MOORE’S SUMMARY: Facing no opposition, state Rep. Lisa Hernandez, D-Cicero, was reelected by the 36-member Illinois Democratic State Central Committee to another four-year term as chairperson of the Democratic Party of Illinois.
WHY IT MATTERS: The hand-picked choice of Gov. JB Pritzker, Hernandez has overseen a buildout of the state party’s apparatus following the long reign of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, and the brief tenure of U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Lynwood. Madigan directly ran the state party from 1998 to 2021. He was followed briefly by Kelly, who was limited in her ability to perform the fundraising functions of the office due to her status as a federal officeholder.
Under Madigan, the state party was essentially a glorified post office, used by legislative leaders to send campaign mail under its banner and capitalize on the postage discounts available to state political parties.
As reports of expenditures and disbursements show, that function still exists. But the party now looks like an actual statewide operation.
Hernandez described the party when she took the reigns as “a hollow shell.” But “fast forward to now, and you have a party that operates year-round, who has a team that is available” to assist with candidate recruitment and training as well as tools to run county parties.
Nowhere was this more apparent than in local races. In 2023, the party launched a digital and mail advertising program targeting conservative candidates for typically low-cost, low-interest library and school board races. It paid off, with 73 of the 101 candidates DPI targeted losing their races while 84 of 117 endorsed candidates were elected.
Taking advantage of the permanent vote-by-mail list, 222 of 280 candidates endorsed in 2025 local races won.
“We built it, but the work is not over,” Hernandez said. “The work to continue expanding our voter base is really very important to us, especially in this year… it’s not just winning in November, it’s really knocking that out of the ballpark and utilizing the kind of resources to engage folks into the political process.”
WHAT’S NEXT? With an unpopular Republican president in the White House and a large resource advantage over the Illinois GOP, the state party has the wind at its back in 2026. But Hernandez said the party isn’t taking anything for granted. As it did in 2022 and 2024, it will helm a coordinated campaign meant to support candidates up and down the ticket with get-out-the-vote efforts, data, messaging and other resources.
“I’m really looking forward to continue building the party,” Hernandez said. “We still have much to do like I said. … I really, truly want to reach every corner of the state.”
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