Jessica Dixon Heitman, the Plainfield Democrat, appears headed to victory in the Illinois House District 97 race based on unofficial vote totals from Will and Kendall counties.
Heitman competed against Gabby Shanahan, a Joliet Republican, to represent Illinois House District 97.
Heitman has 23,014 votes and Shanahan has 14,650 votes, based on 100% precincts reporting in Will and Kendall counties, early voting and mail-in votes.
Dixon Heitman was appointed to represent the 97th District in July 2026, following the resignation of Democrat Harry Benton of Plainfield.
Dixon Heitman worked in public relations and communications and owned a small business that helped nonprofits advocate for the communities they serve.
Dixon Heitman is committed to lowering costs for working families, strengthening public schools, supporting first responders and helping small businesses grow, according to her campaign website.
“Losing my mom to colon cancer and caring for her during the last six months of her life changed me forever. I know how much it matters for families to have access to the care they need, and I’ll always fight to protect it,” she said on her Facebook page.
Shanahan is grassroots director for Americans for Prosperity and has not previously held office.
She is also the wife of Martin Shanahan, who served as interim city manager and an attorney for Joliet until he was fired in 2020. He has recently served as a city administrator in Plano until last September.
Gabby Shanahan has said lawmakers should stop passing unfunded mandates to local governments and should restore the Local Government Distributive Fund to its agreed level. The latter refers to a portion of state income tax revenue shared with municipalities and counties based on population.
She supports House Bill 9, which she said would set aside 25% of the state’s budget for pensions and schools, with grants to school districts providing dollar-for-dollar property tax relief.
“Like so many parents, I work multiple jobs to make ends meet, while politicians in Springfield keep raising taxes and voting themselves a pay raise. It’s wrong,” Shanahan said. “Illinois families are being priced out of their homes because of sky-high property taxes,” she said.
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November 4, 2026 at 09:50AM
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