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Illinois Had Some Surprises in Last Night’s Primary Elections – HotAir

March 18, 2026
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Illinois Had Some Surprises in Last Night's Primary Elections – HotAir
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There were surprises on both sides.

For starters, a really dynamic young lady running for Congress won her Republican primary race – Christian Maxwell





And, yeah, while she gets to go head-to-head with the Cook County (read: Chicago) political machine in November, she is up for it.

She’s so incredibly sharp. And the more people hear of her and actually HEAR her, I know the more will come over to the red side.

I guess there was a huge upset in the state GOP, too. A young conservative guy upended what appears to be a long-held incumbent seat and dislodged an establishment fixture

That’s where the new blood comes in when you need it.

They called it a ‘stunning’ upset. No one’s more stunned than establishment types when they get booted, that’s for sure. And, man, he thumped her.

In one of the most shocking results of the Illinois primary election, conservative grassroots candidate Josh Higgins delivered a decisive defeat to longtime Republican incumbent and Deputy House Minority Leader Norine Hammond.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Higgins secured a commanding 57.75 percent of the vote, compared to Hammond’s 32.37 percent. A distant third candidate, Bailey Templeton, received just under 10 percent.

The margin was not close. It was a political earthquake in western Illinois.





Weee! I love this stuff.

On the Democratic side, interestingly enough, the cute little Palestinian activist last seen bouncing off the street outside the ICE detention center in Broadview…

…wound up being bounced from the primary.

Her concession speech is here and not actually here on the blog because it’s NSFW. The princess is as foul-mouthed in defeat as she is normally on her podcast.

And free Palestine, whatever.

Interesting results from a blue state.

Maybe it’s not as hopeless as we feared?

I know – don’t tease.

There was some chirpy news coming out of the Windy City, too.

Oh, my gosh – look at this long face.

It turns out that the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) blew many, many hundreds of thousands of dollars on candidates who did not win.

SQUEEE!!!





And, contrary to the union’s urgent exhortations to vote ‘no,’ Chicago and Illinois voters overwhelmingly approved the federal scholarship tax credit program.

…But the state must first opt in. CTU staunchly opposes opting in and told voters to reject these referenda.

The FSTC was part of the Big Beautiful Bill.

…Under the program, taxpayers will be eligible to receive a tax credit of up to $1,700 for the value of cash contributions to certain scholarship granting organizations (SGOs). These organizations, in turn, will be required to use these contributions to grant scholarships to students at private and public elementary and secondary schools located within their states.

Eligibility for scholarships will be limited to students whose family income is below 300% of their area median income. Recipients may only use the funds for qualified expenses, including

  • tuition, fees, books, supplies, other equipment, academic tutoring, and special needs services for special needs beneficiaries that are incurred by the beneficiary in connection with enrollment or attendance as an elementary or secondary school student at a public, private, or religious school;
  • room and board, uniforms, transportation, and supplementary items and services (including extended day programs) if these expenses are required or provided by a public, private, or religious school in connection with enrollment or attendance; and
  • computer technology, equipment, or internet access and related services if used by the beneficiary and the beneficiary’s family during any of the years the beneficiary is in elementary or secondary school.

Under the law, these scholarships will constitute tax-free income for the recipients and their families.





This has to be very frustrating for Mayor Brandon Johnson’s bosses in the CTU. They are so used to being the big dog on the block, and suddenly, for whatever reason – winkwinknudgenudge – they’re nowhere near as popular as they used to be.

It’s almost like their endorsement is the political kiss of death or something.

…Nearly 50% of voters are less likely to vote for a candidate who takes money from CTU (vs. 16% who are more likely and 34% who say there’s no difference). This explains candidates’ reluctance to embrace CTU support in the primary election cycle.

I can’t imagine why.

‘Lackeys.’ It’s such a harsh term.

But while we’re on the subject of lackies, Chicago Mayor Bear of Little Brains Johnson is still ignoring the fiscal side of the Chicago house, concentrating on the important stuff.

Black firefighters, for instance.





Ignoring his stupid youth problem.

So he can spend the time duking it out with the city council over freezing the city’s scheduled minimum wage raise for tipped workers.

The restaurant industry points out that one has to have restaurants for tipped workers to serve at, and those are becoming a rare commodity.

…Restaurant industry groups led the effort jumpstarted last week to freeze the planned wage increases. They argue the legally required pay bump — which will eliminate sub-minimum wages for tipped workers by 2028 — are hurting restaurants and harming jobs.

“We are losing the restaurants we love… People are losing their jobs. Shifts are being eliminated. Prices have increased,” Illinois Restaurant Association president Sam Toia said during a City Hall news conference Wednesday morning. “Everyone says the very same thing: The elimination of tip credit is the reason why.”

The alderlady who proposed the freeze only has to get four more aldermen on board to be able to override a Bear veto. She’s pretty happy about that.





And even the uber-woke Washington Post took the time last week to point out how out of control Chicago is compared to every other major city in the country. There is not one single fiscal guard rail to stop a Bear of Little Brains from doing exactly what he’s done.

That’s pretty shocking.

…Candidates for Chicago’s mayor should advocate for:

• Creating an independent budget office a la New York City.

• Filling the legally required position of city administrator, which could help implement the budget and lead a zero-base budgeting process. 

• Changing the responsibilities of the elected city treasurer to be more like a CFO or comptroller, based on similar offices in New York, LA, and Houston.

All of these measures are common in other big cities.

Then again, that’s pretty Chicago.

It looks as if the rest of the state is starting to stir a bit from progressive madness, even as Chicago surprisingly shuffles off some of its CTU coils.

It just goes to show you that even in the deepest of deep blue, there’s only so close to midnight navy people can go before they want to see a little sunshine.


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