The freshmen

Posted by Mike Riopell on Fri, 10/05/2012 - 10:53

No matter who wins in November, 2013 will see a big freshman class of lawmakers in Springfield — much bigger than in 2011.

Because of a rash of incumbents retiring and a new political map, we’ve counted at least 13 suburban seats that will be represented by freshmen in Springfield after the election. And that’s if all incumbents win. If some lose, there will be more.

That’s a lot of fresh faces.

After the 2010 election, there were seven freshmen, and that’s if your counting is generous. Two Republicans — state Rep. David Harris of Arlington Heights and state Sen. Tom Johnson of West Chicago — had served terms in Springfield before but returned after several years’ absence.

And 2013 won’t bring a lot of suburban sophomores, either. Johnson didn’t run for re-election. Neither did state Sen. Suzi Schmidt of Lake Villa. State Rep. Chris Nybo, an Elmhurst Republican, lost a primary campaign for the Illinois Senate in March.

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