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Bill Cunningham (Illinois): Difference between revisions

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==Scorecards==
==Scorecards==
{{Illinois legislature scorecards|Begin=2013|End=2026}}
<BPW widget="legislative-scorecards/person" person= "4246"  />


==Endorsements==
==Endorsements==

Latest revision as of 16:13, 3 March 2026

Bill Cunningham
Democratic Party
Illinois State Senate District 18
Tenure
2013 - Present
Term ends
2027
Years in position
13
Predecessor: Edward Maloney (D)
Prior offices:
Illinois House of Representatives District 35
Years in office: 2011 - 2013
Compensation
Base salary
$93,712/year
Per diem
$178/day
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 8, 2022
Education
Bachelor's
University of Illinois, Chicago, 1990
Contact
Official website
Official Facebook
Official X
Personal website
Personal Facebook
Personal LinkedIn

Bill Cunningham (Democratic Party) is a member of the Illinois State Senate, representing District 18. He assumed office in 2013. His current term ends on January 13, 2027.

Cunningham (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Illinois State Senate to represent District 18. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Cunningham was elected to serve as the Senate President Pro Tempore for the 2023-2024 session.[1]

Biography

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

Cunningham received a bachelor's from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His professional experience includes working for the Cook County Sheriff's Office, as community affairs director to Sheriff Michael Sheahan, and chief of staff for Sheriff Tom Dart.[2]

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Cunningham was assigned to the following committees:

2023-2024

Cunningham was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Cunningham was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Cunningham was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

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

Illinois committee assignments, 2017
• Agriculture
• Appropriations II
• Committee of the Whole
• Gaming
• Higher Education, Vice chair
• Labor
• Telecommunications & InfoTechnology, Chair
• Transportation

2015 legislative session

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

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Cunningham served on the following committees:[3]

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Cunningham served on the following committees:

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 State Senate elections, 2026

Bill Cunningham did not file to run for re-election.

2022

See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Illinois State Senate District 18

Incumbent Bill Cunningham defeated Christine McGovern in the general election for Illinois State Senate District 18 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Bill Cunningham
Bill Cunningham (D)
 
59.4
 
45,430
Image of Christine McGovern
Christine McGovern (R) Candidate Connection
 
40.6
 
31,111

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 76,541
Candidate Connection = 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 18

Incumbent Bill Cunningham advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 18 on June 28, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Bill Cunningham
Bill Cunningham
 
100.0
 
20,641

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 20,641
Candidate Connection = 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 18

Christine McGovern advanced from the Republican primary for Illinois State Senate District 18 on June 28, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Christine McGovern
Christine McGovern Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
10,354

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 10,354
Candidate Connection = 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.

2018

See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Illinois State Senate District 18

Incumbent Bill Cunningham won election in the general election for Illinois State Senate District 18 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Bill Cunningham
Bill Cunningham (D)
 
100.0
 
64,048

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 64,048
Candidate Connection = 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 18

Incumbent Bill Cunningham advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 18 on March 20, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Bill Cunningham
Bill Cunningham
 
100.0
 
31,038

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 31,038
Candidate Connection = 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.

2014

See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the Illinois State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on March 18, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was December 2, 2013. Incumbent Bill Cunningham ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and defeated Shaun Colin Murphy (R), who filed to run on June 2, in the general election.[4][5][6][7]

Illinois State Senate District 18, General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBill Cunningham Incumbent 58.3% 41,515
     Republican Shaun Colin Murphy 41.7% 29,658
Total Votes 71,173

2012

See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2012

Cunningham won election to the 18th District seat in the Illinois State Senate in 2012. He was unopposed in the Democratic Primary on March 20 and defeated Republican Barbara Ruth Bellar in the general election on November 6, 2012.[8][9][10]

Illinois State Senate, District 18, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBill Cunningham 63.7% 60,325
     Republican Barbara Ruth Bellar 36.3% 34,338
Total Votes 94,663

2010

Cunningham defeated Barbara Ruth Bellar (R) in the state's November 2, 2010 general election. Cunningham replaced Kevin Joyce as candidate for the seat after Joyce decided not to run for re-election.[11][12]

Illinois House of Representatives, District 35 General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBill Cunningham 58.4% 21,649
     Republican Barbara Ruth Bellar 41.6% 15,450
Total Votes 37,099

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.

Bill Cunningham campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2022Illinois State Senate District 18Won general$1,825,420 $930,005
2018Illinois State Senate District 18Won general$256,970 N/A**
2014Illinois State Senate, District 18Won $296,166 N/A**
2012Illinois State Senate, District 18Won $174,594 N/A**
2010Illinois State House, District 35Won $155,124 N/A**
Grand total$2,708,274 $930,005
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Election Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Bill Cunningham did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Endorsements

2014

In 2014, Cunningham's endorsements included the following:[13][14]

  • Equality Illinois Political Action Committee (PAC)
  • The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Cunningham and his wife, Juliana, have two children.[15]

Additional reading

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Bill Cunningham Illinois Senate. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Bill Cunningham (Illinois) - Google News

See also

2022 Elections

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External links

Officeholder

Illinois State Senate District 18
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • X
    		•

    Personal

  • Website
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    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Illinois Senate Democrats, "Leadership," accessed January 12, 2023
    2. ↑ Bill Cunningham, "Bio," accessed February 20, 2014
    3. ↑ Illinois General Assembly, "Senator Bill Cunningham," accessed February 20, 2014
    4. ↑ Illinois Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed March 18, 2014
    5. ↑ Illinois Board of Elections, "General Primary Election Official Canvass," April 18, 2014
    6. ↑ Illinois Secretary of State, "Official general election candidate list," accessed March 18, 2014
    7. ↑ The Chicago Tribune, "Results List (Unofficial)," accessed November 5, 2014
    8. ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate List," December 5, 2011
    9. ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed February 20, 2014
    10. ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, “Official Vote - November 6, 2012 General Election,” accessed December 31, 2012
    11. ↑ Beverly Review, "Committee picks Cunningham," accessed February 20, 2014
    12. ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Illinois Official 2010 General Election Results," accessed February 20, 2014
    13. ↑ Windy City Media Group, "Equality Illinois PAC issues endorsements," January 17, 2014
    14. ↑ Illinois AFL-CIO, "2014 Illinois AFL-CIO Primary Election Endorsements," accessed March 5, 2014
    15. ↑ Project Vote Smart, "William Cunningham," accessed February 20, 2014

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    Edward Maloney (D)     		Illinois State Senate District 18
    2013-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    -     		Illinois House of Representatives District 35
    2011-2013    		 Succeeded by
    -


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