ILLINOIS — The Associated Press has projected Rick Ryan to win the Democratic nomination for Illinois State Representative in the 36th District. In November, Ryan will face Christine Shanahan McGovern, who went uncontested in the Republican primary.
Ryan and Sonia Anne Khalil ran in the primary for the Illinois House’s 36th District. The seat was open after Rep. Kelly Burke announced last year that she wasn’t going to run after representing the district for 14 years. Burke concurrently served as mayor of Evergreen Park.
The 36th District includes all or parts of Palos Hills, Palos Park, Palos Heights, Oak Lawn, Chicago Ridge, Worth, Evergreen Park and Chicago’s Beverly, Wrightwood and Mount Greenwood neighborhoods.
Ryan was heavily endorsed and backed by organized labor, which pumped $400,000 into his campaign coffers, and it paid off. At the end of the evening, with Ryan garnering 6,678 (57.42 percent) to Khalil’s 4,953 (42.58 percent), according to unofficial tallies.
The 2024 Illinois Presidential Primary was marked by dismal voter turnout in suburban Cook County. A few hours before the polls closed Tuesday, a representative from the Cook County Clerk’s Office said voter turnout hovered at 15.4 percent; Chicago eked out a turnout of 20 percent.
Neither candidate had broad name recognition in the district. Ryan is an attorney with a private practice in Oak Lawn, and Khalil has served as the administrative services coordinator for the City of Markham. Both candidates claimed to be cancer survivors.
Khalil is of Palestinian-Italian descent and grew up in local politics. Her father, Samir Khalil, is the president of the Arab American Democratic Club of Chicago. Khalil touted during her campaign that she was the only pro-choice candidate and a life-long defender of a woman’s right to choose. Ryan was against abortion rights when he ran unsuccessfully for state senate in 2000, but claims to have changed his mind since then.
Going into Tuesday, A poll conducted by GTO Strategies LLC, an electoral campaign consultancy, showed Khalil leading among women, non-white voters and voters 18-49 with Ryan leading among men, particularly white men and men over 50.
He resides in Evergreen Park with his wife, Maureen. Their three children are all graduates of Evergreen Park Community High School, according to his campaign bio. His private practice is based in Oak Lawn.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
Click Here: Stone Island Caps