Mike Simmons (Illinois)
Mike Simmons (Democratic Party) is a member of the Illinois State Senate, representing District 7. He assumed office on February 6, 2021. His current term ends on January 10, 2029.
Simmons (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Illinois' 9th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on March 17, 2026.
Biography
Mike Simmons earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Amherst College in 2006. Simmons' career experience includes working as the deputy director of My Brother's Keeper Alliance; the CEO and founder of Blue Sky Strategies & Co.; a fellow with Leadership Greater Chicago; the deputy commissioner of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development; the policy director for former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer; a legislative correspondent, staff assistant, and advance lead with U.S. Senator Richard J. Durbin; an intern and policy assistant with Aon Corp.; an intern with Barack Obama's U.S. Senate campaign; and an intern with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.[1]
Committee assignments
2025-2026
Simmons was assigned to the following committees:
- Appropriations - Health and Human Services
- Behavioral and Mental Health, Vice-Chair
- Labor Committee
- Public Health Committee, Chair
- Transportation Committee
2023-2024
Simmons was assigned to the following committees:
- Behavioral and Mental Health
- Public Health Committee, Vice Chair
- Senate Special Committee on Tourism
- Transportation Committee
2021-2022
Simmons was assigned to the following committees:
- Behavioral and Mental Health
- Public Health Committee, Vice-Chair
- Senate Special Committee on Tourism
- Transportation Committee
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
2026
See also: Illinois' 9th Congressional District election, 2026
Illinois' 9th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)
Illinois' 9th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Republican primary)
General election
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
General election for U.S. House Illinois District 9
Daniel K. Biss, John Elleson, and Delila Barrera are running in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 9 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Daniel K. Biss (D) | |
 | John Elleson (R)  | |
| Delila Barrera (Independent) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 9
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 9 on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Daniel K. Biss | 29.5 | 34,216 |
 | Kat Abughazaleh | 25.9 | 30,075 | |
 | Laura Fine | 20.2 | 23,398 | |
 | Mike Simmons | 7.3 | 8,451 | |
 | Phil Andrew | 6.2 | 7,220 | |
 | Bushra Amiwala | 5.1 | 5,939 | |
 | Hoan Huynh | 1.7 | 2,029 | |
 | Patricia Brown | 1.3 | 1,459 | |
 | Jeff Cohen | 0.8 | 951 | |
 | Justin Ford | 0.6 | 656 | |
 | Bethany Johnson | 0.5 | 534 | |
 | Sam Polan | 0.4 | 458 | |
 | Howard Rosenblum | 0.2 | 259 | |
 | Nick Pyati | 0.2 | 211 | |
 | Mark Fredrickson | 0.2 | 188 | |
| Natalie Angelo (Unofficially withdrew) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| Total votes: 116,044 | |||
| = 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jill Manrique (D)
- David Abrevaya (D)
- Tamika La'Shon Hill (D)
- Jan Schakowsky (D)
- Lauren Million (D)
- Bruce Leon (D)
- Miracle Jenkins (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 9
John Elleson defeated Paul Friedman, Rocio Cleveland, and Mark Su in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 9 on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | John Elleson | 48.5 | 5,825 |
 | Paul Friedman | 33.5 | 4,023 | |
 | Rocio Cleveland | 9.2 | 1,110 | |
 | Mark Su | 8.7 | 1,046 | |
| Total votes: 12,004 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Simmons received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
2024
See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Illinois State Senate District 7
Incumbent Mike Simmons won election in the general election for Illinois State Senate District 7 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Simmons (D) | 100.0 | 84,513 |
| Total votes: 84,513 | |||
| = 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 7
Incumbent Mike Simmons advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 7 on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Simmons | 100.0 | 33,266 |
| Total votes: 33,266 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Simmons in this election.
2022
See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Illinois State Senate District 7
Incumbent Mike Simmons won election in the general election for Illinois State Senate District 7 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Simmons (D) | 100.0 | 66,145 |
| Total votes: 66,145 | |||
| = 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 7
Incumbent Mike Simmons advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 7 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Simmons | 100.0 | 31,166 |
| Total votes: 31,166 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Mike Simmons did not complete Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
2024
Mike Simmons did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Mike Simmons did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
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.
Scorecards
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.
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.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate U.S. House Illinois District 9 |
Officeholder Illinois State Senate District 7 |
Personal |
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Heather Steans (D) |
Illinois State Senate District 7 2021-Present |
Succeeded by - |
