By Isabel Miller | Capitol Fax
Following a nearly nine-year public service commitment to the constituents of the 26th Senate District of Illinois, State Senator Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) announced his resignation from the Illinois State Senate, effective February 2, 2025.
Serving in office since 2016, Sen. McConchie consistently fought for the priorities of the northwest suburban district including limiting the size of government, reducing the property tax burden, and bringing common sense to state government and its functions.
“While I always possessed a desire to serve my country and my community, I never aspired to be an elected official, and certainly not a politician,” said Sen. McConchie. “It was my friends and neighbors who asked me to step up and run for office so I could bring common sense values to Springfield. It was these citizens who convinced me to run for office to help make Illinois a better place to live, work, and raise a family.”
As a freshman legislator, Sen. McConchie took his obligation seriously and quickly got to work. As a member of the K-12 education funding formula working group, he helped lead negotiations resulting in bipartisan legislation that established a more equitable funding solution to the state’s elementary and secondary education system and created the successful Invest in Kids program—giving underprivileged children the opportunity at a great education regardless of zip code.
In just a short time, Sen. McConchie was viewed as a strategic thinker and leader by his colleagues. In 2020, he was elected by his peers to serve as the Senate Republican Leader, where he broadened his commitment to the people of Illinois, and offered them an alternative to the majority party’s policies. Under his leadership, he fought against executive and legislative abuses of power including government overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic, controversial executive appointments, and gerrymandered legislative maps.
Most recently, Sen. McConchie has focused on championing legislation that seeks to remove barriers for those with disabilities. His commitment to expanding accessibility for the disabled inspired McConchie to found a non-profit organization to promote accessibility for the disabled in states and localities across the country.
“As my time in the Senate comes to an end, I’m grateful for what I was able to accomplish for the people of Illinois. It was an honor of a lifetime and one that I will cherish forever,” McConchie said. “As I look to the future, I know that there is more that I can do. My desire to create positive impact in the lives of others has not gone away, it’s just expanded to the most vulnerable no matter where they live across the country.
“I want to thank my wife, Milena, and my kids for allowing me to serve the people of Illinois in this capacity these past several years. In many ways, they have carried the burden of service even more than me. I will forever be grateful to them.”
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Dan McConchie, state senator of the 26th district since 2016, announced his resignation today. Rumor has been swirling since the senators last election that he was looking for a position outside of government for some time.
The appointment will be made by Keith Brin, Sean Morrison, Jeff Thorsen, and Andro Lorario of Kane County. The 26 district has two state representatives Nabeela Syed (D) of the Palatine Area, and Martin McLaughlin (R) of the Barrington area.
The obvious choice is State Rep representative Martin McLaughlin, who has won three state elections and two local elections and we would like to see him appointed without hesitation. State Senator Dan McConchie hasn’t commented on McLaughlin replacing him however, if many of you remember McLaughlin ran against McConchie in a three-way primary in 2016 in a tightly contested race. McConchie won.
Perhaps McConchie believes he gets to name his replacement. That would be a mistake. Keith Brin, the Lake County Republican chairperson gets 52% of the vote Sean Morrison from Cook County and Jeff Thorsen from McHenry County and Andro Lerario have the remaining votes to make the appointment.
Keith Brin will be driving this decision let’s hope Lake County Republicans make the correct call without hesitation and appoint McLaughlin who has shown an ability to withstand millions of dollars being spent against him over the past six years. Let’s hope Republicans don’t mess up this one-horse funeral as they did with the Helena Walsh disastrous appointment.
Agree 💯 with Lieutenant Dan. The Helene Walsh appointment was disastrous, almost as disastrous and ineffective as her worthless husband, Joe’s, 2 years in office. The republicans need to retain this seat and do what they can to have a voice in Springfield. We are constantly let down by RINOs who vote with democrats for ridiculous policies, such as McCombie’s recent vote for insurance coverage
mandates that include “cervical” exams for males and “prostate” exams for females. Seriously?! Let’s get some common sense principles back in Springfield. Urge Brin, Morrison and Thorsen to appoint McLaughlin.