Freshman Ladisch-Douglass Won't Seek Re-Election
Rep. Jenn Ladisch-Douglass (D-Elmhust) announced Friday she won’t seek a second term in 2024.
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Rep. Jenn Ladisch-Douglass (D-Elmhust) announced Friday she won’t seek re-election in 2024.
The surprise announcement came from the freshman lawmaker who defeated longtime Republican incumbent Deanne Mazzochi in 2022. Ladisch-Douglass won the race by 364 votes of around 44,000 cast.
The departure of Ladisch-Douglass, 49, leaves an opening in a highly competitive district covering DuPage and Cook County, including portions of Elmhurst, Oak Brook, Hinsdale, and Western Springs. President Biden won the district by around 17 points in 2020. Governor Rauner won the district by around five points in 2018.
Here is Ladisch-Douglass’ statement issued Friday afternoon:
Being elected to serve my community in the Illinois House has been the honor of a lifetime. It has been an absolute joy to have been a part of change for my community and for families across Illinois. In my first year, I passed a law reducing the price copay cap on a 30-day supply of insulin from $100 to $35 for state-regulated health plans, created a program to provide reduced insulin costs for individuals in need, and have helped protect working families from price gouging. I was also a part of rebuilding Illinois’ fiscal house with a budget that makes significant investments in healthcare, building on my years of advocacy for affordable, accessible healthcare for all. I passed measures to protect long-term-care facility residents, provide domestic violence awareness training, and to protect telehealth coverage for mental health care. I have also been working with stakeholders across industries and in the community to improve healthcare transparency and accessibility, clarify existing law, and on environmental policies. I absolutely love this work, and though I have made the very difficult decision to not seek re-election so I can focus on my family, I will continue to serve the great people of my district and the state until the end of my term.
People often ask why legislators travel to Springfield and spend days at a time away from home and our loved ones week after week. I think if you are passionate about change and are in a position to impact the lives and well-being of residents and families throughout this state, it’s worth the personal sacrifices. I am so very proud of the change I helped to lead during my first session and can say confidently that I did what I was sent to Springfield to do. I look forward to supporting the best candidate for the 45th District and continuing to be the advocate I have always been for my community after voters decide in the 2024 election who will serve them in Springfield.
I want to thank my amazing colleagues in the General Assembly, my community for lifting me up and entrusting me with this role, and my family for their grace and patience, which allowed me to pursue this incredible opportunity to help shape policy that I hope will positively impact generations to come.
We’ve previously written that Republicans are having a hard time securing a top tier candidate for the seat.
Former DuPage County Board member Greg Hart, who narrowly lost a race for DuPage County Board Chairman last year, lives in the district and was highly recruited by House Republicans for the race, but he turned their overtures down. We’re told the Ladisch-Douglass announcement likely doesn’t change his plans. DuPage County Board Member Kari Galassi, who had been seen as a likely candidate, is not running, we’re told.
Mazzochi was gerrymandered out of the new district in 2021, so she will not seek the seat either.