Elections were held in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

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 Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun, also sometimes Moseley-Braun (born August 16, 1947), is a former U.S. Senator, an American diplomat, politician, and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999. Prior to her Senate ...

lost reelection, being unseated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald.

United States House

All 20 of Illinois' seats in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

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 James Edgar (born July 22, 1946) is an American politician who was the 38th governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. Previously he served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1976 to 1979 and as Illinois Secretary of State ...

, a Republican, did not seek a third term. Republican

George Ryan George Homer Ryan (born February 24, 1934) is an American former politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the 39th governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. Elected in 1998, Ryan received national attention for his 1999 mor ...

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

, 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 Daniel W. Hynes (born July 20, 1968) is an American politician, formerly serving as the Illinois Comptroller. Background Hynes was born in Chicago, the son of Thomas Hynes, a former Cook County assessor, president of the Illinois Senate and D ...

was elected to succeed her in office.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

Reform primary

General election

Treasurer

Incumbent

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

Judy Baar Topinka Judy Baar Topinka (January 16, 1944 – December 10, 2014) was an American politician and member of the Republican Party from the U.S. State of Illinois. Originally a journalist, Topinka served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1981 ...

, 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 Calumet City ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census, a decline of 2.7% from 37,042 in 2010. The ZIP code is 60409. Etymology The word ''Calumet'' is the Miꞌkmaq and French word for ...

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. In order to be approved, the measures required either 60% support among those specifically voting on the amendment or 50% support among all ballots cast in the elections.

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