An appointed Democrat was elected to a full term representing the hotly contested far southwest suburban state House district that provided an early testing ground for how much Springfield’s latest sexual harassment scandal might impact super-majority Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly.
State Rep. Jessica Dixon Heitman, D-Plainfield, was appointed to fill the 97th House District seat after former state Rep. Harry Benton, a Democrat from the same suburb, resigned amid allegations of misconduct made by three women. The fiasco has raised questions about Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch's handling of the case, but it wasn't enough to flip the district.
The Associated Press called the race for Dixon Heitman with about 82% of expected votes counted, carrying 61% of the vote over Republican nominee Gabby Shanahan, who had about 39%.
"I knew that people didn't know who I was, and I wasn't going to be picked just because of my resume," Dixon Heitman told the Sun-Times. "I had to prove myself from the very beginning, and then once I was appointed, I knew that it was immediately time to get to work. I am so excited to continue to do the work."
Shanahan conceded in a statement, calling it "an honor to meet thousands of you at your doors, hear your concerns, and share my vision for a better Illinois."
“While tonight was not the outcome we wanted, my commitment to making our community a better place remains as strong as ever," said Shanahan, who was poised for a rematch with Benton until the allegations against him were revealed over the summer.
That tossed the contest — in a rare purple district on Illinois’ grossly gerrymandered political map — even higher into the air, while raising the broader question of why Welch backed Benton's 2024 reelection bid despite being aware of a preceding complaint against Benton at that time.
Shanahan lost to Benton in 2024 by just four percentage points, sunk in no small part by the $1.4 million Welch directed to Benton’s campaign.
Dixon Heitman overtook Shanahan with even stronger support from the Welch-controlled Democrats for the Illinois House political committee, to the tune of more than $1.6 million.
Dixon Heitman herself saw “red flags” in Benton’s office during a brief stint as a contract employee, she has said, but she didn’t make a formal complaint. A granddaughter of the late former U.S. Sen. Alan Dixon, she told the Farmers Weekly Review of Will County that she respected the wishes of the young complainant who “was very opposed to filing any sort of report.”
Welch’s office was aware of allegations surfacing from Benton’s office, but he has claimed no choice but to continue backing Benton without a formal complaint to spur an investigation.
The speaker booted Benton from the caucus this February when another woman filed a complaint. A third woman’s complaint was detailed in a legislative watchdog’s report that prompted Benton to step down. He has denied wrongdoing.
Shanahan said Dixon Heitman should have done more to flag Benton’s alleged misbehavior, while Illinois Republicans across the board have lambasted Welch’s handling of the case in addition to his own social media interactions. He has apologized for messages sent to a Benton complainant after the fact that left her uncomfortable.
Shanahan also called on Dixon Heitman to pledge not to vote for Welch as speaker when the new General Assembly is sworn in next year.
Watching election results roll in with Will County Democrats at IBEW Local 176 in Joliet, Dixon Heitman said she hadn’t yet considered who should hold the gavel.
“I've been so focused on campaigning and being in my district, I haven't given it much thought yet,” she said. “It's something that I really have to sit down and do pros and cons and really think about it.”
While state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, has slammed Welch over the case, no Democratic representatives have publicly called for him to give up his post. Several representatives declined to join a sexual harassment working group assembled by Welch to address the issue.
Welch himself took the speaker’s office in the wake of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan’s downfall, which was precipitated by his own mishandling of sexual harassment allegations in his 13th Ward political organization almost a decade ago.
Still, Shanahan and Dixon Heitman, both working moms, agreed Springfield’s troubling culture of sexual harassment wasn’t the top issue for voters in a district spanning most of Plainfield, part of Joliet and smaller portions of Aurora, Naperville, Bolingbrook, Oswego and Shorewood.
As in most races this season, the most pressing concern was the rapidly rising cost of living, both candidates said.
“People are looking for somebody that is going to represent them both in the district and in Springfield, but also someone that they know that they can reach out to at any time,” said Dixon Heitman, a former media relations consultant. “That is something that I have been running on my platform constantly: transparency, honesty, being readily available to my community at any time.”
