The 17th congressional district of Illinois is represented by Democrat Cheri Bustos. It includes most of the northwestern portion of the state, with most of its population living on the Illinois side of the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...

, as well as parts of Peoria and Rockford. The 17th

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

has shifted northward after redistricting in 2012. It subsequently lost Quincy and Decatur, as well as its share of Springfield. It was generally thought that the redrawn map would allow the district to revert to the Democrats, who held it without interruption from 1983 to 2011. As expected, incumbent Representative Bobby Schilling was defeated, after serving only one term, by Democratic opponent Cheri Bustos in the 2012 election cycle, who has served since that election. It is one of the few Democratic-leaning districts that voted for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

twice each. It is also one of seven districts that voted for Trump in the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: ** ...

while being held by a Democrat. The district includes

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, the birthplace of former president

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Geographic boundaries

2011 redistricting

The district covers parts of Peoria, Tazewell and Winnebago counties, and all of Carroll, Fulton,

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, Henry, Jo Daviess, Knox, Mercer, Rock Island,

Stephenson Stephenson is a medieval patronymic surname meaning "son of Stephen". The earliest public record is found in the county of Huntingdonshire in 1279. There are variant spellings including Stevenson. People with the surname include: * Ashley Steph ...

, Warren and

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counties, as of the 2011 redistricting which followed the 2010 census. All or parts of

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, East Moline, Freeport, Galesburg, Kewanee, Moline, Peoria, Rock Island, Rockford, Pekin and Sterling are included. The representatives for these districts were elected in the 2012 primary and general elections, and the boundaries became effective on January 5, 2013.

2021 redistricting

As of the 2020 redistricting, this district will retain the Illinois side of the

area where much of its population previously resided, while its southern borders will now extend further into

Central Illinois Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central third of the state, divided from north to south. Also known as the ''Heart of Illinois'', it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agr ...

. The district will take in parts of Henry, Warren, and McDonough Counties; half of Mercer,

, Tazewell, McLean, Fulton, and Peoria Counties; and all of Carroll, Rock Island,

, and Knox Counties. Henry County is split between this district and the 16th district. They are partitioned on the northwest side by Shaffer Creek, Oakwood Cir, Oakmont Dr, Oakwood Country Club, Glenwood Rd, US Highway 6, E 450th St, Illinois Highway 280, Green River Rd, and Kings Dr. They are partitioned on the southeast side by E 1770th St, N 650th Ave/N 570th Ave, Timber Rd, E 2400th St, and N 1200 St. The 17th district takes in the municipalities of Colona, Kewanee, and Galva. Warren County is split between this district and the 15th district. They are partitioned by 60th St and 180th Ave. The 17th district takes in the municipalities of Alexis and

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. McDonough County is split between this district and the 15th district. They are partitioned by US Highway 136, US Highway 67, N 1150th Rd, Grant St, Deer Rd, N 1200th St, S Quail Walk Rd, Jamestown Rd, Arlington Rd, La Moine River, Emory Rd, N 1400th Rd, Krohe Dr, E 1200th St, N 1800th Rd, and E 1900th St, N 1700th St, E 2000th St. The 17th district takes in the municipalities of Macomb and Bardolph. Mercer County is split between this district and the 15th district. They are partitioned by 220th St. The 17th district takes in the municipalities of Burgess, Matherville, and

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. Stephenson County is split between this district and the 16th district. They are partitioned by Daws Rd, Howardsville Rd, Cedarville Rd, N Fawver Rd, and Maize Rd. The 17th district takes in the municipalities of Freeport, Pearl City, and

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. Tazewell County is split between this district and the 16th district. They are partitioned by Illinois River, S 3rd St, Prince St, Elm St, Maple St, Mechanic St, Koch St, 5th St, Illinois Central Railroad, Townline Rd, Highway I-55, Illinois Highway 122, Indian Creek, Southwest Lincoln St, Southeast Main St, Hopedale Rd, Springtown Rd, Mackinaw Rd, and Lagoon Rd. The 17th district takes in the municipalities of Delavan and

South Pekin South Pekin is a village in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,146 at the 2010 census and is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. History South Pekin was incorporated on April 12, 1917, five ...

