Illinois 59th State Senate District, Illinois: Populist district. In 2024, voted R+41%. Republican peak: R+41 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+41MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 204,5352024 5-year
- Median household income
- $58,7942024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 86.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 6.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+21 in 1992MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+41 in 2024MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for State Senate District 59, 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 | 28,328 | 68,375 | 98,061 | ||
| R | 29,905 | 70,348 | 102,163 | ||
| R | 27,865 | 67,783 | 100,802 | ||
| R | 37,228 | 57,364 | 96,960 | ||
| R | 45,858 | 54,574 | 102,379 | ||
| R | 43,560 | 59,927 | 104,237 | ||
| R | 45,894 | 49,553 | 98,414 | ||
| D | 48,377 | 33,517 | 93,560 | ||
| D | 55,854 | 33,727 | 106,740 | ||
| D | 50,496 | 46,994 | 97,984 | ||
| R | 47,492 | 57,436 | 105,299 | ||
| R | 44,268 | 55,429 | 103,977 | ||
| D | 57,673 | 44,697 | 103,417 | ||
| R | 40,668 | 59,308 | 100,404 | ||
| R | 41,964 | 48,964 | 101,433 | ||
| D | 62,105 | 41,056 | 103,161 | ||
| R | 50,003 | 60,717 | 110,873 | ||
| R | 48,196 | 60,549 | 108,867 | ||
| R | 50,039 | 63,494 | 113,720 | ||
| R | 48,422 | 51,214 | 100,453 | ||
| R | 47,761 | 60,338 | 108,839 | ||
| R | 68,094 | 71,958 | 140,930 | ||
| D | 70,453 | 61,454 | 133,431 | ||
| D | 64,618 | 44,988 | 111,834 | ||
| R | 42,637 | 54,255 | 97,778 | ||
| R | 33,079 | 45,324 | 91,833 | ||
| R | 29,760 | 52,193 | 89,552 | ||
| R | 43,164 | 52,692 | 99,209 | ||
| D | 21,411 | 18,838 | 52,330 | ||
| R | 21,290 | 28,111 | 51,841 | ||
| R | 16,449 | 26,292 | 45,936 | ||
| R | 21,426 | 25,310 | 47,397 | ||
| R | 22,160 | 24,987 | 47,520 | ||
| R | 18,136 | 20,254 | 41,346 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
17.3%
English
13.4%
Irish
12.7%
American
6.3%
Italian
3.1%
French
1.4%
Scottish
1.4%
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: 42.3 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
$58,794
State Senate District 59 ranks near the middle of US counties.
State Senate District 59$58,794
Illinois$71,957
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
16.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1821.2%
Working age (18–64)16.1%
Seniors (65+)11.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.4%
speak English only
Spanish1.7%
Other Indo-European1.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Anchored in rural downstate Illinois, this district delivered a 53.8-point Republican presidential margin in 2024, making it one of the state's sharpest counterweights to the Chicago-area Democratic strongholds that dominate statewide outcomes.
The Democratic margin in Illinois 59th State Senate District peaked at twenty-one points in 1992. By 2000 the district had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-one points, the most Republican-leaning result in the district's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $58,794 sits well below state and national norms, and 17% 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 Senate District 59, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/17059/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did State Senate District 59, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, State Senate District 59, Illinois voted Republican by 40.8 points (R+41), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 98,061 votes cast, 28,328 went Democratic and 68,375 went Republican.
What is State Senate District 59, Illinois's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State Senate District 59, 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 Senate District 59, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which State Senate District 59, Illinois voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in State Senate District 59, Illinois?
State Senate District 59, Illinois has a population of 204,535 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 59, Illinois?
Median household income in State Senate District 59, Illinois is $58,794 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $71,957.
What is the political history of State Senate District 59, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State Senate District 59, 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.