Kimberly Lightford

Kimberly Lightford

Democratic Party

Illinois State Senate District 4

Tenure

1998 - Present

Term ends

2029

Years in position

28

Prior offices:

Trustee Village of Maywood

Year left office: 2003

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Report an officeholder change

Compensation

Base salary

$93,712/year

Per diem

$178/day

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Western Illinois University

Graduate

University of Illinois

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official X

Campaign website

Kimberly Lightford (Democratic Party) is a member of the Illinois State Senate, representing District 4. She assumed office in 1998. Her current term ends on January 10, 2029.

Lightford (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Illinois State Senate to represent District 4. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Lightford began serving as state Senate majority leader in 2019.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Lightford earned her Bachelor's degree from Western Illinois and her Master's in Public Administration from the University of Illinois-Champaign/Urbana.

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Lightford was assigned to the following committees:

• Assignments Committee, Chair
• Education Committee, Vice-Chair
• Senate Executive Committee
• Senate Health and Human Services Committee
• Senate Higher Education Committee

2023-2024

Lightford was assigned to the following committees:

• Assignments Committee, Chair
• Education Committee
• Senate Executive Committee
• Senate Higher Education Committee
• Labor Committee

2021-2022

Lightford was assigned to the following committees:

• Assignments Committee, Chair
• Education Committee
• Senate Executive Committee
• Senate Higher Education Committee
• Labor Committee
• Administrative Rules Committee

2019-2020

Lightford was assigned to the following committees:

• Assignments Committee, Chair
• Committee of the Whole
• Education Committee
• Energy and Public Utilities Committee
• Executive Appointments Committee
• Senate Executive Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Lightford served on the following committees:

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Lightford served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Lightford served on these committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Lightford served on these committees:

Illinois committee assignments, 2009
• Education
• Executive
• Financial Institutions
• Redistricting

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Illinois State Senate District 4

Incumbent Kimberly Lightford defeated Robert Sumrell Jr. in the general election for Illinois State Senate District 4 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kimberly Lightford (D)	76.4	65,312
		Robert Sumrell Jr. (R)	23.6	20,177

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 85,489
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 4

Incumbent Kimberly Lightford advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 4 on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kimberly Lightford	100.0	20,222

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,222
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Illinois State Senate District 4

Robert Sumrell Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for Illinois State Senate District 4 on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert Sumrell Jr.	100.0	2,650

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,650
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Lightford in this election.

2022

See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Illinois State Senate District 4

Incumbent Kimberly Lightford won election in the general election for Illinois State Senate District 4 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kimberly Lightford (D)	100.0	51,442

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 51,442
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 4

Incumbent Kimberly Lightford advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 4 on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kimberly Lightford	100.0	20,856

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,856
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Illinois State Senate District 4

Incumbent Kimberly Lightford won election in the general election for Illinois State Senate District 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kimberly Lightford (D)	100.0	83,559

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 83,559
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 4

Incumbent Kimberly Lightford advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 4 on March 17, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kimberly Lightford	100.0	37,910

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 37,910
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Illinois State Senate were held in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was November 30, 2015.

Incumbent Kimberly Lightford ran unopposed in the Illinois State Senate District 4 general election.

Illinois State Senate, District 4 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Kimberly Lightford Incumbent (unopposed)
Source: Illinois State Board of Elections

Incumbent Kimberly Lightford ran unopposed in the Illinois State Senate District 4 Democratic primary.

Illinois State Senate, District 4 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Kimberly Lightford Incumbent (unopposed)

2012

See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2012

Lightford won re-election in the 2012 election for Illinois State Senate District 4. She was unopposed in the Democratic Primary on March 20 and was unopposed in the general election on November 6, 2012.

Illinois State Senate, District 4, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kimberly Lightford Incumbent	100%	78,011
Total Votes				78,011

2010

See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2010

Lightford won for re-election to the 4th District Seat in the Illinois State Senate with no opposition. The election took place on November 2, 2010.

