CQPolitics

The mostly upscale 10th hugs Lake Michigan, taking in southeast Lake County and northeast Cook County. Along the lakefront, Chicagoland’s old-money elite live in tony areas such as Wilmette (shared with the 9th), Kenilworth and Winnetka.

The 10th has the state’s highest percentage of college-educated (48 percent) and white-collar (76 percent) workers, and the wealth of the district’s workforce mirrors the wealth of local industry. The 10th is home to several Fortune 500 companies, including Abbott Laboratories in North Chicago, Allstate Insurance in Northbrook and Walgreen in Deerfield.

Most of the 10th’s minorities live in the northern area between Highwood and Waukegan (a small part of which is in the 8th). That area also is home to the Great Lakes Naval base, the nation’s only naval recruit training command, which may lose roughly 2,000 jobs in the coming years. Waukegan is roughly 45 percent Hispanic and 20 percent black, and North Chicago, just south of Waukegan, also is minority-majority. The 10th also has a large Jewish constituency.

Suburban white-collar workers and the more working-class residents of Waukegan combine to make the 10th a moderate “swing” district —fiscally conservative but socially liberal, especially on abortion rights and gun control. Its proximity to Lake Michigan makes environmental issues important here. While area residents have sent a Republican to the U.S. House for decades, the area generally supports Democratic presidential candidates, and narrowly backed John Kerry in 2004 with 52 percent of its vote. Democrats also enjoy electoral success at the local level.

Major Industry

Pharmaceutical research, insurance, military

Military Bases

Naval Station Great Lakes, 4,050 military, 2,452 civilian (2004)

Cities

Waukegan (pt.), 79,726; Arlington Heights (pt.), 69,414; Buffalo Grove, 42,909; North Chicago, 35,918; Wheeling, 34,496; Northbrook, 33,435

Notable

The Ravinia Festival, held every summer in Highland Park, is the oldest outdoor music festival in North America.