Illinois 117th State House District, Illinois: Populist district. In 2024, voted R+49%. Republican peak: R+49 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+49MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 129,6572024 5-year
- Median household income
- $60,6272024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+20 in 1992MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+49 in 2024MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for State House District 117, ILOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 15,792 | 46,421 | 63,030 | ||
| R | 16,709 | 47,649 | 65,492 | ||
| R | 15,066 | 45,964 | 64,048 | ||
| R | 21,063 | 38,321 | 60,765 | ||
| R | 26,883 | 35,660 | 63,753 | ||
| R | 25,952 | 39,386 | 65,781 | ||
| R | 28,412 | 32,625 | 62,670 | ||
| D | 29,917 | 21,263 | 59,208 | ||
| D | 35,489 | 21,719 | 68,436 | ||
| D | 32,172 | 30,345 | 62,813 | ||
| R | 29,541 | 36,769 | 66,506 | ||
| R | 27,148 | 36,440 | 65,680 | ||
| D | 36,280 | 28,609 | 65,282 | ||
| R | 24,031 | 37,501 | 61,763 | ||
| R | 25,929 | 32,390 | 64,180 | ||
| D | 38,082 | 26,850 | 64,931 | ||
| R | 30,948 | 39,806 | 70,842 | ||
| R | 30,345 | 39,371 | 69,782 | ||
| R | 31,744 | 40,762 | 72,621 | ||
| R | 30,263 | 32,662 | 63,434 | ||
| R | 29,655 | 39,146 | 69,316 | ||
| R | 42,583 | 45,622 | 88,718 | ||
| D | 43,596 | 38,881 | 83,544 | ||
| D | 40,298 | 27,625 | 69,501 | ||
| R | 26,853 | 33,874 | 61,374 | ||
| R | 20,631 | 28,629 | 58,688 | ||
| R | 16,923 | 32,539 | 55,344 | ||
| R | 25,910 | 32,851 | 61,280 | ||
| D | 13,205 | 11,610 | 33,121 | ||
| R | 12,823 | 16,919 | 31,360 | ||
| R | 10,253 | 16,149 | 28,291 | ||
| R | 13,069 | 15,657 | 29,169 | ||
| R | 13,685 | 15,475 | 29,377 | ||
| R | 10,892 | 12,881 | 26,129 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
16.7%
English
14.0%
Irish
13.8%
American
7.2%
Italian
3.0%
Polish
1.6%
Scottish
1.5%
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: 43.6 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$60,627
State House District 117 ranks near the middle of US counties.
State House District 117$60,627
Illinois$71,957
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
15.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1820.2%
Working age (18–64)15.1%
Seniors (65+)11.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.4%
speak English only
Spanish1.2%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
With a 2024 presidential margin of R+39.2, this downstate district ranks among the most reliably conservative constituencies in Illinois, reflecting the rural demographic and economic patterns common to the state's southern counties.
The Democratic margin in Illinois 117th State House District peaked at twenty points in 1992. By 2000 the district had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-nine points, the most Republican-leaning result in the district's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $60,627 sits well below state and national norms, and 16% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
State House District 117, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/17117/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did State House District 117, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, State House District 117, Illinois voted Republican by 48.6 points (R+49), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 63,030 votes cast, 15,792 went Democratic and 46,421 went Republican.
What is State House District 117, Illinois's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State House District 117, Illinois as a "Populist" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 8 times, Republican 26 times, and other 0 times.
When did State House District 117, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which State House District 117, Illinois voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in State House District 117, Illinois?
State House District 117, Illinois has a population of 129,657 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in State House District 117, Illinois?
Median household income in State House District 117, Illinois is $60,627 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $71,957.
What is the political history of State House District 117, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State House District 117, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 8 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.