Editing Illinois (section)

==Law and politics==
{{Main|Law of Illinois|Politics of Illinois}}
In a 2020 study, Illinois was ranked as the 4th easiest state for citizens to vote in.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=J. Pomante II |first1=Michael |last2=Li |first2=Quan |title=Cost of Voting in the American States: 2020 |journal=Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy |date=15 Dec 2020 |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=503–509 |doi=10.1089/elj.2020.0666 |s2cid=225139517 |doi-access=free  | issn=1533-1296}}</ref>

===State government===
{{Main|Government of Illinois}}
[[File:Gfp-illinois-springfield-capitol-and-sky.jpg|thumb|The [[Illinois State Capitol]] in [[Springfield, Illinois|Springfield]]]]
The [[government of Illinois]], under the [[Constitution of Illinois]], has three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch is split into several statewide elected offices, with the governor as chief executive. Legislative functions are granted to the Illinois General Assembly. The judiciary is composed of the Supreme Court and lower courts.

The executive branch is composed of six elected officers and their offices as well as numerous other departments.<ref name=Lind2012ch5/> The six elected officers are:<ref name=Lind2012ch5/> [[Governor of Illinois|Governor]], [[Lieutenant Governor of Illinois|Lieutenant Governor]], [[Illinois Attorney General|Attorney General]], [[Illinois Secretary of State|Secretary of State]], [[Illinois Comptroller|Comptroller]], and [[Illinois Treasurer|Treasurer]]. The government of Illinois has numerous departments, agencies, boards and commissions, but the so-called code departments provide most of the state's services.<ref name=Lind2012ch5>{{cite book |title=Governing Illinois: Your Connection to State and Local Government |chapter=The Governor and the Executive Branch |pages=78–79 |first=Judy Lee |last=Uphoff |editor1-first=Nancy S. |editor1-last=Lind |editor2-first=Erik |editor2-last=Rankin |edition=4th |publisher=Center Publications, Center for State Policy and Leadership, [[University of Illinois Springfield]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-938943-28-0|chapter-url=http://illinoisissues.uis.edu/images/Chapter5Draft.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622010608/http://illinoisissues.uis.edu/images/Chapter5Draft.pdf |archive-date=June 22, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{ILCS|20|5}}</ref>

[[File:Illinois House of Representatives.jpg|thumb|[[Illinois House of Representatives]]]]
The [[Illinois General Assembly]] is the state legislature, composed of the 118-member [[Illinois House of Representatives]] and the 59-member [[Illinois Senate]]. The members of the General Assembly are elected at the beginning of each even-numbered year. The ''[[Illinois Compiled Statutes]]'' (ILCS) are the [[codification (law)|codified]] statutes of a general and permanent nature.<ref name="survey">{{cite book |title=Illinois Criminal Law: A Survey of Crimes and Defenses |first1=John F. |last1=Decker |first2=Christopher |last2=Kopacz |year=2012 |edition=5th |publisher=[[LexisNexis]] |isbn=978-0-7698-5284-3 |url={{Google books|l2I_8OvYAVYC |page=PT24 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}}|at=§ 1.01}}</ref><ref name="tapping">{{cite book |title=Tapping State Government Information Sources |page=126 |first1=Lori L. |last1=Smith |first2=Daniel C. |last2=Barkley |first3=Daniel C. |last3=Cornwall |first4=Eric W. |last4=Johnson |first5=J. Louise |last5=Malcomb |year=2003 |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |isbn=978-1-57356-387-1 |lccn=2002044846 |url={{Google books|4zo-J7chfmMC |page=PA126 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}}}}</ref>

The [[Judiciary of Illinois]] is the unified court system of Illinois. It consists of the [[Supreme Court of Illinois|Supreme Court]], [[Illinois Appellate Court|Appellate Court]], and [[Illinois Circuit Courts|Circuit Courts]]. The Supreme Court oversees the administration of the court system.

