State Senate District 42 State Senate District (IL) — Elections 1876–2024

Illinois 42nd State Senate District, Illinois: Tossup district. In 2024, voted D+9%. Republican peak: R+69 in 1920.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: D+9MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: TossupAkashic typology
Population: 93,0712024 5-year
Median household income: $107,3682024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 61.3%2024 5-year
Black: 5.6%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 25.8%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+14 in 2020MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+69 in 1920MIT Election Lab

2024 results by constituent county

4 counties · 4 D · 0 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	D	+9.3%	22,835	18,851	42,703
2020	D	+14.4%	24,902	18,496	44,439
2016	D	+10.6%	19,905	15,823	38,565
2012	D	+0.9%	17,492	17,180	35,270
2008	D	+11.1%	20,238	16,161	36,882
2004	R	−11.0%	14,405	17,993	32,672
2000	R	−12.8%	11,764	15,329	27,921
1996	R	−8.0%	9,602	11,478	23,485
1992	R	−12.7%	8,654	11,983	26,304
1988	R	−34.1%	7,089	14,514	21,746
1984	R	−44.8%	5,856	15,456	21,432
1980	R	−36.8%	5,443	13,077	20,744
1976	R	−32.4%	6,150	12,269	18,870
1972	R	−45.0%	4,813	12,715	17,571
1968	R	−35.3%	4,413	9,897	15,533
1964	R	−11.5%	6,501	8,189	14,689
1960	R	−31.4%	4,768	9,133	13,917
1956	R	−49.9%	2,948	8,841	11,802
1952	R	−40.1%	3,259	7,632	10,908
1948	R	−33.8%	2,747	5,598	8,430
1944	R	−27.7%	3,068	5,433	8,526
1940	R	−26.4%	3,327	5,724	9,092
1936	R	−8.9%	3,669	4,413	8,352
1932	R	−13.4%	3,226	4,247	7,636
1928	R	−40.5%	2,058	4,878	6,971
1924	R	−67.0%	450	3,980	5,272
1920	R	−69.3%	535	3,276	3,957
1916	R	−39.1%	1,218	2,893	4,282
1912	O	+9.8%	549	322	2,326
1908	R	−45.1%	542	1,545	2,224
1904	R	−57.3%	357	1,523	2,036
1900	R	−37.5%	646	1,460	2,172
1896	R	−41.0%	603	1,473	2,124
1892	R	−15.2%	709	987	1,830
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

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

German

17.6%

Irish

11.7%

Italian

8.2%

Polish

8.0%

English

6.4%

American

2.6%

French

1.6%

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: 39.0 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.6%

85+

1.1%

2.0%

75–84

2.6%

4.4%

65–74

4.9%

6.4%

55–64

6.4%

6.7%

45–54

6.6%

7.0%

35–44

6.7%

6.2%

25–34

6.0%

4.5%

18–24

4.3%

9.2%

5–17

8.7%

2.9%

2.8%

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

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$107,368

State Senate District 42 ranks near the middle of US counties.

State Senate District 42$107,368

Illinois$83,390

United States$80,734

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

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

7.2%

Child poverty is below the national average.

Children under 189.3%

Working age (18–64)6.3%

Seniors (65+)8.5%

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

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

70.5%

speak English only

Spanish19.5%

Other Indo-European6.2%

Asian & Pacific Islander3.0%

Other languages0.8%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Catholic & Orthodox

32.8%

Non-Christian

6.9%

Other Christian

6.4%

Mainline Protestant

5.7%

Methodist

1.5%

Pentecostal & Holiness

0.8%

Baptist

0.8%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 45.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Illinois 42nd State Senate District in the Upper Midwest delivered a near-tie in 2024, with the Democratic candidate carrying the district by nine points — well within the historical noise of how the district votes.

The district's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached fourteen points in 2020; the Republican margin reached sixty-nine points in 1920. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.

Its demographics — a population of 93,071, a 61% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $107,368 — situate the district close to national averages on several dimensions.

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 Senate District 42, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/17042/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did State Senate District 42, Illinois vote in 2024?

In 2024, State Senate District 42, Illinois voted Democratic by 9.3 points (D+9), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 42,703 votes cast, 22,835 went Democratic and 18,851 went Republican.

What is State Senate District 42, Illinois's political archetype?

Akashic classifies State Senate District 42, Illinois as a "Tossup" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 5 times, Republican 28 times, and other 1 times.

When did State Senate District 42, Illinois last vote Republican?

The most recent presidential election in which State Senate District 42, Illinois voted Republican was 2004.

How many people live in State Senate District 42, Illinois?

State Senate District 42, Illinois has a population of 93,071 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in State Senate District 42, Illinois?

Median household income in State Senate District 42, Illinois is $107,368 — above the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.

What is the political history of State Senate District 42, Illinois?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State Senate District 42, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Tossup" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

Illinois 42nd State Senate District delivered D+9 in 2024 — close enough to flip again next time.

Key facts

Demographics

Compare two places, side by side

Frequently asked questions