While there's plenty of talk about a potential "blue wave" hitting Congress, not nearly as much focus has been on the Illinois statehouse - though the results of a few key races could have huge implications.
 
Without a friendly legislature, whoever wins the race for governor will have a tough time turning his proposals into reality.
 
As incumbent GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner learned the hard way, battling a statehouse controlled by the other party doesn’t often end well. His clash with Democrats – House Speaker Michael Madigan in particular – that began in 2015 turned into an historic budget impasse that lasted more than two years, decimating social services, slashing higher education funding and ballooning the state’s backlog of unpaid bills.
 
Part of Rauner’s problem was that at the same time he was elected, Democrats were able to maintain a supermajority in both chambers, holding onto 71 of 118 seats in the House and keeping 39 of 59 Senate seats. While all the members of each caucus may not always vote as a bloc, if they do, those numbers (greater than a three-fifths majority) could override any potential veto.
 
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