Age in the 2025 Illinois General Assembly
Illinois State Capitol – Springfield, IL (Photo courtesy of wikipedia)
The State of Illinois held its elections for a new Illinois House of Representatives and Illinois State Senate on November 4th 2024. In January 2025 the currently active 104th legislative session of the Illinois State Legislature. Among the members elected 12 were aged 35 or younger on election day in 2024. Below is a map of these representatives within both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly.
Illinois Demographic Background in the 2024 Election
Preliminary estimates from CIRCLE at Tufts University indicate that 42% of young people aged 18–29 voted in the 2024 election, with turnout surpassing 50% in key battleground states. Nearly 50 million young citizens were eligible to vote nationwide, including over 8 million who turned 18 since the 2022 midterms.
Nationally, according to the Pew Research Center, Millennials in 2020 overtook Baby Boomers as the largest generation in the U.S., comprising 31% of the population, followed closely by Baby Boomers at 30.9%. Generation X makes up 28%, while the Silent Generation is the smallest at 9.9%. According to the CIRCLE institutes – Youth Electoral Significance Index (YESI), Illinois voters had strong political sway. For example, according to YESI the congressional races in Illinois’s 17th district ranked 27th most impacted by youth political participation.
This election showcased the increasing diversity of the youth electorate, with notable differences in voting patterns by race, gender, and issue priorities. Given Illinois’s unique demographics, voters elected eleven members to the Illinois House of Representatives, who were age 35 and under on election day. Below is information about the generational backgrounds of the current Illinois House of Representatives.
The Illinois House of Representatives 104th Legislative Session
Below is information covering age dynamics in the recently elected to the Illinois House of Representatives
- the average age of Illinois House of Representatives members is 50.58 years
- the youngest Representative Bradley Fritts was born in 2000
- the oldest Representative Paul Jacobs was born in 1948
- 11 Representatives are Young Elected Leaders age 35 or younger as of Election Day 2024
Generational Breakdown
Within the Illinois House of Representatives, most representatives come from the Millennial, Generation X or The Baby Boomer generation. Importantly, only a few of the current Illinois House of Representatives belong to Generation Z (youngest), and none belong to the Silent Generation (oldest). Scroll below to see the generations in the Illinois House of Representatives visualized.
Partisanship in the Illinois House of Representatives
The chart below further breaks down the current partisan makeup of the 2025 Illinois House of Representatives. Each dot represents a single member, colored by both party affiliation and whether the legislator qualifies as a Young Elected Leader (YEL)—defined as age 35 or younger at the time of the election. This format provides a visual snapshot of generational and partisan distribution within the chamber, highlighting how younger legislators are positioned across party lines.
Partisan dynamics in the Illinois House of Representatives reflect not only ideological differences but also generational contrasts. The visual below highlights one key distinction: the average age of legislators by party. While both parties include a mix of experience levels, Republican members are, on average, older than their Democratic counterparts. This difference may reflect broader trends in political recruitment, generational turnover, and candidate emergence in recent election cycles.
Young Elected Representatives – Illinois House of Representatives
Following the 2024 State Legislative Elections in Illinois, eleven members aged 35 or under were elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. Below are all eleven of these members along with information about their local districts and party affiliation.
| Name | District | Birth year (Age on Election Day) | Year first elected to Illinois House | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Bradley Fritts (R) | 74th District –
Dixon, IL |
2000 (Age 24) | 2022 |
 |
Nabeela Syed (D) | 51st District –
Inverness, IL |
1999 (Age 25) | 2022 |
 |
Edgar Gonzalez Jr. (D) | 23rd District –
Chicago, IL |
1996 (Age 27) | 2020 |
 |
Kevin Olickal (D) | 16th District –
Skokie, IL |
1993 (Age 31) | 2022 |
 |
Barbara Hernandez (D) | 50th District –
Aurora, IL |
1993 (Age 31) | 2019 |
 |
Travis Weaver (R) | 93rd District –
Edwards, IL |
1992 (Age 32) | 2022 |
 |
Margaret Croke (D) | 12th District –
Chicago, IL |
1992 (Age 32) | 2020 |
 |
Aaron M. Ortiz (D) | 1st District –
Chicago, IL |
1991 (Age 33) | 2018 |
 |
Hoan Huynh (D)
|
13th District –
Chicago, IL |
1990 (Age 34) | 2022 |
 |
Norma Hernandez (D) | 77th District –
Melrose Park, IL |
1990 (Age 34) | 2022 |
 |
Abdelnasser Rashid (D)
|
71st District –
Bridgeview, IL |
1989 (Age 35) | 2022 |
Photos courtesy of the Illinois House of Representatives member roster.
Gender in the Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives reflects a range of age and gender dynamics that help shape the composition of the state’s legislative body. Across all members, 55.08% are men, while women make up the remaining 44.92%. Age differences between these groups are very similar: female representatives had an average age of 50.53 at the time of the election, compared to 50.61 for their male colleagues. Of the the 11 Young Elected Leaders, 7 are male and 4 are female.
