North Cook News

Bradley Martin has conceded his race for the 17th House District seat.

Martin, a journalist, thanked his supporters and encouraged them to continue their support.

"I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the thousands of people who voted for me in this election," Martin posted on Facebook. "I especially want to thank the tireless volunteers who went door-to-door with me to speak with the people of the 17th District. You went the extra mile and mere words cannot express how truly proud I am of you. For those interested in following my work, please subscribe to my official Facebook page at Bradley Martin which contains a selection of my published articles, book reviews and op-eds."

With an estimated 98 percent of the vote counted as of this writing, incumbent Democratic Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz won with 28,973 votes to Martin's 11,633 votes, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Gong-Gershowitz has 71.4% of the vote while Martin has 28.6% in the north suburban Cook County district.

Gong-Gershowitz is among the Democrats who have retained their seats in the first general election without former House Speaker Michael Madigan.

"We know that when we fight, we win — and tonight, that couldn’t be more true," House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch said, according to the Chicago Tribune. "House Democrats have fought tirelessly for working families and have secured important legislative wins to protect reproductive rights, rebuild our infrastructure, fund critical public safety initiatives, and so much more." 

Senate President Don Harmon added, "The people have spoken. Now it’s time to get to work governing." 

On the heels of Republican losses across the state, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Burr Ridge) announced he would not seek another term as a leader: "It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as leader of the House Republican caucus, but it’s time for the Illinois Republican Party to rebuild with new leaders who can bring independents back to the party that are needed to bring change to the state." 

Republicans went into the election with high hopes; however only 78 of the 118 House seats were contested, and in the Senate, only 25 of 59 seats were challenged. Republicans made modest gains in the State Senate, but was not enough to break the Democrats' supermajority in Springfield.

Over the summer, Gong-Gershowitz was among legislators and community activists lobbying the state for money to establish a health clinic for the Glenbrook 225 School District.

A school board member said this proposal was launched after they found out that 300 kids did not have adequate health records. 

Glenbrook Community Action Network though opposed the proposal, warning that a health clinic would undermine parental health choices.