State Senate District 56 State Senate District (IL) — Elections 1876–2024

Illinois 56th State Senate District, Illinois: Bellwether district. In 2024, voted R+10%. Democratic peak: D+38 in 1964.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: R+10MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: BellwetherAkashic typology
Population: 87,9542024 5-year
Median household income: $75,4962024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 79.5%2024 5-year
Black: 10.9%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 4.4%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+38 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+26 in 1920MIT Election Lab

2024 results by constituent county

2 counties · 1 D · 1 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	−10.2%	19,249	23,707	43,880
2020	R	−9.9%	19,931	24,466	45,646
2016	R	−12.2%	17,485	22,730	43,143
2012	D	+1.1%	20,182	19,746	41,001
2008	D	+11.3%	23,488	18,664	42,852
2004	D	+4.4%	21,185	19,405	40,873
2000	D	+9.9%	19,624	16,008	36,649
1996	D	+18.3%	17,935	11,835	33,364
1992	D	+23.2%	19,545	10,764	37,871
1988	D	+10.1%	18,216	14,859	33,269
1984	R	−6.7%	16,406	18,784	35,328
1980	R	−5.5%	15,021	16,867	33,568
1976	D	+13.1%	19,056	14,596	34,118
1972	R	−10.9%	14,679	18,294	33,148
1968	D	+8.2%	15,768	12,997	33,862
1964	D	+38.2%	22,284	9,958	32,242
1960	D	+14.0%	19,020	14,349	33,425
1956	D	+10.5%	16,437	13,315	29,792
1952	D	+17.4%	17,503	12,314	29,871
1948	D	+24.6%	14,409	8,703	23,236
1944	D	+17.2%	13,873	9,787	23,779
1940	D	+19.0%	15,469	10,493	26,176
1936	D	+31.0%	14,767	7,639	22,963
1932	D	+28.3%	12,437	6,782	19,987
1928	R	−5.2%	8,600	9,548	18,385
1924	R	−16.8%	4,418	6,858	14,505
1920	R	−25.6%	3,606	6,577	11,627
1916	R	−2.7%	5,796	6,135	12,403
1912	D	+9.7%	2,592	1,973	6,410
1908	R	−8.1%	2,804	3,337	6,593
1904	R	−21.6%	1,966	3,173	5,590
1900	R	−7.1%	2,425	2,803	5,347
1896	R	−7.0%	2,231	2,570	4,866
1892	D	+3.5%	1,984	1,843	4,034
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

25.8%

Irish

12.7%

English

12.4%

American

4.8%

Italian

4.4%

Polish

2.4%

French

2.3%

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: 40.2 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.8%

85+

1.3%

2.2%

75–84

3.1%

5.2%

65–74

5.8%

6.7%

55–64

6.9%

5.9%

45–54

6.1%

6.4%

35–44

6.6%

6.3%

25–34

6.4%

4.4%

18–24

4.3%

8.4%

5–17

8.0%

2.7%

2.5%

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

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$75,496

State Senate District 56 ranks near the middle of US counties.

State Senate District 56$75,496

Illinois$83,390

United States$80,734

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

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

11.5%

Child poverty is below the national average.

Children under 1814.1%

Working age (18–64)10.8%

Seniors (65+)9.7%

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

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

96.2%

speak English only

Spanish2.3%

Other Indo-European0.7%

Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%

Other languages0.3%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Catholic & Orthodox

15.1%

Baptist

9.1%

Other Christian

8.3%

Mainline Protestant

6.9%

Methodist

4.0%

Pentecostal & Holiness

2.5%

Non-Christian

1.6%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 52.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Illinois 56th State Senate District in the Upper Midwest has, for decades, voted very close to the way the country has voted. Its margins are typically narrow, and the candidate who carries Illinois 56th State Senate District more often than not also wins the national popular vote.

The Democratic margin in Illinois 56th State Senate District has rarely exceeded thirty-eight points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded twenty-six points. 2024 delivered the district to the Republican candidate by ten points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most districts. A 80% non-Hispanic-white share, a 12% poverty rate, and a median household income of $75,496 — all within the broad national range.

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Cite this page

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

State Senate District 56, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/17056/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did State Senate District 56, Illinois vote in 2024?

In 2024, State Senate District 56, Illinois voted Republican by 10.2 points (R+10), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 43,880 votes cast, 19,249 went Democratic and 23,707 went Republican.

What is State Senate District 56, Illinois's political archetype?

Akashic classifies State Senate District 56, Illinois as a "Bellwether" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 20 times, Republican 14 times, and other 0 times.

When did State Senate District 56, Illinois last vote Democratic?

The most recent presidential election in which State Senate District 56, Illinois voted Democratic was 2012.

How many people live in State Senate District 56, Illinois?

State Senate District 56, Illinois has a population of 87,954 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 56, Illinois?

Median household income in State Senate District 56, Illinois is $75,496 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.

What is the political history of State Senate District 56, Illinois?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State Senate District 56, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 20 went Democratic and 14 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

Illinois 56th State Senate District delivered R+10 in 2024.

Key facts

Demographics

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Frequently asked questions