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Willie Preston
Willie Preston (Democratic Party) is a member of the Illinois State Senate, representing District 16. He assumed office on January 11, 2023. His current term ends on January 10, 2029.
Preston (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Illinois' 2nd Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on March 17, 2026.[source]
Biography
Willie Preston was born and lives in Chicago, Illinois. Preston's career experience includes operating a construction firm and working as a carpenter and as an organizer with the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability. He has served on the board of the Chicagoland YMCA’s early childhood education program and the Local School Council at Scott Joplin Elementary School.[1]
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the March 17, 2026, Democratic primary as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Eleven candidates are running in the Democratic primary for Illinois' 2nd Congressional District on March 17, 2026. As of November 2025, Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D), Donna Miller (D), Robert Peters (D), and Willie Preston (D) led in fundraising and local media attention.[2]
Incumbent Robin Kelly (D), first elected in 2013, is running for U.S. Senate rather than seeking re-election, leaving the seat open. Kelly won re-election in 2024 68%–32%. The major race rating outlets rated the race as Solid Democratic, meaning the winner of this primary is likely to win the general election.
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D) is a former nonprofit executive who represented the District from 1995 to 2012. Jackson served 23 months in prison after being found guilty in 2013 of spending $750,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses.[3] Jackson says he was "was one of the most effective members of Congress, delivering nearly a billion in grants and appropriations to the District."[4]
Miller was elected to the Cook County Commission in 2018. Miller's professional experience includes working as an independent consultant in sales training and marketing.[5] Miller says she has "spent her career serving the community and fighting to lower costs for working families, increase opportunity, and expand access to healthcare, particularly for women and communities of color."[6]
Peters is a majority whip in the Illinois Senate and was elected to the chamber in 2018. He previously worked as a community organizer with the nonprofit group Chicago Votes. Peters says he is running "to bring bold, progressive leadership to Washington on behalf of the communities of Illinois’ 2nd District."[7]
Preston is the chairman of the Illinois Senate Black Caucus and was first elected to the chamber in 2022. Preston's professional experience includes owning a construction firm and working as a janitor and carpenter.[8] Preston says he is running "because I know what it means to struggle – and to overcome. Together, we're going to bring back jobs and businesses to the Southland."[9]
Also running in the primary are Toni Brown (D), Yumeka Brown (D), Eric France (D), Patrick Keating (D), Sidney Moore (D), Adal Regis (D), and Jeremy Young (D).
Committee assignments
2025-2026
Preston was assigned to the following committees:
- Appropriations - Public Safety and Infrastructure
- Commerce Committee
- Consumer Protection, Chair
- Education Committee
- Senate Financial Institutions Committee
- Senate Insurance Committee
- State Government Committee, Vice-Chair
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' 2nd Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for U.S. House Illinois District 2
Ashley Banks is running in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 2 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Ashley Banks (Independent)  | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 2
The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 2 on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Toni Brown | ||
 | Yumeka Brown | |
 | Eric France | |
 | Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. | |
 | Patrick Keating | |
 | Donna Miller | |
| Sidney Moore | ||
 | Robert Peters | |
 | Willie Preston | |
 | Adal Regis | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Robin Kelly (D)
- Jeremy Young (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 2
Mike Noack and Ashley Ramos are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 2 on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Mike Noack | |
 | Ashley Ramos | |
| ||||
| = 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
- Calvin Coleman (R)
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.
Election campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yumeka Brown | Democratic Party | $69,400 | $17,448 | $51,953 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Toni Brown | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Eric France | Democratic Party | $13,091 | $11,283 | $1,808 | As of June 30, 2025 |
| Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. | Democratic Party | $95,029 | $40,237 | $54,792 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Patrick Keating | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Donna Miller | Democratic Party | $242,494 | $90,523 | $151,971 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Sidney Moore | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Robert Peters | Democratic Party | $693,183 | $347,495 | $345,688 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Willie Preston | Democratic Party | $79,354 | $34,977 | $44,377 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Adal Regis | Democratic Party | $66,615 | $47,934 | $10,824 | As of September 30, 2025 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[10][11][12]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
| By candidate | By election |
|---|---|
Note: As of November 19, 2025, Toni Brown (D) and Sidney Moore (D) had not filed as candidates with the Federal Election Commission.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2024
See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Illinois State Senate District 16
Incumbent Willie Preston won election in the general election for Illinois State Senate District 16 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Willie Preston (D) | 100.0 | 53,401 |
| Total votes: 53,401 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 16
Incumbent Willie Preston advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 16 on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Willie Preston | 100.0 | 17,011 |
| Total votes: 17,011 | |||
| = 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 Preston in this election.
2022
See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Illinois State Senate District 16
Willie Preston won election in the general election for Illinois State Senate District 16 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Willie Preston (D) | 100.0 | 38,713 |
| Total votes: 38,713 | |||
| = 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 16
Willie Preston defeated La'Mont Raymond Williams in the Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 16 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Willie Preston | 54.3 | 9,473 |
| La'Mont Raymond Williams | 45.7 | 7,978 | ||
| Total votes: 17,451 | |||
| = 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
2018
General election
General election for Illinois House of Representatives District 31
Incumbent Mary E. Flowers won election in the general election for Illinois House of Representatives District 31 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mary E. Flowers (D) | 100.0 | 30,214 |
| Total votes: 30,214 | |||
| = 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 House of Representatives District 31
Incumbent Mary E. Flowers defeated Willie Preston in the Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 31 on March 20, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mary E. Flowers | 82.8 | 14,077 |
| Willie Preston | 17.2 | 2,929 | |
| Total votes: 17,006 | |||
| = 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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Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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You can ask Willie Preston to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing willieprestonforcongress@gmail.com.
| Released August 19, 2025 |
Campaign ads
Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Willie Preston while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.
2024
Willie Preston did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Willie Preston 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 Illinois scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 16 to May 29.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 11 to May 27.
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See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House Illinois District 2 |
Officeholder Illinois State Senate District 16 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Illinois General Assembly, "Senator Willie Preston (D)," accessed May 12, 2023
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Top candidates for the US House in Illinois’ 2nd, 7th, 8th and 9th districts for the 2026 election," August 19, 2025
- ↑ CBS News, "Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. announces campaign for old seat," October 8, 2025
- ↑ Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. campaign website, "About," accessed November 21, 2025
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Donna Miller," accessed November 21, 2025
- ↑ Donna Miller campaign website, "Meet Donna," accessed November 21, 2025
- ↑ Robert Peters campaign website, "About Robert Peters," accessed November 21, 2025
- ↑ Willie Preston campaign website, "Home page," accessed November 21, 2025
- ↑ YouTube, "Preston for Congress Official Launch Video," August 19, 2025
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jacqueline Collins (D) |
Illinois State Senate District 16 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