The [[administrative divisions of Illinois]] are counties, townships, precincts, cities, towns, villages, and special-purpose districts.<ref>{{citation |title=Individual State Descriptions: 2007 |series=2007 Census of Governments |date=November 2012 |pages=89–97 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |url=http://www2.census.gov/govs/cog/isd_book.pdf |ref={{harvid|Census|2007}} |access-date=March 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123173109/http://www2.census.gov/govs/cog/isd_book.pdf |archive-date=November 23, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The basic subdivision of Illinois are the 102 counties.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} Eighty-five of the 102 counties are in turn divided into townships and precincts.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ilsos.gov/isa/localgovnameindexsrch.jsp |title=Name Index to Illinois Local Governments |author=Illinois Regional Archives Depository System |website=Illinois State Archives |publisher=[[Illinois Secretary of State]]| access-date = November 11, 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131110230747/http://www.ilsos.gov/isa/localgovnameindexsrch.jsp| archive-date = November 10, 2013| url-status = live}}</ref> Municipal governments are the cities, villages, and incorporated towns.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} Some localities possess [[home rule]], which allows them to govern themselves to a certain extent.<ref>{{cite book |title=Illinois Politics & Government: The Expanding Metropolitan Frontier |first1=Samuel Kimball |last1=Gove |first2=James Dunlap |last2=Nowlan |year=1996 |series=Politics and Governments of the American States |pages=155–156 |publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]] |isbn=978-0-8032-7014-5 |lccn=95046017 |location=Lincoln |url={{Google books|9JFP49qn_wUC |page=PA156 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}}}}</ref>

===Party balance===
[[File:Governor JB Pritzker official portrait 2019 (crop).jpg|thumb|upright|Governor [[J. B. Pritzker]] (D)]]

In modern national and state politics, Illinois is a [[Red states and blue states|Democratic stronghold]].<ref>{{cite web |last=McClelland |first=Edward |url=http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Illinois-The-Most-Democratic-State-126772408.html |title=Illinois: The Most Democratic State |publisher=[[NBC Chicago]] |date=August 4, 2011 |access-date=December 29, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313040549/http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Illinois-The-Most-Democratic-State-126772408.html |archive-date=March 13, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Historically, Illinois was a political [[swing state]], with near-parity existing between the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] and the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] parties. However, in recent elections, the Democratic Party has gained ground, and Illinois has come to be seen as a solid [[Red states and blue states|"blue" state]] in both presidential and congressional campaigns.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0716/p01s01-uspo.html |title=Suburb shift turns state blue / The Christian Science Monitor |publisher=CSMonitor.com |date=July 16, 2004 |access-date=February 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716022620/http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0716/p01s01-uspo.html |archive-date=July 16, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Illinois a blue island in red sea | author-first = Russell | author-last = Working | newspaper = Chicago Tribune | date = 2004-11-08 | pages = [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-illinois-a-blue-island-i/126633609/ 1-1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-politics-but-even-in-il/126633660/ 1-15] | via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> Illinois's Democratic tendencies are mostly attributable to [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]] and [[Chicago]], by far the state's largest county and city, respectively, which have long been strongly Democratic. The [[collar counties]], affluent suburban counties that surround Cook County, were ancestrally Republican and helped keep the state competitive; however, they have swung toward the left in recent elections as the national Republican Party has become increasingly conservative, which has cemented Democratic dominance in state politics.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 17, 2020 |title=Illinois primary live results |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/17/politics/illinois-primary-results-live/index.html |access-date=July 7, 2024 |website= |publisher=[[CNN]] |language=en}}</ref> [[Downstate Illinois|Outside of the Chicago metropolitan area]], the state's rural areas are heavily Republican. The dominance of the Chicago area in state elections is so overwhelming that it has influenced a [[Separation referendums in Illinois|secessionist movement]] in the downstate region.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McClelland |first=Edward |date=October 15, 2020 |title=If Downstate Illinois Seceded |url=https://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/October-2020/Illinois-Secession/ |access-date=July 14, 2020 |website=[[Chicago Magazine]] |language=en-US |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028223448/http://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/October-2020/Illinois-Secession/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Illinois was long seen as a national bellwether,<ref>{{cite web |url-status=live |url=http://www.lib.niu.edu/1990/ii900209.html |title=Illinois as a bellwether: So what? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304194005/http://www.lib.niu.edu/1990/ii900209.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date= July 21, 2013 |first1=David H. |last1=Everson |date=February 1990 |work=Illinois Issues |publisher=Illinois Periodicals Online at Northern Illinois University  }}</ref> supporting the winner in every election in the 20th century, except for [[1916 United States presidential election in Illinois|1916]] and [[1976 United States presidential election in Illinois|1976]]. Since the [[1992 United States presidential election|1992 election]], however, Illinois has trended more toward the Democratic Party and is part of the "[[Blue wall (U.S. politics)|blue wall]]" of states that have consistently voted Democratic in the last six presidential elections. In [[2000 United States presidential election in Illinois|2000]], [[George W. Bush]] became the first Republican to win the presidency without carrying either Illinois or [[Vermont]], with [[Donald Trump]] repeating the feat in 2016. Illinois has not elected a Republican to the [[United States Senate|Senate]] since [[Mark Kirk]] won in [[2010 United States Senate elections in Illinois|2010]]; the last Republicans to hold statewide office were Governor [[Bruce Rauner]] and Lieutenant Governor [[Evelyn Sanguinetti]], who both left office in 2019.

