Matt Hanson (politician)

This article is about the politician. For the author, see Matt Hanson.

Matt Hanson is a railroad engineer and Democratic politician serving as an Illinois state representative for District 83.^[1] Elected in 2022 he defeated Republican Keith Wheeler. The District includes parts of St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, North Aurora, Aurora, Montgomery, and Oswego.^[2]

Matt Hanson
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 83rd district
In office 2023–2025
Preceded by	Keith Wheeler
Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Residence(s)	Montgomery, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Richmond
Occupation	Illinois State Representative
Profession	Railroad engineer
Committees	Appropriations-General Service; Cities & Village; Police & Fire; Transportation: Regulation, Roads and Bridges
Website	https://repmatthanson.com/

Hanson earned a B.S. in business administration from the University of Richmond and worked as an engineer with BNSF Railway.^[1]

He was previously elected to the Kane County Board from District 6 in 2018, and but lost re-election to the seat in 2020 in the primary.

Illinois House of Representatives

In 2022, Hanson sought the Democratic nomination for state representative from the 83rd District which he won. He went on to defeat incumbent Republican Keith Wheeler with 53.7 percent of the vote.^[2] Hanson ran on a platform of protecting worker's rights, standing up for Illinois families, protecting a woman's right to choose and fighting gun violence.^[3] He was sworn in for his first term on January 11, 2023.^[2]

In the 103rd General Assembly, Hanson served on the Appropriations-General Service Committee; Cities & Villages Committee; Police & Fire Committee; and the Transportation: Regulations, Roads & Bridges Committee.^[1]

Hanson recently won the 2024 Democratic primary, after facing a challenger. ^[4]

DUI Arrest

On October 27, 2023, Hanson was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, after being found asleep in his vehicle in the parking lot of his apartment complex.^[5] His blood alcohol content was measured at 0.186%, more than double the legal limit.^[5] On December 19, 2023, Hanson pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to 12 months of court supervision, 100 hours of community service, an evaluation, counseling, treatment, and a $3,555 fine.^[6]

Electoral history

Illinois 83rd Representative District General Election, 2022^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matt Hanson	20,732	53.73
	Republican	Keith R. Wheeler	17,855	46.27
Total votes			38,587	100.0

Illinois 83rd Representative District Democratic Primary, 2022^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matt Hanson	4,412	67.19
	Democratic	Arad Boxenbaum	2,154	32.81
Total votes			38,161	100.0

Kane County Board District 6 Democratic Primary, 2020^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ron Ford	911	44.48
	Democratic	Matt Hanson (Incumbent)	904	44.14
Total votes			2,048	100.0

Kane County Board District 6 General Election, 2018^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matt Hanson	3,782	77.28
	Democratic	Ronald Ford (Write-in)	309	6.31
Total votes			4,205	100.0