Keith R. Wheeler

Keith R. Wheeler is a Republican politician and former member of the Illinois House of Representatives. He represented the 50th District from 2015 to 2023. The 50th district included municipalities in southern Kane and Kendall counties.

Keith Wheeler
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 50th district
In office January 14, 2015 (2015-01-14) – January 11, 2023 (2023-01-11)
Preceded by	Kay Hatcher
Succeeded by	Barbara Hernandez
Personal details
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Lisa
Children	One Child Two Stepchildren
Residence	Oswego, Illinois
Alma mater	University of Illinois (B.S.)

Illinois House of Representatives

Wheeler was elected to the Illinois House in 2014, defeating three other Republicans in a primary and a Democrat in the general election.^[1] He was reelected in 2016, 2018, and 2020. Wheeler served as an Assistant Republican Leader.^[2]

After new legislative maps were drawn to fit the results of the 2020 census, Wheeler opted to seek a fifth term in the House in the new 83rd District. He lost to Democratic nominee Matt Hanson.

Committee assignments

In the 102nd General Assembly, Wheeler was the Co-Chair of the House Administrative Rules Committee. He also sat on the House Committees on Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, and IT; Executive; Labor and Commerce; Prescription Drug Affordability and Accessibility; and Public Utilities.^[1]

Electoral history

Illinois 50th State House District Republican Primary, 2014^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Keith R. Wheeler	5,849	52.50
	Republican	Julie Cosimo	2,003	17.98
	Republican	Beth C. Goncher	1,852	16.62
	Republican	William F. Keck	1,437	12.90
Total votes			11,141	100.0

Illinois 50th State House District General Election, 2014^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Keith R. Wheeler	23,260	67.88
	Democratic	Valerie L. Burd	11,007	32.12
Total votes			34,267	100.0

Illinois 50th State House District General Election, 2016^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Keith R. Wheeler (incumbent)	31,659	60.32
	Democratic	Valerie L. Burd	20,830	39.68
Total votes			52,489	100.0

Illinois 50th State House District General Election, 2018^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Keith R. Wheeler (incumbent)	25,862	54.99
	Democratic	James G. Leslie	21,170	45.01
Total votes			47,032	100.0

Illinois 50th State House District General Election, 2020^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Keith R. Wheeler (incumbent)	35,817	56.4
	Democratic	Kate Monteleone	27,661	43.6
Total votes			63,478	100.0

Illinois 83rd State House District General Election, 2022^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matt Hanson	20,422	53.5
	Republican	Keith R. Wheeler	17,739	46.5
Total votes			38,161	100.0

Post-legislative career

On December 19, 2023, it was announced that Wheeler would join the governmental affairs team of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.^[9]