Illinois Democrats are headed into 2025 ready to protect our freedoms.

Chicago, Illinois - 2024 was a big year for Illinois Democrats, marked by legislative wins, down-ballot victories and grassroots organizing. As the Democratic Party of Illinois heads into 2025 ready for the municipal elections and planning for 2026’s midterms, the Party hasn’t lost sight of this year’s accomplishments. 

“I cannot stress enough how proud I am of my team, the Party and Illinois Democrats,” said Chair Lisa Hernandez. “2024 was a year marked by grit and grassroots organizing across every corner of the state. I look ahead to 2025 and ‘26 where we continue that hard work and fight for Democratic values across Illinois.”

Legislative Wins

Under strong Democratic leadership, the General Assembly passed the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget, which includes a new child tax credit, designates a $350 million annual increase for K-12 education, $14 million for a new Department of Early Childhood as well as significant support for affordable housing, expectant mothers, public safety and migrant families and asylum-seekers in Illinois–demonstrating that investing in people, infrastructure, and the future is possible, all while being fiscally responsible and improving the state’s economy.

Additionally, in 2024, Democrats continued to champion all Illinoisans. Democrats secured a new child tax credit, and a new Department of Early Childhood–which will focus exclusively on early childhood programs and services for young children–demonstrating a commitment to the state’s youth and future. In June, the Illinois Department of Human Services announced its new Transgender and Gender Diverse Wellness and Equity Program, an initiative that supports medical care for non-binary, transgender, and LGBTQ+ people, with an emphasis on Black, Indigenous, and other people of color’s needs.

Democratic National Convention

In partnership with the Democratic National Convention Committee, the Chicago Host Committee, and Illinois Delivers, the state party helped execute a historic Democratic National Convention where tens of thousands descended on Chicago and heard directly from Illinois Democrats. While Chicago shined and Illinois Democrats were sure to emphasize the various neighborhoods that make the city vibrant, the DNC brought $321 million to Chicago’s economy, supported 3,211 jobs, including the creation of 2,000 jobs, and drew in about $140 million more than the last DNC held fully in-person in 2016.

Annual Gala

In September, DPI hosted its second annual fundraising gala at Chicago’s Field Museum, welcoming over 1,000 Democrats from across the state and hearing from keynote speaker Gretchen Whitmer. DPI met its fundraising goal to continue its work to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot.

Organize Illinois 2024

The Democratic Party of Illinois is proud of its historic coordinated campaign, Organize Illinois 2024. By putting boots on the ground and connecting with communities directly, DPI worked to engage nearly 2 million voters on doors and phones, hosted nearly 200 get-out-the-vote events, and traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin to mobilize voters.

The Party also opened 12 satellite offices statewide, hired a coordinated organizing team of 14 dedicated staff, and coordinated multiple Weekends of Action throughout the state to engage voters. DPI made significant investments in paid communications and coordinated volunteer voter contact efforts to support candidates running up and down the ticket.

By protecting key seats and making impactful gains in county and local races, the Party surpassed expectations and outperformed previous cycles, including 2016, despite facing significant headwinds at the top of the ticket. Not even in 2016 did Democrats perform as strongly down-ballot relative to the national line, and the Party is proud of the work done to achieve this success.

The Party remained a statewide resource through its voter protection hotline to help ensure every eligible Illinoisan could cast their ballot by Election Day. Over 1,600 calls about vote-by-mail ballots, voter registration status and early voting locations were answered by DPI’s Voter Protection Manager and DPI volunteers. Along with DPI’s Protection Hotline and voter resource guides, the Party organized volunteer attorneys across the state to assist with voter protection matters.

Party Building

Throughout 2024, DPI continued to meet Illinoisans where they are. The Party partnered with the Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association (IDCCA) for a Campaign Boot Camp in May, and the following month, DPI hosted several hundred downstate democrats for their inaugural training and conference in Southern Illinois. The summit equipped Illinoisans with tools to build a campaign plan, manage resources effectively, run successful county parties, and ultimately, created a pipeline for downstate democrats to get involved–and stay invested in-the Democratic Party.

In October, for its third Clippers and Conversation, the Party set up shop at Bettie Jo’s Hairport to hear directly from the greater Rockford area’s Black community in a candid discussion about mental health.

Looking ahead to municipal races, in July, DPI and IDCCA launched runlocalillinois.com to build a pipeline of qualified, passionate candidates with a history of serving their communities and standing up for democratic values. The effort identified over 1,100 prospective candidates, with 25% being people of color, 10% LGBTQ+, and 18% with a labor background.

Following another successful year of party building under Chair Hernandez’s leadership, the Democratic Party of Illinois is well-positioned to help elect Democratic candidates in 2025’s municipal elections and plan ahead for 2026.