Illinois › Winnebago County › Illinois Senate District 45
2 candidates are tracked for Illinois Senate District 45 on the November 3, 2026 ballot: Joseph H. "Joe" Berning and Andrew S. Chesney. Candidate information follows official Winnebago County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.
Joseph H. "Joe" Berning (Democratic), Andrew S. Chesney (Republican) meet on the November 3 ballot; Andrew S. Chesney is the sitting member, per the General Assembly's roster. Party nominees were chosen at the March 17 primary (plurality, no runoffs); independent and new-party candidates qualified by petition. The field is the State Board of Elections' 2026 General Election candidate list (status Active, read September 7, 2026). This seat is elected by district; only the district covering your address appears on your ballot.
Democratic
Joseph "Joe" Berning is a retired agricultural consultant who operated JB Consulting, advising farmers in northwestern Illinois and southwestern Wisconsin, per his campaign site. Born and raised on a dairy and hog farm north of Galena, he spent a 44-year career in sales, marketing and management, including as a district sales manager for a Fortune 500 agricultural feed company.
Campaign site →
Republican · Incumbent
Andrew S. Chesney has represented the 45th Senate District since 2023 after serving as state representative for the 89th District from 2018 to 2023, per his ilga.gov profile. A small business owner from Carroll County, he graduated cum laude from Arizona State University and previously served on Freeport's city council. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 7, 2026.