Voters in the 18th Illinois Senate District on Nov. 3 will choose between former state Rep. Fran Hurley and Republican Christine McGovern, a real estate business owner and former Local School Council member.
They are running to replace Bill Cunningham, who has represented the district since 2013.
Democrat Hurley is running on a decade in the Illinois House, where she represented the 35th District from 2013 to 2023, according to her campaign. McGovern, running for the third time, is campaigning against what she calls “Chicago-style” politics and the policies of the governor.
Hurley describes herself as a lifelong resident of the 18th District. In the House, she was Moderate Caucus whip and chairwoman of the Police and Fire Committee, her campaign said. She was later appointed to the Illinois Labor Relations Board, according to her campaign.
Her campaign lists three priorities: seniors, public safety and affordability.
On seniors, Hurley’s campaign credits her with work to lower the cost of annual license plate stickers for seniors to $10 and to raise the income limit for the senior property tax freeze to $75,000. The campaign also says she helped lower prescription drug costs and backed protections for nursing home residents facing medical debt.
On public safety, her campaign says she pushed to expand expressway cameras to solve violent crimes and to raise penalties for violating Scott’s Law, which requires drivers to slow down and move over for vehicles stopped with hazard or emergency lights. She passed legislation letting police, firefighters and EMTs seek mental health care without fear of repercussions from employers, according to her campaign. The campaign also cites bipartisan legislation on catalytic converter theft and efforts to secure police recruitment grants and lower the retirement age for state troopers.
On affordability, her campaign says she championed a law to automatically renew property tax savings for homeowners and supported emergency utility assistance programs.
She is a graduate of Mother McAuley High School and Saint Xavier University and president of Special Children’s Charities Chicago. She also serves on the Cook County Commission on Women’s Issues, the 100 Club board and the Mt. Greenwood Business Association, and founded the 19th Ward Emerging Leaders Board, according to her campaign.
McGovern, who ran against Cunningham in 2022 and against state Rep. Rick Ryan in 2024, has lived in the Southland for 29 years, according to her campaign. She describes herself as a Christian, a mother and a small business owner; her real estate company specializes in residential and business investments.
She was twice elected to a Local School Council, her campaign said, and has served as a Girl Scout leader and youth sports coach. She graduated from Lincoln-Way High School and attended Northern Illinois University. Her materials say she earned a degree in economics and communication and has worked in public and private schools in the Chicago area.
She organized a Chicago team for “Reopen Illinois,” a group backing small businesses, and started a “Back the Blue” effort in Chicago, her materials say. Her campaign says elected officials “did nothing” when police “were under attack.”
McGovern also lists mental health and drug addiction as priorities. Her campaign says recovery for victims of sexual abuse should come before leniency for offenders, and calls recent votes by Illinois legislators on the issue “disgraceful” without naming the legislation.
In Springfield, she says she would work for a balanced budget and to address the state’s pension crisis. Her campaign blames the governor’s policies for closing schools, raising taxes and shutting down small businesses, and says people are “fleeing Illinois by the thousands.”
The district includes all or part of Worth, Palos, and Orland townships and the neighborhoods of Mount Greenwood, Beverly, Morgan Park and Auburn-Gresham in Chicago.