Illinois State Senate, District 4 (2010)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Kimberly Lightford (D)		48,129	100.0%

Lightford ran unopposed in the Democratic primary election on February 2nd.

2006

On November 4, 2006, Democrat Kimberly Lightford won re-election to the Illinois State Senate District 4 receiving 45,857 votes, ahead of Republican Antoinette Ruback (5,969 votes).

Illinois State Senate, District 4 (2006)
Candidates		Votes
Kimberly Lightford (D)		45,857
Antoinette Ruback (R)		5,969

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kimberly Lightford did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Kimberly Lightford did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Kimberly Lightford did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Kimberly Lightford campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024	Illinois State Senate District 4	Won general	$317,797	$299,877
2022	Illinois State Senate District 4	Won general	$371,112	$260,484
2020	Illinois State Senate District 4	Won general	$885,649	N/A**
2016	Illinois State Senate, District 4	Won	$413,539	N/A**
2012	Illinois State Senate, District 4	Won	$249,051	N/A**
2010	Illinois State Senate, District 4	Won	$124,281	N/A**
2006	Illinois State Senate, District 4	Won	$231,664	N/A**
2002	Illinois State Senate, District 4	Won	$181,065	N/A**
1998	Illinois State Senate, District 4	Won	$45,321	N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards, State legislative scorecards in Illinois

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

• 2025
• 2024
• 2023
• 2022
• 2021
• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014
• 2013
• 2012

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Illinois General Assembly in 2025.

• Illinois Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
• The Freedom Index — Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Illinois General Assembly in 2024.

• Illinois Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
• Illinois Humane Society — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to pets and wildlife.
• Illinois Realtors — Legislators are scored on votes on bills affecting real estate and private property.
• National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Illinois General Assembly in 2023.

• Illinois Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
• Illinois Realtors — Legislators are scored on votes on bills affecting real estate and private property.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Illinois General Assembly in 2022.

• Illinois Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
• Illinois Realtors — Legislators are scored on votes on bills affecting real estate and private property.
• National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
• Planned Parenthood Illinois Action — Legislators are scored on their stances on policies related to reproductive health issues.
• Technology and Manufacturing Association — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to manufacturing issues.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Illinois General Assembly in 2021.

• Illinois Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
• Illinois Humane Society — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to pets and wildlife.
• Illinois Realtors — Legislators are scored on votes on bills affecting real estate and private property.
• The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Illinois General Assembly in 2020.

• Illinois Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
• Illinois Parents of Adults with Developmental Disabilities — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills that help or hinder Illinois citizens with developmental disabilities access more included lives in their homes and communities.
• National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
• The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Illinois General Assembly in 2019.

• Illinois Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
• Illinois Parents of Adults with Developmental Disabilities — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills that help or hinder Illinois citizens with developmental disabilities access more included lives in their homes and communities.
• Technology and Manufacturing Association — Legislators are scored on their votes on manufacturing issues.
• The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Illinois General Assembly in 2018.

• Illinois Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
• Illinois Parents of Adults with Developmental Disabilities — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills that help or hinder Illinois citizens with developmental disabilities access more included lives in their homes and communities.
• Technology and Manufacturing Association — Legislators are scored on their votes on manufacturing issues.
• The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Illinois General Assembly in 2017.

• Citizen Action Illinois — Legislators are scored on votes on bills that show dedication to social and economic justice and protecting Illinois’ consumers.
• Illinois Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
• Illinois Parents of Adults with Developmental Disabilities — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills that help or hinder Illinois citizens with developmental disabilities access more included lives in their homes and communities.
• Technology and Manufacturing Association — Legislators are scored on their votes on manufacturing issues.
• The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Illinois General Assembly in 2016.

• Citizen Action Illinois — Legislators are scored on votes on bills that show dedication to social and economic justice and protecting Illinois’ consumers.
• Illinois Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
• Illinois Parents of Adults with Developmental Disabilities — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills that help or hinder Illinois citizens with developmental disabilities access more included lives in their homes and communities.
• National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
• The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Illinois General Assembly in 2015.

