Elections were held in
Illinois on Tuesday, November 3, 1998.
Primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
s were held on March 17, 1998.
These elections saw
Democrats make gains. The Democratic Party went from holding no statewide offices, to holding two.
Election information
1998 was a
midterm election
Apart from general elections and by-elections, midterm election
refers to a type of election where the people can elect their representatives and other subnational officeholders (e.g. governor, members of local council) in the middle of the term ...
year in the United States.
Turnout
Primary election
For the primary election, turnout was 27.04%, with 1,824,806 votes cast.
;Turnout by county
[
]
General election
For the general election, turnout was 52.43%, with 3,541,379 votes cast.[
;Turnout by county][
]
Federal elections
United States Senate
Incumbent Democratic United States Senator Carol Moseley Braun lost reelection, being unseated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald.
United States House
All 20 of Illinois' seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1998.
No seats switched parties, leaving the composition of Illinois' House delegation 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans.
State elections
Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent Governor Jim Edgar, a Republican, did not seek a third term. Republican George Ryan was elected to succeed him.
Attorney General
Incumbent Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
Jim Ryan, a Republican, was reelected to a second term. this is the last time a Republican was elected Illinois Attorney General.
Democratic primary
Republican primary
Reform primary
General election
Secretary of State
Incumbent Secretary of State George Ryan, a Republican, did not seek reelection to a third term in office, instead opting to run for governor. Democrat Jesse White was elected to succeed him in office.
Democratic primary
Republican primary
Reform primary
General election
Comptroller
Incumbent Comptroller
A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...
Loleta Didrickson
Loleta A. Didrickson is the former 5th Illinois Comptroller.
Career
Didrickson was elected comptroller in 1994, succeeding Democrat Dawn Clark Netsch, who was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee for governor. Her Democratic ...
, a Republican, did not seek reelection to a second term, instead opting to (ultimately unsuccessfully) run for the Republican nomination for United States Senate. Democrat Daniel Hynes was elected to succeed her in office.
Democratic primary
Republican primary
Reform primary
General election
Treasurer
Incumbent Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, a Republican, was reelected to a second term.
Democratic primary
Orland Park
Orland Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. The village is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, Orland Park had a population of 58,703.
Located 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Chicago ...
mayor Daniel J. McLaughlin defeated Calumet City Jerry Genova.[
]
Republican primary
Reform primary
General election
State Senate
Some of the seats of the Illinois Senate
The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...
were up for election in 1998. Republicans retained control of the chamber.[
]
State House of Representatives
All of the seats in the Illinois House of Representatives
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...
were up for election in 1998. Democrats retained control of the chamber.
Judicial elections
Multiple judicial positions were up for election in 1998.
Ballot measure
Illinois voters voted on a single ballot measure in 1998.[
]
Illinois Courts Commission Amendment
Voters approved the Illinois Courts Commission Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment
A legislative referral (or legislative referendum) is a referendum in which a legislature puts proposed legislation up for popular vote. This may either be voluntarily or, as is the case in many countries for a constitutional amendment, as a man ...
which amended Article VI, Section 15 of the Constitution of Illinois
The Constitution of the State of Illinois is the governing document of the state of Illinois. There have been four Illinois Constitutions; the fourth and current version was adopted in 1970. The current constitution is referred to as the "Constit ...
to make modifications to the courts commission.
Local elections
Local elections were held. These included county elections, such as the Cook County elections.
Notes
References
{{United States elections, 1998
Illinois