Illinois’ 5th District contains of Chicago’s North Side, and includes northern and western suburbs in Cook and DuPage counties. The district is 100% urban, and is predominantly White (81.8%). The median household income is $62,632, and 50.5% of adults have graduated from college.

The Democratic candidate and incumbent is Mike Quigley, who has represented the district since 2009, and has never received less than 60% of the vote. The Republican candidate is Tom Hanson, who ran unsuccessfully in the 5th district as the Republican nominee in both 2008 and 2009. The district is reliably Democratic at the national level, and has given more than 60% of the vote to Democratic presidential candidates in every election for the past 20 years.