• Illinois Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
• Technology and Manufacturing Association — Legislators are scored on their votes on manufacturing issues.
• The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Illinois General Assembly in 2014.

• Illinois Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
• The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Illinois General Assembly in 2013.

• Illinois Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
• National Association of Social Workers Illinois Chapter — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the social work profession.
• The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Below you can find the scorecards found for the Illinois General Assembly in 2012.

• Illinois Environmental Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
• Illinois Opportunity Project — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
• The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
• URF Action — Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative issues.

Noteworthy events

Tested positive for coronavirus on April 14, 2021

See also: Politicians, candidates, and government officials diagnosed with or quarantined due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Coronavirus pandemic
Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more. Political responses overviewState reopening plansDocumenting America's Path to RecoveryElection changesChanges to vote-by-mail and absentee voting proceduresFederal responsesState responsesState executive ordersStay-at-home ordersMultistate agreementsNon-governmental reopening plansEvictions and foreclosures policiesTravel restrictionsEnacted state legislationState legislative session changesSchool closuresState court closuresInmate releasesLocal government responsesDiagnosed or quarantined politiciansBallot measure changesArguments about government responsesThe 1918 influenza pandemicPandemic Response Accountability CommitteeUnemployment filingsLawsuitsBallotpedia's polling on the coronavirus pandemicSubmit

On April 14, 2021, Lightford announced she tested positive for COVID-19.

See also

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External links

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Candidate

Illinois State Senate District 4

Website

Officeholder

Illinois State Senate District 4

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Illinois State Senate District 4 1998-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Trustee Village of Maywood -2003	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Illinois State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Don Harmon

Majority Leader:Kimberly Lightford

Minority Leader:John Curran

Senators

District 1

Javier Cervantes (D)

District 2

Omar Aquino (D)

District 3

Mattie Hunter (D)

District 4

Kimberly Lightford (D)

District 5

Lakesia Collins (D)

District 6

Sara Feigenholtz (D)

District 7

Mike Simmons (D)

District 8

Ram Villivalam (D)

District 9

Laura Fine (D)

District 10

Robert Martwick (D)

District 11

Mike Porfirio (D)

District 12

Celina Villanueva (D)

District 13

Robert Peters (D)

District 14

Emil Jones (D)

District 15

Napoleon Harris (D)

District 16

Willie Preston (D)

District 17

Elgie Sims (D)

District 18

Bill Cunningham (D)

District 19

Michael Hastings (D)

District 20

Graciela Guzman (D)

District 21

Laura Ellman (D)

District 22

Cristina Castro (D)

District 23

Suzanne Glowiak Hilton (D)

District 24

Seth Lewis (R)

District 25

Karina Villa (D)

District 26

Darby Hills (R)

District 27

Mark Walker (D)

District 28

Laura Murphy (D)

District 29

Julie Morrison (D)

District 30

Adriane Johnson (D)

District 31

Mary Edly-Allen (D)

District 32

Craig Wilcox (R)

District 33

Don DeWitte (R)

District 34

Steve Stadelman (D)

District 35

Dave Syverson (R)

District 36

Michael Halpin (D)

District 37

Li Arellano (R)

District 38

Sue Rezin (R)

District 39

Don Harmon (D)

District 40

Patrick Joyce (D)

District 41

John Curran (R)

District 42

Linda Holmes (D)

District 43

Rachel Ventura (D)

District 44

Sally Turner (R)

District 45

Andrew Chesney (R)

District 46

David Koehler (D)

District 47

Neil Anderson (R)

District 48

Doris Turner (D)

District 49

Meg Loughran Cappel (D)

District 50

Jil Tracy (R)

District 51

Chapin Rose (R)

District 52

Paul Faraci (D)

District 53

Chris Balkema (R)

District 54

Steve McClure (R)

District 55

Jason Plummer (R)

District 56

Erica Harriss (R)

District 57

Christopher Belt (D)

District 58

Terri Bryant (R)

District 59

Dale Fowler (R)

Democratic Party (40)

Republican Party (19)