===History of corruption===

{{Main|Political corruption in Illinois}}

Politics in the state have been infamous for highly visible corruption cases, as well as for crusading reformers, such as governors [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]] and [[James R. Thompson]]. In 2006, former governor [[George Ryan]] was convicted of racketeering and bribery, leading to a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence. On December 7, 2011, former governor [[Rod Blagojevich]] was sentenced to 14 years in prison for allegations that he conspired to sell the vacated Senate seat left by President [[Barack Obama]] to the highest bidder. Blagojevich had earlier been impeached and convicted by the legislature, resulting in his removal from office. In the late 20th century, Congressman [[Dan Rostenkowski]] was imprisoned for mail fraud; former governor and federal judge [[Otto Kerner, Jr.]] was imprisoned for bribery; Secretary of State [[Paul Powell (politician)|Paul Powell]] was investigated and found to have gained great wealth through bribes, and State Auditor of Public Accounts (Comptroller) [[Orville Hodge]] was imprisoned for embezzlement. In 1912, William Lorimer, the GOP boss of Chicago, was expelled from the U.S. Senate for bribery, and in 1921, Governor [[Len Small]] was found to have defrauded the state of a million dollars.<ref name="Biles"/><ref name="Horsley"/><ref>{{cite book |title=Grafters and Goo Goos: corruption and reform in Chicago, 1833–2003 |last=Merriner |first=James L. |year=2004 |publisher=Southern Illinois University Press |location=Carbondale |isbn=978-0-8093-2571-9 |oclc=52720998}}</ref>

===U.S. presidential elections===

{{Main|United States presidential elections in Illinois}}

Illinois has shown a strong presence in presidential elections. Three presidents have claimed Illinois as their political base when running for president: [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[Ulysses S. Grant]], and most recently [[Barack Obama]]. Lincoln was born in [[Kentucky]], but he moved to Illinois at age 21. He served in the [[Illinois General Assembly|General Assembly]] and represented the [[Illinois's 7th congressional district|7th congressional district]] in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] before his election to the presidency in 1860. [[Ulysses S. Grant]] was born in [[Ohio]] and had a military career that precluded settling down, but on the eve of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] and approaching middle age, he moved to Illinois and thus utilized the state as his home and political base when running for president. [[Barack Obama]] was born in [[Hawaii]] and made Illinois his home after graduating from [[law school]], and later represented Illinois in the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]]. He then became president in 2008, running as a candidate from his Illinois base.

[[Ronald Reagan]] was born in Illinois, in the city of [[Tampico, Illinois|Tampico]], raised in [[Dixon, Illinois]], and educated at [[Eureka College]], outside [[Peoria, Illinois|Peoria]]. Reagan later moved to [[California]] during his young adulthood. He then became an actor, and later became [[Governor of California|California's Governor]] before being elected president.

[[Hillary Clinton]] was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago and became the first woman to represent a major political party in the general election of the U.S. presidency. Clinton ran from a platform based in [[New York (state)|New York State]].

