Illinois' 18th congressional district

Illinois's 18th congressional district
Illinois's 18th congressional district—since January 3, 2013.
Current Representative	Darin LaHood (R–Dunlap)
Area	10,516 sq mi (27,240 km²)
Distribution	63.7% urban 36.3% rural
Population (2011 est.)	707,238
Median income	54,571
Ethnicity	91.4% White 3.9% Black 2.4% Asian 2.3% Hispanic 0.2% Native American 0.6% other
Cook PVI	R+11

The 18th Congressional District of Illinois covers central and western Illinois, including all of Jacksonville and Quincy and parts of Bloomington, Peoria, and Springfield. Republican Aaron Schock had represented the district since January 2009, but resigned March 31, 2015. Special elections were called to select Schock's replacement, with a primary on July 7 and the main election on September 10, 2015, which was won by Republican State Senator Darin LaHood.

Abraham Lincoln served much of the area that now lies within the 18th district for a single term; it was numbered as the 7th district at the time. It also contains most of the territory that was represented by future United States Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen (1933-1949. when it was the 16th District) and longtime House Minority Leader Bob Michel (1957-1995).

From 1949 to 2015, it was represented by men who attended Bradley University, and from 1957 from 2015 by a Bradley graduate.

The district covers parts of McLean, Peoria, Sangamon, Stark and Tazewell counties, and all of Adams, Brown, Cass, Hancock, Logan, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, Menard, Morgan, Pike, Schuyler, Scott and Woodford counties, as of the 2011 redistricting which followed the 2010 census. All or parts of Bloomington, Chatham, Jacksonville, Lincoln, Macomb, Morton, Normal, Peoria, Quincy and Springfield are included. The representatives for these districts were elected in the 2012 primary and general elections, and the boundaries became effective on January 5, 2013.