29th District IL Senate 2018 Election: Morrison Defeats Davie

Deerfield Democrat Sen. Julie Morrison defeated Lake Forest Republican businessman Barrett Davie to win a third term representing the 29th District of the Illinois Senate, which includes parts of nearly two dozen towns in Lake and Cook counties. Morrison, 62, was previously the appointed chair of the Statewide Advisory Council of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services before being elected as West Deerfield Township supervisor, a role she held for 15 years. Davie, 44, a first-time candidate recruited by local Republican leaders, co-founded a sports marking company and was its CEO until 2008. He is now a partner and co-founder of the business accelerator InFlow Partners, a former chairman of the board of Bernie’s Book Bank and a board member at the Gorton Community Center. With more than 96 percent of precincts reporting, Morrison led Davie by more than 11,000 votes, 61.2 percent to 38.8 percent.

Both candidates were unopposed in their 2018 party primaries. In 2012, Morrison was elected in 2012 with 54.4 percent to 45.6 percent against Arie Friedman, the Highland Park physician who unsuccessfully challenged his town’s ban on assault-style weapons in federal court, winning the election by more than 7,000 votes. In 2016, Morrison won with 59 percent to 41 percent, defeating Benjamin Salzberg, founder and CEO of a business development firm, by nearly 16,000 votes.

The candidates disagreed on a progressive income tax, with Morrison in favor, Davie opposed, on bans on assault-style weapons, with Morrison a longtime proponent of a statewide ban on certain semi-automatic firearms and Davie in favor of localized action and on marijuana legalization, with Morrison in favor and Davie opposed. Both candidates support redistricting reform, with Morrison part of a bipartisan coalition that has put forward a constitutional “fair map” amendment, which Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate have sent to die in the rules and assignments committees, respectively.

Both candidates had more than a half-million dollars on hand at the start of October. Since then, Davie has received nearly $313,000 more and Morrison has added an additional $152,000, which left each of them with more than $800,000 to spend in the final five weeks of the race. Davie’s biggest contributions have been a $305,000 gift from conservative mega-donor Richard “Dick” Uihlein, a donation of more than $153,000 from the Illinois GOP and a $100,000 loan the candidate gave to his own campaign. Morrison’s largest contributions since her last election have been the Chicagoland Operators Joint Labor-Management PAC, which has chipped in more than $110,000, and more than $67,000 from the International Union of Operating Engineers.

Morrison was endorsed by the Chicago Tribune, though it described Davie as a “rising GOP superstar,” the Chicago Sun-Times, which noted Morrison was a “former Republican” and the Daily Herald, which called her an independent voice in the Democratic Party who “deserves to be returned to Springfield.”

Election results

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At a candidate forum last month in Deerfield, Davie said people are leaving the state because of property taxes and a mismanaged state economy. He said Illinois’ financial challenges were tearing communities apart as families felt compelled to leave.

“This election’s not about being a Republican, a Democrat, a liberal or conservative, it’s about capability. It’s about human beings who want to live in this place – it’s a wonderful place – and who want to stay here and plant roots. Illinois has the resources to be the best state in the country. Unfortunately, Springfield has mismanaged them.” He said he was an action-oriented person who would bring a people together with an inclusive and bold vision.

“This should be the best state in the United States. We’re sitting next to the largest body of fresh water on earth, we have the best farmland on the planet. History and geography have created the intermodal transportation hub of the Western world. We have 36 Fortune 500 companies in this state. We have more colleges and universities in the metro area of Chicago than any city outside of Boston. We have incredible resources and abundance,” Davie said. “This is an incredible place. Unfortunately...we have the worst debt, we have the worst tax liability and burden, we have the worst credit rating, we have the worst out-migration of our population.”

Morrison said, unlike Davie, she supported amending the state constitution to implement a graduated income tax. She called for the General Assembly to set forth legislation laying out what the tax brackets would be in advance of any referendum presented to the voters. Speaking at the Deerfield forum, she said she was running on her record.

“I believe that the goals for state government right now should be restoring the financial stability of the state, but at the same time, providing the necessary services, operations and programs for the state of Illinois. I have developed a reputation of being an effective, accessible, bipartisan legislator,” Morrison said. She questioned the sincerity of Davie’s purported support for abortion rights, citing one of his major donors. She acknowledged she has been heavily financed by political action committees as well as small donors but said PACs were also representative of the views of individuals.

“A pro-choice candidate, should not, can not, it is unfathomable that you would take $300,000 from Dick Uihlein, who wants to criminalize abortion. I’m just not sure how you can call yourself pro-choice,” Morrison said. “I am very proud of my record. And if you want to talk about achievement – 41 bills signed just in this last session into law. That’s achievement. I’m going to continue to be effective and work for you, I’m going to be an advocate for your values," she told attendees.

The 29th District includes all or parts of Arlington Heights, Bannockburn, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Glencoe, Glenview, Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Lincolnshire, Mount Prospect, Northbrook, Palatine, Prospect Heights, Riverwoods, Wheeling and more. Davie’s campaign says the district’s “J” shape is a result of gerrymandering, noting “Partisan Party Bosses in Springfield” drew its boundaries to include parts of more than 20 towns.

More About Davie and Morrison

Read more about these candidates on their candidate pages:

• Barrett Davie
• Julie Morrison

More Illinois voting info: Everything To Know About The Illinois 2018 Midterm Elections