SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - One of every five lawmakers sworn in to office next year will be new to the Illinois General Assembly. Thirty members of the House and Senate have announced retirement or already left.
It's an election year tainted not only by the state budget mess but sparked by the #MeToo anti-sexual harassment movement. It's an election that promises a referendum on Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan and the three years they've spent battling over the budget.
Many candidates are distancing themselves from the political enemies. Alexandra Eidenberg, one of five Democratic candidates for a northwest Cook County seat, touts her independence from Madigan.
She says, "We're going to have a very fresh Legislature."
The first indications of where Illinois is headed come with the March 20 primary.