South Cook News

Patrick Sheehan has conceded the tight race to represent the 19th Senate District. 

in a concession letter he posted on his Facebook site, he recalled his journey as a candidate to represent the district and thanked everyone who had his back, particularly his wife and their five children, the rest of his family, and his friends for the encouragement to run. Sheehan said he "was left for dead" until he teamed up with the Big Tent Coalition – led by Rep. Tim Ozinga (R-Mokena). 

"They ran my campaign, and I could not be more impressed with the talented team they put together," Sheehan said in his statement. "Their transparency and communication with me (considering I’m a first-time candidate, I know that doesn’t often happen) kept my spirits and effort consistent. I learned a lot about the people of this district because I walked every day and had honest, meaningful conversations at the door. Our team walked over 80,000 doors." 

He was also thankful to "Mayor Michael Glotz of Tinley Park for his efforts to galvanize the community" behind him throughout his campaign. Sheehan also sent his appreciation to John Catanzara and Chicago FOP Lodge 7 for helping him, leading up to and on election day. He also expressed his gratitude to Dr. Cornel Darden "for addressing and bringing forth the issues of the district’s east side." 

"I promise we gave this race everything we had, bringing us within 600 votes of victory," Sheehan said. "I will remain active in the area and continue to choose Service Above Self. Cheers.”

Sheehan had not conceded his race in the days immediately following the election because it came as a very close race with votes still being counted. During the count, he said on Facebook, "My race has not been called, but we are still leading. I haven't forgotten the conversations at the doors and I expect those conversations to reflect the final tally when it's all said and done." 

Sheehan ran against embattled State Sen. Michael Hastings (D-Frankfort). Hastings faces abuse allegations from his estranged wife and harassment allegations from his former chief of staff. Gov. J.B. Pritzker called on Hastings to resign his seat, saying in a statement, "Integrity is essential to public service, and corruption for personal gain and abuse in private or public is unacceptable. Illinoisans deserve to have elected leaders who are focused on representing them - not on holding office when facing serious and credible charges." Hastings has denied all allegations and has not resigned. 

As of this writing, Sheehan is only short by less than 1 percent against Hastings. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Hastings defeated Sheehan with 41,097 votes to Sheehan's 40,369 votes with 95% of the vote counted. Hastings garnered 50.4% of the vote to Sheehan's 49.6% in a district that spans Cook and Will Counties. In Cook County, Hastings received 24,599 votes, or 69.8% to Sheehan's 10,630 votes, or 30.2%. In Will County, Sheehan received 29,739 votes, or 64.3% to Hastings' 16,498 votes, or 35.7%.

Sheehan had previously called on his opponent to resign. Sheehan said he tried to run a positive campaign, but he said, "I join Gov. Pritzker in demanding that Sen. Hastings resign from the state Senate ... Taxpayers should not have to continue paying for Sen. Hastings' unacceptable behavior, and they definitely should not have to continue paying his Senate salary while he deals with these serious allegations." 

Sheehan, a former cop for 16 years also argued that people who abuse women should not be in government.

Hastings has refused to resign, saying the allegations are "baseless and without merit." However, he stepped down as Senate Democratic Majority Whip in August.