Western Springs' Durkin Leaves Legislature

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – State Rep. Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, announced to media over the weekend that he would resign from the House on Monday.

After the November election, Durkin said he would relinquish his role as minority leader.

Durkin, who was elected to the House in 1995, has served as the minority leader for a decade. He represents the 82nd District, which includes all or parts of Western Springs, La Grange, Hinsdale and Burr Ridge, among other towns.

Now, local Republican Party insiders have the power to choose his replacement.

Republicans and Democrats have been known to keep their searches shrouded in secrecy. In some states, voters get to choose replacements in special elections.

In November, Durkin told NBC5 that he hoped the state's GOP and its base would see losses as an opportunity for a reckoning.

“The party needs to hit the reset button and realize what happened again (in the November election), that we cannot allow the far-right fringe to control the party,” Durkin told NBC5. “If they continue, we will suffer losses at the same level we did this cycle, last cycle.”

He pointed to former President Donald Trump as a big reason behind the losses.

Durkin ran unopposed in the November election.