. McLean County is split between this district and the 16th district. They are partitioned by E 1000 North Rd, N 250 East Rd, E 1200 North Rd, Middle Fork Sugar Creek, E 1250 North Rd, N 750 East Rd, E 1300 North Rd, E 1280 North Rd, N 900 East Rd, E 1350 North Rd, E 1400 North Rd, N 1100 East Rd, N Rivian Motorway, King Mill Creek, Illinois Highway 74, Hovey Ave, S Cottage Ave, Gregory St, N Adelaide St, W Raab Rd, N Towanda Ave, E Shelbourne Dr, Old Route 66, Hershey Rd, E College Ave, Illinois Highway 55, Sugar Creek, General Electric Rd, Rainbow Ave, Mill Creek Rd, Clearwater Ave, Newcastle Dr, Illinois Highway 9, S Towanda Barnes Rd, Central Illinois Airport, Winchester Dr, S Hershey Rd, E Oakland Ave, S Veterans Parkway, S Mercer Ave, Norfolk and Southern Railroad, Rhodes Ln, E Hamilton Rd, S Morris Ave, Six Points Rd, W Oakland Ave, Fox Creek Rd, Crooked Creek Rd, Carrington Ln, and N 1200 East Rd. The 17th district takes in the municipalities of McLean and Bloomington; and southern Normal. Fulton County is split between this district and the 15th district. They are partitioned by East Oscar Linn Highway. The 17th district takes in the municipalities of

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, and Farmington. Peoria County is split between this district and the 16th district. They are partitioned by W Gerber Rd/W Rosenbohm Rd, W Southport Rd, BN & SF Railroad, W Southport Rd, N Townhouse Rd, W Cottonwood Rd, N McAllister Rd, W Greengold Rd, W Farmington Rd, N Kickapoo Creek Rd, Saint Mary's Cemetery, N Swords Ave, N Northcrest Dr, C & NW Railroad, Weaverridge Golf Club, W Charter Oak Rd, Illinois Highway 6, W War Memorial Dr, N Allen Rd, W Northmoor Rd, Big Hollow Creek, West Imperial Dr, West Willow Knolls Dr, North University St, Manning Park, West Teton Dr, Illinois Highway 40, North Prospect Rd, East Prospect Ln, North Montclair Ave, East Euclid Ave, North Grandview Dr, Forest Park Nature Center, Forest Park Apartments, North Galena Rd, Illinois Highway 29, and Forest Park Riverfront-Longshore. The 17th district takes in the municipalities of Hanna City, Glasford, and Elmwood; and most of Peoria.

History

From 2003 to 2013 the district was known as "the rabbit on a skateboard" for its unusual shape devised as the outcome of

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

. The boundaries were drawn in a bipartisan deal to protect both Democratic incumbent

Lane Evans Lane Allen Evans (August 4, 1951 – November 5, 2014) was an American attorney and politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1983 until 2007, representing the 17th District of Illinois. Ev ...

and neighboring Republican incumbents. The lines of the district were drawn to move Republican voters into neighboring districts and to include Democratic neighborhoods in Springfield and Decatur. Evans retired in 2006 as a result of declining health, and the seat was won by his longtime aide Phil Hare. Although the district had been designed to elect a Democrat, Hare lost in 2010 to Republican pizzeria owner Bobby Schilling. In 2012, Democrat Cheri Bustos won the district election and is the district's current representative. In early 2021, Cheri Bustos announced her intention to retire at the end of the 117th congress. On November 2021, Former WREX and WQAD meteorologist Eric Sorenson announced his candidacy for the seat.

Election results from recent presidential races

List of members representing the district

Election results

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

Notes

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

''Washington Post'' page on the 17th District of IllinoisU.S. Census Bureau - 17th District Fact Sheet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Illinois's 17th Congressional District 17 Calhoun County, Illinois Constituencies established in 1873 1873 establishments in Illinois