State Sen. John Curran fends off challenge from Democrat Bridget Fitzgerald in 41st District

State Sen. John Curran, R-Downers Grove, beat Democratic challenger Bridget Fitzgerald by more than 2,500 votes Nov. 6 in the race for the 41st District seat in the Illinois Senate.

Curran, who was appointed to the seat in 2017, garnered 48,253 votes, or about 51.4 percent of the vote, across Cook, DuPage and Will countes in his race against Fitzgerald, Western Springs' village clerk. Fitzgerald collected 45,714 votes, or about 48.6 percent, according to unofficial results.

Curran led in both Cook and Will counties, capturing 10,963 votes in Cook and 7,215 votes in Will compared to Fitzgerald's 8,775 votes in Cook and 4,981 votes in Will, preliminary numbers show.

Fitzgerald won DuPage County, garnering 31,958 votes while Curran captured 30,075, according to initial poll returns.

The 41st Senate District stretches from Downers Grove on the north to Lemont and Homer Glen on the south.

Neither Curran nor Fitzgerald could be reached for comment.

In a Suburban Life candidate questionaire, Curran said people moving out of Illinois is a serious probem that must be curtailed.

"Illinois is seeing more people leave the state than any other state in the union," he said. "I believe that is a direct result from Springfield dysfunction, high property taxes and uncertainty in budgeting."

Fitzgerald, meanwhile, campaigned on investing in labor trade schools to bridge the gap between infrastructure and the vacant skilled labor workforce. She also supported a community's right to ban assault weapons and raising taxes on the purchase of ammunition to fund gun violence prevention initiatives.