1994 - 5th Congressional District Election

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The 1994 election in Illinois’ 5th Congressional District between incumbent Congressman Dan Rostenkowski (left) and Michael Flanagan (right) was one of the great upsets in Illinois election history.

Illinois’ 5th Congressional district was, and remains, heavily Democratic, and Rostenkowski was the powerful Chairman of the House Ways and Means committee.  However, Rostenkowski was weakened by ongoing federal investigations into his conduct, and 1994 was the year of the “Republican Revolution” that swept Republicans into power in the House and the Senate.

Flanagan narrowly defeated Rostenkowski, making him the first Republican to represent a significant portion of Chicago since 1967.  Rostenkowski would later plead guilty to mail fraud in 1996 and serve 15 months in federal prison.  Patrick Hughes lived in the 5th Congressional district, but DID NOT vote in this historic election.

SPECIAL NOTE:  When Hughes first registered to vote in 2003, the address he gave was located in the 5th Congressional district.  I have been unable to locate any previous addresses for Hughes prior to 2003, so I am assuming he lived at the same address during this election.  If anyone can show me that Hughes did not live in the 5th Congressional district at the time, I will remove this post.