Illinois’ most vulnerable member of Congress is U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, a Democrat from Rockford. As he concludes his first term in Washington, he faces former judge Joe McGraw, also of Rockford, who retired from 20 years on the bench to run for a 17th District seat that has been solidly blue since the 1980s for all but two years.
Sorensen’s win in 2022 was narrow, so the race has garnered some national attention plus out-of-state fundraising as one of a handful of districts that could impact Congress’ Republican majority. Illinois‘ delegation (in which Sorensen, 48, is the only openly gay member) leans heavily Democratic — 14 to 3 — by design as state Dems long holding a super majority in the General Assembly redrew district lines before the 2022 election to favor their own party.
Illinois’ 17th District wraps around Chicago’s suburbs in a C-shape from Rockford in the northwest, touching the Quad Cities on the state’s western border, and runs through Downstate Galesburg, Pekin and Peoria before ending in Bloomington, a good two hours south of Chicago.
That means its residents live in college towns and urban areas as well as on farms.
Sorensen, Congress’ only former meteorologist, who worked in TV markets in Rockford and the Quad Cities, has outraised McGraw more than three to one. In one of the state’s most expensive races, McGraw has pulled in about $1.3 million, and as of Oct. 16 Federal Election Commission reports, still had $331,000 on hand; Sorensen has collected about $4.7 million, and had $1.3 million remaining.
Both candidates said they want to focus on making life affordable for ordinary citizens.
For McGraw, 69, that means closing off immigration at the border with Mexico — as former President Donald Trump also wants to do — in addition to dealing with inflation and supporting manufacturing jobs.
“With the economy and the interest rates and the open border, Americans are struggling to survive and they just can’t make it,” he told WBEZ recently.
Sorensen, 48, pointed to his successes in getting local needs — like bridge repairs and water line replacements — funded by Congress because he’s worked across the aisle.