===African-American U.S. senators===

[[List of African-American United States Senators|Twelve African-Americans]] have served as members of the [[United States Senate]]. Of which three have represented Illinois, the most of any single state: [[Carol Moseley Braun|Carol Moseley-Braun]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/M/MOSELEY-BRAUN,-Carol-(M001025)/ |title=Moseley Braun, Carol |website=History, Art & Archives |publisher=United States House of Representatives |access-date=October 6, 2020 |archive-date=October 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003204047/https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/M/MOSELEY-BRAUN,-Carol-(M001025)/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Barack Obama]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/h_multi_sections_and_teasers/Photo_Exhibit_African_American_Senators.htm |title=U.S. Senate: Art & History Home |publisher=Senate.gov |access-date=February 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702035451/https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/h_multi_sections_and_teasers/Photo_Exhibit_African_American_Senators.htm |archive-date=July 2, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Roland Burris]], who was appointed to replace Obama after his election to the presidency. Moseley-Braun was the first African-American woman to become a U.S. Senator.

===Political families===

Several families from Illinois have played particularly prominent roles in politics, in both the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] earlier in the state's history but more recently the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], gaining both statewide and national fame.

====Ingersoll====

The [[List of United States political families (I)#The Ingersolls of Illinois|Ingersoll family of Illinois]] comprised a pair of brothers who held several prominent elected positions representing Illinois.
* [[Ebon C. Ingersoll]] (1831–1879), Illinois State Representative 1856, U.S. Representative from Illinois 1864–71. Brother of Robert G. Ingersoll.<ref>[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/ingersoll.html#R9M0J1NQG The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Ingersoll<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
* [[Robert G. Ingersoll]] (1833–1899), Illinois State Representative 1860, Attorney General of Illinois 1867–69, delegate to the Republican National Convention 1876. Brother of Ebon C. Ingersoll.<ref>[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/ingersoll.html#RNJ1EIUZL The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Ingersoll<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
** John C. Ingersoll (1860–1903), U.S. Consul in [[Cartagena, Colombia]] 1902. Son of Ebon C. Ingersoll.<ref>[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/ingersoll.html#0YY0K9G5O The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Ingersoll<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

====Stevenson====

The [[Stevenson family]], initially rooted in central Illinois and later based in the Chicago metropolitan area, has provided four generations of Illinois officeholders.
* [[Adlai Stevenson I]] (1835–1914) was a Vice President of the United States, as well as a [[Congressman]]
* [[Lewis Stevenson (politician)|Lewis Stevenson]] (1868–1929), son of Adlai, served as [[Illinois Secretary of State]].
* [[Adlai Stevenson II]] (1900–1965), son of Lewis, served as [[Governor of Illinois]] and as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; he was also the Democratic party's presidential nominee in [[1952 United States presidential election|1952]] and [[1956 United States presidential election|1956]], losing both elections to [[Dwight Eisenhower]].
* [[Adlai Stevenson III]] (1930–2021), son of Adlai II, served ten years as a [[United States Senator]].

====Daley====

The [[Daley family]]'s powerbase was in Chicago.
* [[Richard J. Daley]] (1902–1976) served as [[Mayor of Chicago]] from 1955 to his death.
* [[Richard M. Daley]] (born 1942), son of Richard J, was Chicago's longest-serving mayor, in office from 1989 to 2011.
* [[William M. Daley]] (born 1948), another son of Richard J, is a former [[White House Chief of Staff]] and has served in a variety of appointed positions.

====Pritzker====

The [[Pritzker family]] is based in Chicago and have played important roles in both the private and the public sectors.
* [[Jay Pritzker]] (1922–1999), co-founder of [[Hyatt Hotel]] based in Chicago.
* [[Penny Pritzker]] (born 1959), 38th [[United States Secretary of Commerce]] under President [[Barack Obama]].
* [[J. B. Pritzker]] (born 1965), current and 43rd [[governor of Illinois]] and co-founder of the Pritzker Group.

====Madigan====

Members of the [[Mike Madigan#The Madigan family and their role in Illinois government|Madigan family]] have held extensive influence in Illinois politics.
* [[Mike Madigan|Michael Madigan]] (born 1942), longtime speaker of the [[Illinois House of Representatives]] and notorious [[political boss]].
* [[Lisa Madigan]] (born 1966), adopted daughter of Michael Madigan, former [[Illinois Attorney General]].