Wheaton City Councilwoman Erica Bray-Parker won the open Illinois House District 47 seat on Tuesday, Nov. 3, defeating Republican Robert A. Vrankovich.
Bray-Parker received 26,422 votes to Vrankovich's 18,254, according to unofficial results reported by Shaw Local with about 53% of ballots tallied. Vote tallies are not certified as final until two weeks after the election, according to Shaw Local's election coverage.
The district covers portions of Wheaton, Warrenville, Carol Stream, Winfield, Naperville, Glen Ellyn, Lisle and West Chicago.
Bray-Parker, a Democrat, is a retired teacher who has served as Wheaton's councilwoman at-large since 2019. She is also an active member of the League of Women Voters of Wheaton, according to Shaw Local's election preview.
The seat had been Republican. Bray-Parker replaces longtime state Rep. Amy Grant.
In a Shaw Local election questionnaire published Sept. 30, Bray-Parker listed affordability, education, and ethics and transparency as her top three priorities for Springfield. She pointed to her record on the Wheaton City Council, where she said the council kept the tax rate flat for six years during her tenure.
"In my seven years of leadership serving on the Wheaton City Council, we kept the tax rate flat for six years," Bray-Parker wrote in the questionnaire. She added that the council unanimously voted for a general obligation bond to fund construction of a fire station and major work on the police station.
Vrankovich, a Carol Stream resident, is an entrepreneur who built a propane startup company he founded 25 years ago into a national operation, according to Shaw Local. He campaigned on cutting taxes and creating what he called a "pro-business" environment.
Most incumbent Democratic state House members in DuPage County held their seats by significant margins in unofficial results, Shaw Local reported.
