Oak Lawn, IL is a vibrant and diverse community with a long history of political activism. The city's political landscape reflects the values and priorities of its residents. Oak Lawn has traditionally been a Democratic-leaning area, but it is becoming increasingly competitive in recent elections as more independent and third-party candidates gain attention. In recent years, the city has seen a surge in voter participation among younger generations, who are pushing for greater access to information on local politicians and their policy stances. While the mayoral seats have remained relatively conservative over time, many Council members have been more progressive in their stances on issues such as taxation, healthcare, gun control, education reform, environmental protection, and social justice. Recently, there has been increased interest in green initiatives such as solar energy projects that will benefit both local businesses and residents alike. Political engagement is an important way for people to stay informed about issues that affect their lives directly and shape the future of their communities.
The political climate in Oak Lawn, IL is moderately liberal.
Cook County, IL is very liberal. In Cook County, IL 74.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 24.0% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 1.8% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Cook county remained overwhelmingly Democratic, 74.2% to 24.0%.
Cook county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Oak Lawn, IL is moderately liberal.
Cook County, Illinois is very liberal.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Metro Area is very liberal.
Illinois is moderately liberal.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index is based on recent voting in national elections, federal campaign contributions by local residents, and consumer personality profiles.
VoteWord™
Displaying 20 years of Presidential voting, visualized in one word.
Oak Lawn, Illinois: D D D D D D
How It Works:
Here at BestPlaces, we were looking at the voting patterns since the 2000 election and realized that we could express the results of each election as one letter. R if the Republican Party candidate won, D if the Democratic Party candidate won and I if the Independent Party candidate won. The six elections (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) would be expressed as six-letter word (R R D R R).
Then we went a little further and added the dimension of magnitude. If the difference of victory was greater than 10 percent, the letter is upper case, and lower case if the difference was less than 10 percent. This allows us to see interesting voting patterns at just a glance.
Here's the VoteWord for Iowa d r d d r. In the last six elections the state has been closely contested, voting narrowly for the Republican Party candidate in 2016 and 2020 after voting for the Democratic Party in 2008 and 2012. Virginia (r r d d d D) has voted for the Democratic Party in the last three elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in Oak Lawn, IL
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 2,071 contributions totaling $175,400 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $85 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 523 contributions totaling $67,266 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $129 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)