SPRINGFIELD – The state's unemployment rate is above 9 percent, Democrats in the Illinois Capitol have been in charge as budget and pension deficits soared, and Republicans are energized by Mitt Romney making it a close race against President Barack Obama.

Still, the odds are stacked against the Illinois GOP when it comes to challenging Democrats for control of the General Assembly.

Republicans need to pick up a dozen seats – six in the state Senate and six in the House – to win a majority in either chamber for the first time in a decade. But they're trying to do that in new legislative districts drawn by Democrats to help Democrats.