D	+15.0%	139,431	102,976	242,409
1960	R	−12.5%	109,759	141,256	251,392
1956	R	−23.9%	88,286	143,898	232,532
1952	R	−22.7%	90,233	143,311	233,901
1948	R	−11.0%	82,672	103,194	187,364
1944	R	−9.6%	90,955	110,297	202,192
1940	R	−3.7%	110,330	118,831	230,277
1936	D	+10.6%	114,653	92,166	211,160
1932	D	+4.5%	94,874	86,602	185,027
1928	R	−36.0%	52,094	111,465	165,043
1924	R	−46.5%	20,797	87,663	143,669
1920	R	−52.2%	24,484	88,589	122,908
1916	R	−19.1%	49,408	74,661	132,016
1912	O	+12.8%	22,465	13,163	72,549
1908	R	−23.6%	25,133	42,408	73,322
1904	R	−41.0%	16,401	44,519	68,631
1900	R	−23.5%	27,172	44,551	74,073
1896	R	−21.8%	27,340	42,974	71,629
1892	R	−10.7%	25,078	31,497	60,213
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Congressional elections · 16 Senate races

U.S. Senate

Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year	Won	D %	R %	Total
2022	O	0.0%	41.5%	4,098,896
2020	D	54.9%	38.9%	5,968,901
2016	D	54.9%	39.8%	5,491,878
2014	D	53.5%	42.7%	3,603,519
2010	R	46.4%	48.0%	3,704,473
2008	D	67.8%	28.5%	5,329,884
2004	D	70.0%	27.0%	5,141,520
2002	D	60.3%	38.0%	3,486,851
1998	R	47.4%	50.3%	3,394,521
1996	D	56.1%	40.7%	4,250,722
1992	D	53.3%	43.1%	4,939,558
1990	D	65.1%	34.9%	3,251,005
1986	D	65.1%	33.7%	3,122,883
1984	D	50.1%	48.2%	4,787,335
1980	D	56.0%	42.5%	4,580,029
1978	R	45.5%	53.3%	3,184,764

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

German

22.6%

Irish

12.2%

English

10.8%

American

4.5%

Italian

3.3%

Polish

1.9%

Scottish

1.2%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.

Age distribution by sex

Median age: 40.8 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.9%

85+

1.6%

2.7%

75–84

3.4%

5.5%

65–74

6.1%

6.4%

55–64

6.6%

6.0%

45–54

5.8%

6.2%

35–44

6.0%

6.1%

25–34

5.8%

4.6%

18–24

4.3%

8.4%

5–17

8.1%

2.9%

2.7%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$67,128

Congressional District 17 ranks near the middle of US counties.

Congressional District 17$67,128

Illinois$83,390

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

14.0%

Children face moderate poverty.

Children under 1819.3%

Working age (18–64)12.7%

Seniors (65+)9.9%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

90.9%

speak English only

Spanish5.0%

Other Indo-European2.0%

Asian & Pacific Islander1.2%

Other languages0.9%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Catholic & Orthodox

13.3%

Other Christian

9.2%

Mainline Protestant

7.9%

Methodist

4.2%

Pentecostal & Holiness

3.4%

Baptist

3.1%

Non-Christian

1.2%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Anchored by Rockford, the Quad Cities, and a corridor of rural counties, Illinois-17 has moved steadily toward Republican presidential candidates over the past decade, flipping from reliably Democratic to a 5.5-point Republican margin in 2024.

The Democratic margin in Illinois 17th Congressional District has rarely exceeded fifteen points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded fifty-two points. 2024 delivered the district to the Republican candidate by six points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most districts. A 77% non-Hispanic-white share, a 14% poverty rate, and a median household income of $67,128 — all within the broad national range.

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Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Congressional District 17, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cd/1717/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Congressional District 17, Illinois vote in 2024?

In 2024, Congressional District 17, Illinois voted Republican by 6.0 points (R+6), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 256,981 votes cast, 118,235 went Democratic and 133,692 went Republican.

What is Congressional District 17, Illinois's political archetype?

Akashic classifies Congressional District 17, Illinois as a "Bellwether" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 10 times, Republican 23 times, and other 1 times.

When did Congressional District 17, Illinois last vote Democratic?

The most recent presidential election in which Congressional District 17, Illinois voted Democratic was 2012.

How many people live in Congressional District 17, Illinois?

Congressional District 17, Illinois has a population of 553,657 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Congressional District 17, Illinois?

Median household income in Congressional District 17, Illinois is $67,128 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.

What is the political history of Congressional District 17, Illinois?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Congressional District 17, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 10 went Democratic and 23 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

Illinois 17th Congressional District votes the way the country votes.

Key facts

U.S. Senate

Demographics

Compare two places, side by side

Frequently asked questions