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By Bob Bong
Mary Flowers, the longest serving black lawmaker in the General Assembly, was sent packing Tuesday night after running afoul of House Speaker Chris Welch.
Flowers, 72, was defeated by Michael Crawford in the 31st House District Democratic Primary. Flowers, who was first elected in 1984, received 753 votes in suburban precincts while Crawford garnered 1,860 votes.
According to political columnist Rich Miller, Crawford was backed by Welch and labor unions that have donated more than $560,000 to Crawford’s campaign. This despite Flowers having an 89 percent lifetime pro-labor voting record, according to the AFL-CIO.
Welch stripped Flowers of her Deputy Majority Leader title and barred her from attending House Democratic caucus meetings last year after a large majority of his members complained about her behavior.
They said she was disrespectful and rude to colleagues and allegedly abusive to some staff. She was behaving as the opposite of a caucus leader.
Many in the Democratic party felt she should have retired gracefully.
Crawford, from the Wrightwood community, is the Campus Dean at The Chicago School. Previously, he spent over a decade to the City Colleges of Chicago, holding leadership roles at Daley College, Kennedy-King College, and the district office. He also served at Northern Illinois, Chicago State, and Benedictine Universities.
Crawford’s main priorities include increasing education funding and opportunities, supporting equal rights for all, equitable healthcare access, supporting workers and their families, economic development, and ensuring that the 31st District is a safe place to live, work, and play.
The 31st District takes in portions of Justice, Hickory Hills, Oak Lawn, Chicago Ridge and Palos Hills.
A similar situation unfolded in the 32nd House District, which includes portions of Hickory Hills and Burbank.
The incumbent, Cyril Nichols, withdrew from the race on February 20 after facing similar opposition from Welch. He had been appointed to the seat in 2021.
His challenger was Lisa Davis, 44, of Chicago, an attorney with the Cook County Public Defender’s Office. Like Crawford, she is enjoying a lot of labor support.
No Republicans filed petitions in the 31st or 32nd districts.
In the 2nd Illinois House District, incumbent Democrat Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez, of Cicero, ran unopposed. She will face off with Republican Laura Hruska, of Brookfield, a member of the Riverside-Brookfield School District 208 Board of Education, in November.
In the 82nd Illinois House District, which takes in parts of Willow Springs, Indian Head Park, Countryside, Palos Park and Lyons Township. Longtime Republican state Rep. Jim Durkin resigned early in 2023 and was replaced by Lemont Mayor John Egofske.
Egofske had already announced he would not seek election next year and then announced he was resigning from the Illinois House effective December 8.
Local Republican committeemen named Nicole La Ha Zwiercan, of Homer Glen, as his replacement on December 21. She had already filed to run for the seat.
Zwiercan is unopposed and will face off with Democrat Suzanne Akhras, of Burr Ridge, also unopposed, in the November General Election.
