Illinois's 8th congressional district

Illinois's 8th congressional district
The 8th congressional district of Illinois since 2003 (but currently moved)
Current Representative		Joe Walsh (R–McHenry)
Distribution	96.01% urban, 3.99% rural
Population (2000)	653,647
Median income	$62,762
Ethnicity	84.4% White, 3.3% Black, 5.7% Asian, 10.8% Hispanic, 0.2% Native American, 4.5% other
Cook PVI	R+1

The 8th congressional district of Illinois covers the northern suburbs of Chicago, including portions of Lake, McHenry and Cook counties. The district includes most of Chicago's northwestern suburbs, such as Hoffman Estates, Arlington Heights, Schaumburg, Gurnee, Palatine, Mundelein, Zion, Barrington, the Cook County portion of Elgin, McHenry, and Woodstock.

Republican Joe Walsh has represented the district since January 2011.

2011 redistricting

The district covers parts of covers parts of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties, as of the 2011 redistricting which followed the 2010 census. All or parts of Addison, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Lombard, Roselle, Schaumburg, Streamwood, Villa Park and Wood Dale are included. The representatives for these districts will be elected in the 2012 primary and general elections, and the boundaries will become effective on January 5, 2013.

Elections

2012 election

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois, 2012

Walsh was drawn out of the district for 2012 by the 2011 redistricting, although a representative is not required to live in the district to be eligible to rerun for the 8th District. Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi of Hoffman Estates announced his candidacy for the seat in late May 2011. In July 2011, Democrat Tammy Duckworth also announced plans to run for the seat.

Voting

Election results from presidential races
Year	Office	Results
2008	President	Obama 56 - 43%
2004	President	Bush 55 - 44%
2000	President	Bush 55 - 42%

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Years	District home	Notes
District created March 4, 1853
William H. Bissell	Independent Democrat	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855		Redistricted from the 1st district
Vacant		March 4, 1855 – November 4, 1856
James L. D. Morrison	Democratic	November 4, 1856 – March 3, 1857		filled vacancy caused by resignation of Rep-elect Lyman Trumbull
Robert Smith	Democratic	March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859
Philip B. Fouke	Democratic	March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1863
John T. Stuart	Democratic	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865
Shelby M. Cullom	Republican	March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1871
James C. Robinson	Democratic	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873		Redistricted to the 12th district
Greenbury L. Fort	Republican	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1881
Lewis E. Payson	Republican	March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883		Redistricted to the 9th district
William Cullen	Republican	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885		Redistricted from the 7th district
Ralph Plumb	Republican	March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1889
Charles A. Hill	Republican	March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891
Lewis Steward	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893
Robert A. Childs	Republican	March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895
Albert J. Hopkins	Republican	March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1903		Redistricted from the 5th district
William F. Mahoney	Democratic	March 4, 1903 – December 27, 1904		Redistricted from the 5th district, Died
Vacant		December 27, 1904 – March 4, 1905
Charles McGavin	Republican	March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1909
Thomas Gallagher	Democratic	March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1921
Stanley H. Kunz	Democratic	March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1931
Peter C. Granata	Republican	March 4, 1931 – April 5, 1932
Stanley H. Kunz	Democratic	April 5, 1932 – March 3, 1933
Leo Kocialkowski	Democratic	March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1943
Thomas S. Gordon	Democratic	January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1959
Dan Rostenkowski	Democratic	January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1993		Redistricted to the 5th district
Phil Crane	Republican	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2005		Redistricted from the 12th district
Melissa Bean	Democratic	January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2011
Joe Walsh	Republican	January 3, 2011 –

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

• Washington Post page on the 8th District of Illinois
• U.S. Census Bureau - 8th District Fact Sheet
• OpenSecrets.org political contributions and spending
• CBS county-by-county return of 2006 votes