DeKALB | After twelve years of Republican control, power over both houses of the United States Congress Democrats shifted to Democrats on Nov. 7.

The Democratic majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate will have a strong impact on Illinois.

“Democratic control in the Senate is enormously beneficial for Illinois because Sen. Dick Durbin will be the second most powerful person in the Senate,” said Tommy Vietor, spokesperson for Sen. Barack Obama.

“Sen. Durbin will be working with members on both sides of the aisle to accomplish several goals, including increasing the minimum wage, restoring college tuition tax breaks, and reforming Medicare [Part] D,” said Durbin spokesperson Sandra Abrevaya.

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will most likely be appointed Senate Majority Leader, while Durbin would become Assistant Majority Leader.

“The Democrats hope to increase the minimum wage, as previous efforts have been stymied by Republicans,” Vietor said. “They’re also looking toward a new direction in Iraq. There have been lots of scandals in the current Congress, and cleaning up this image is a priority for Sen. Obama.”

Assistant political science professor Matthew Streb said Democrats may still run into obstacles with President Bush.

“The president can no longer go on the offensive the same way he could with a Republican-controlled Congress, but he can still play defense and keep the Democrats from passing the bills they want passed.”

This defensive approach could set back Democrats’ attempts to pass their agenda.

“Majority status in the Senate is important for committee and leadership assignments, but bare Senate majorities are not enough to get much work done,” said assistant political science professor Brendon Swedlow. “We can expect the Senate to become increasingly important to Republicans as a place to limit the damage of this election by threatening filibusters of any major shifts in policy proposed by Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats. Basically, I think we are going to return to the era of divided government and policy stalemate.”

Divided government, however, is what Democrats have claimed they will stay away from, promising bipartisan cooperation in the future Congress.

“The only things that could change this are Republicans retaking the House and increasing their representation in the Senate in two years or Democrats taking the presidency and increasing their representation in the Senate in two years,” Swedlow said. “I would say that the campaign for 2008 has begun.”