When examining both gender and party affiliation, additional differences in age emerge within the Illinois House of Representatives. Democratic men have the lowest average age of the four groups at 48.04, while Democratic women have a higher average age of 49.57. For Republicans in the Illinois House of Representatives, both gender groups are on average older, with Republican women having an average age of 55.79 and Republican men averaging 53.27. Overall across both parties the average for all groups across party and gender lies above 48 years old. These patterns show that age representation in the Illinois House of Representatives varies by both gender and partisan alignment, highlighting differing pathways to political office across demographic groups.
Race and Ethnicity in the Illinois House of Representatives
The racial and ethnic composition of the Illinois House of Representatives varies significantly across generations. In the 2024 Illinois House younger generations are overall more diverse. This table highlights how race and ethnicity intersect with age in shaping the diversity of the legislative body.
Generations by Race/Ethnicity in the Illinois House of Representatives
|
Generation Z 1997 – |
Millennial Generation
1981 – 1996 |
Generation X
1965 –1980 |
Boomer Generation
1946 – 1964 |
Silent Generation
1928 – 1945 |
Full Chamber | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White/Caucasian | 1
(50%) |
16
(47.06%) |
39
(68.42%) |
20
(83.33%) |
– | 76
(64.96%) |
| Black/African American | – | 7
(20.59%) |
11
(19.3%) |
2
(8.33%) |
– | 20
(17.09%) |
| Hispanic/Latino | – | 7
(20.59%) |
4
(7.02%) |
2
(8.33%) |
– | 13
(11.11%) |
| Asian/Pacific American | 1
(50%) |
4
(11.76%) |
2
(3.51%) |
– | – | 7
(5.98%) |
| Two or More Ethnicities | – | – | 1
(1.75%) |
– | – | 1
(0.85%) |
| Total (Precent of Illinois House) | 2
(1.71%) |
34
(29.06%) |
57
(48.72%) |
24
(20.51%) |
– | 117*
(100%) |
*Missing age for one House member. The full Illinois House of Representatives is comprised of 118 seats.
The Illinois Senate
Below is information covering age dynamics in the recently elected Illinois State Senate.
- the average age of Illinois State Senate members is 54.09 years
- the youngest Senator Graciela Guzman who was born in 1989
- the oldest Senator Mark Walker who was born in 1948
- 1 Senator is a Young Elected Leader, aged 35 or younger as of Election Day 2024
Young Elected Senators in the Illinois State Senate
Following the 2024 State Legislative Elections in Illinois, one member aged 35 or under was elected to the Illinois State Senate. Below is information about their local districts and party affiliation.
| Name | District | Birth Year (Age on Election Day) |
Year First Elected to the Illinois State Senate |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Graciela Guzman (D) | 20th District – Chicago, IL | 1989 (Age 35) |
2024 |
Photos courtesy of Illinois State Senate member roster
Partisanship in the Illinois State Senate
In the Illinois State Senate, 40 senators belong to the Democratic Party, 19 senators are Republicans. The mean age of Democratic state senators after the 2024 election was 54.05, while the mean age of Republican state senators was 54.17. Each generation had a different partisan makeup. Below is the breakdown of party composition for each generation within the Illinois State Senate.
Gender in the Illinois Senate
The generational makeup of the Illinois Senate also reflects important gender dynamics. Across generations, gender balance is more male skewed across generations. Overall more men are represented than women among both Millennial and Generation X members. While among Baby Boomers women are more represented than men. These patterns suggest that gender balance varies across generational lines, with women represented in each age cohort of the Illinois Senate.
Race and Ethnicity in the Illinois Senate
The racial and ethnic composition of the Illinois Senate reveals generational variation in representation. Below is the breakdown of race and ethnicity within the Illinois Senate.
Generations by Race/Ethnicity in the Illinois State Senate
| Millennial Generation | Generation X | Boomer Generation | Silent Generation | Full Chamber | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 6 (40%) | 16 (69.57%) | 17 (85%) | – | 39 (67.24%) |
| Black/African American | 3 (20%) | 5 (21.74%) | 3 (15%) | – | 11 (18.97%) |
| Hispanic/Latino | 5 (33.33%) | 2 (8.7%) | – | – | 7 (12.07%) |
| Other | 1 (6.67%) | – | – | – | 1 (1.72%) |
| Total | 15 (25.86%) | 23 (39.66%) | 20 (34.48%) | – | *58 (100%) |
*Missing age for one Senator. The full Illinois State Senate is comprised of 59 seats.
Notes
The Young Elected Leaders Project applies the generational categorization of the Pew Research Center:
- Silent Generation: 1928 – 1945
- Baby Boomer Generation: 1946 – 1964
- Generation X: 1965 – 1980
- Millennial Generation: 1981 – 1996
- Generation Z: 1997 – 2012
This analysis is based on data from the most recent state legislative election in Illinois which took place on November 5th 2024.
Citation Guideline
In referencing the Young Elected Leaders Project in publication please use the following language: “The Young Elected Leaders Project is housed at the Center for Youth Political Participation at The Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University – New Brunswick.”
Bibliographic Citation For this document
Author: Young Elected Leaders Project
Corresponding Authors: George D. Quinn
Year: 2024
Title: Age in the 2025 Illinois State Legislature