Illinois State Senator, 9th Legislative District
November 3, 2026 · State Senate District 9; Illinois · State senate district · general
How do we calculate vote impact?
Vote impact = representation (how much weight one vote carries here, the smaller the district's population, the higher the representation) + decisiveness (how likely this race is to be close, based on past results and number of candidates).
Representation: High · 95 out of 100
Smaller districts give each vote more weight, and this district is small for its type. About 209,561 people live here.
score = 100 × ln(largest population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(largest ÷ smallest), rounded to 2 decimals = 100 × ln(221,017 ÷ 209,561) ÷ ln(221,017 ÷ 209,032) = 95.47, comparing state senate districts in IL (grades: 66+ high, 33+ average, otherwise low)
Decisiveness: Unknown
No past results for this contest yet.
High representation + unknown decisiveness → High vote impact.
Some data is missing, so this rating is based on partial information and capped at "High".
State Senator is responsible for:
- Voting on state laws and the state budget
- Representing their district in the state senate
- Confirming certain governor appointments in many states
- Helping district residents deal with state agencies
Affected Areas: Environment and Public Health, Reduce Wealth Gap, Anti-Corruption, Government Efficiency, Healthcare Affordability, Government Spending Reduction, Public Safety and Crime Control, Housing Affordability, Social Programs and Welfare, Public Education Quality, Gun Control, Women's Reproductive Rights, Election Integrity, Personal Income Tax Reduction, Data Privacy, Civil Rights, Corporate Accountability, Public Infrastructure
Candidates
Patrick Hanley
Democratic · declared
Patrick Hanley is a Winnetka small-business owner, environmental commission chair, former New Trier Democrats president, and Democratic nominee for Illinois Senate District 9. He won the 2026 primary with 22,498 votes.
Records: Anti-Corruption 2 for, Civil Rights 2 for, Corporate Accountability 2 for, Election Integrity 3 for, Environment and Public Health 3 for, Government Spending Reduction 1 for, Gun Control 1 for, Healthcare Affordability 1 for, Housing Affordability 1 for, Personal Income Tax Reduction 1 for, Public Education Quality 1 for, Public Infrastructure 4 for, Public Safety and Crime Control 1 for, Reduce Wealth Gap 1 for, Women's Reproductive Rights 1 for
Tom Lally
Republican · declared
Tom Lally is the Republican nominee for Illinois Senate District 9. He won the uncontested 2026 Republican primary with 3,766 votes and is active on the November 3 general-election candidate list.
Election sources
Source: elections.il.gov
Source: elections.il.gov
Source: transparencyusa.org