It says a great deal about the Democratic surge during last Tuesday's election that even Illinois ... already one of the "bluest" of American states ... somehow found a way to get even bluer.
Democrats added at least five seats to their super-majority in the state House, flipped the last Republican-held seat on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, and nearly captured the entire DuPage County Board, once as rock-ribbed a Republican county as one could find.
Here are three takeaways from the results of the history-making election, and what they could say about the future.
1. WILL PRITZKER SURF THE BLUE WAVE TO WASHINGTON?
Four years ago, J.B. Pritzker beat former state Senate Republican Darren Bailey by 13 percentage points to win his second term in office. This year, his margin of victory against Bailey appears to be more than 20 points, in an election that also saw his hand-picked U.S. Senate candidate Juliana Stratton cruise to victory.
That's what the kids call aura ... and the governor has it.
He also has money, which he's used to boost the campaigns of Democrats running across the country, most notably in Texas, where his $1.2 million donation to Gina Hinojosa helped her upset Republican incumbent Greg Abbott in the Texas governor's election.
And his rollout this week of the "Day One Agenda" -- ostensibly for the new Democratic Congress to use as it takes over Capitol Hill in January -- shows he knows he has momentum and he plans to leverage it into, if not a run for the White House, a seat at the table with the people who are running.
2. RETREATING REPUBLICANS WILL FOCUS ON COOK COUNTY
Illinois Republican Party chairman Bob Grogan was blunt, if not a master of the obvious, when we talked to him during our live "Election Central" coverage Tuesday night: "It's been a tough night for Republicans."
Indeed, that line feels like it's been on repeat for GOP leaders in Illinois for years. The party's shift from its corporate-focused limited government roots to a more strident brand of social conservatism and (recently) Trump loyalism has coincided with a decline in its fortunes. The party's standard-bearer in the governor's race didn't even break 40%, even as that candidate's public appearances focused on economic and public safety differences with the Pritzker campaign.
And when asked what it would take for the Republican Party to see greater success, Grogan focused on races where his side didn't even show up: "We literally had no candidates in Cook County."
For instance, the group that likes to position itself as the "law and order" party had no candidate on the ballot for Cook County Sheriff, giving longtime Democratic incumbent Tom Dart a largely wide-open path to another term. "You can't beat someone with nobody," Grogan sagely observed.
And if voters see more Republicans on down-ballot races in Cook County during the next election cycle, it'll be in part because of the drubbing they took this week.
3. MAYOR'S RACE TO COPY SCHOOL BOARD CAMPAIGN?
The results of Tuesday's elections for Chicago Board of Education could offer a preview of what to expect in February's mayoral election.
The Chicago Teachers Union spent years advocating for an elected representative school board, in part to influence the city's public schools without needing the support of the city's mayor.
And starting with the late CTU president Karen Lewis, the union has increasingly advocated for progressive policies outside the classroom, which culminated in the 2023 election of Mayor and former union organizer Brandon Johnson.
But this school board election saw a number of more moderate political groups step up to match the CTU's political energy. That's resulted in what appears to be an evenly-divided board led by president-elect Jessica Biggs, who won handily without CTU's endorsement.
Those same well-funded groups are also making their presence felt in the mayor's race, with Mayor Johnson adopting CTU's approach of attacking donor Michael Sacks and casting it as a choice between "the billionaire class" and working people. That all means this school board election may feel like the undercard to February's main event.
