Your Illinois state representative is the person you elected to represent your House district in the lower chamber of the Illinois General Assembly. The Illinois House of Representatives has 118 members, each representing a single district and serving a two-year term, and together with the 59-member Illinois Senate they make up the state legislature that writes Illinois law and passes the state budget.1Illinois.gov. Legislative Branch Illinois has no term limits for legislators, so a representative can serve as long as voters keep returning them to office.
How To Find Your Representative
Every Illinois address falls inside exactly one House district, and that district has one representative. The Illinois State Board of Elections runs a “Find My Elected Officials” tool where you can type in your home address and see your House district, your representative’s name, and their contact information.2Illinois State Board of Elections. District Official Search by Address If the result looks wrong or you live near a district line, your county clerk or board of election commissioners has the final say on which district your address belongs to.
To reach a representative once you’ve identified them, you have a few options. The State of Illinois switchboard will connect you to any legislator’s office at 217-782-2000 or 312-814-3500, and individual phone numbers, email addresses, and district office locations are listed at ilga.gov.3Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities. Communicating With Legislators Formal letters are addressed to “The Honorable [Name], Illinois House of Representatives, Statehouse, Springfield, IL 62706.” For an in-person meeting, call the district office first; a staff member can set up a time to talk about a specific issue.
What a State Representative Does
The job runs on two tracks: lawmaking in Springfield and constituent service at home.
In the capitol, representatives introduce bills, debate legislation, vote on the state budget, and sit on committees that review proposals before they reach the floor. A bill needs 60 votes in the House to pass, and overriding a governor’s veto takes 71.4ACLU of Illinois. Illinois Legislature FAQ The General Assembly convenes each January, typically stays in session through May 31, and comes back briefly in the fall to deal with vetoes. Special sessions can also be called by the governor or presiding officers.
Back home, representatives keep local district offices where staff help residents handle problems with state agencies, chase down information, and raise neighborhood concerns. When the legislature is out of session, committee hearings are sometimes held in communities around the state so members can take public testimony on policy questions.4ACLU of Illinois. Illinois Legislature FAQ If you have a problem with a state program, a question about pending legislation, or a position you want on the record, the district office is the door.
How Districts Are Drawn
Illinois is split into 59 Senate districts, and each Senate district contains two adjacent House districts, which is where the 118 House seats come from.1Illinois.gov. Legislative Branch A single House district covers roughly 108,500 people.5Illinois Senate Democrats. About the Senate
District lines are redrawn every ten years after the U.S. Census. The current Illinois House map took effect in January 2023 and will remain in place through December 2032, so the district you live in now is the same district you’ll vote in through the end of 2032 unless you move.6IECAM, University of Illinois. Geographic Region: State House and Senate Districts
Qualifications and Elections
To serve in the Illinois House, a person must be at least 21 years old, a U.S. citizen, and a resident of the district they want to represent for at least two years before the election.7Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Constitution, Article IV There’s a narrow exception after redistricting: a candidate may run in any new district that includes part of the old district where they lived, but has to establish residency in the new district at least 18 months before seeking reelection.
All 118 House seats are on the ballot every two years, in November of even-numbered years. The next full election cycle is November 2026.8National Conference of State Legislatures. 2026 Legislative Races by State and Chamber If you want to vote for or against your current representative, that’s the date.
Who Runs the House Right Now
The Illinois House currently has 78 Democrats and 40 Republicans.9Illinois General Assembly. House Members10National Conference of State Legislatures. State Partisan Composition11WTTW News. Illinois Democrats Keep Veto-Proof Majorities in House and Senate
The Speaker of the House is Emanuel “Chris” Welch, who represents the 7th District in the western Chicago suburbs around Hillside and has held the gavel since January 13, 2021. He is the first Black lawmaker to serve as Speaker in Illinois.12Emanuel Chris Welch. Meet Chris The House Republican Leader is Tony McCombie of the 89th District, a former mayor of Savanna who took the role in January 2023 and is the first woman to lead the House Republican caucus in Illinois.13Illinois General Assembly. Tony M. McCombie Other leadership positions include Majority Leader Robyn Gabel, Deputy Majority Leader Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez, Speaker Pro Tempore Kam Buckner, and Deputy Minority Leader Norine K. Hammond.9Illinois General Assembly. House Members
Pay and Per Diem
Illinois state representatives earn a base salary of $93,712 a year. On top of that they receive a per diem of $178 for each day they’re on legislative business, paid automatically on eligible days without receipts, plus mileage reimbursement at the federal rate of 70 cents per mile.14National Conference of State Legislatures. 2025 Legislator Compensation15Illinois State Retirement Systems. Tier 1 Retirement Benefit16Illinois State Retirement Systems. Tier 2 Retirement Benefit
State Representative vs. State Senator
You have both a state representative and a state senator, and the two jobs are easy to mix up. Both are members of the Illinois General Assembly and share the same eligibility rules: 21 years old, U.S. citizen, two years of district residency. The structural differences matter when you’re deciding who to contact.
The House has 118 members on two-year terms; the Senate has 59 members on terms that alternate between two and four years depending on the cycle.6IECAM, University of Illinois. Geographic Region: State House and Senate Districts Because each Senate district contains two House districts, a senator represents roughly twice as many people as a representative, about 217,000 compared to 108,500.5Illinois Senate Democrats. About the Senate The Senate also has one power the House doesn’t: it confirms the governor’s non-elected appointees. For most constituent concerns, though, either office can help, and many residents contact whichever member they already know.