Misplaced Pages

1998 Illinois elections

← 1996 November 3, 1998 2000 →
Turnout	52.43%

Elections in Illinois
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v t e

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 3, 1998. Primary elections 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 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

1998 Illinois gubernatorial election

← 1994 November 3, 1998 2002 →
Turnout	49.72%
Nominee George Ryan Glenn Poshard Party Republican Democratic Running mate Corinne Wood Mary Lou Kearns Popular vote 1,714,094 1,594,191 Percentage 51.0% 47.8%
County results Ryan:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Poshard:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Governor before election Jim Edgar Republican Elected Governor George Ryan Republican

Incumbent Governor Jim Edgar, a Republican, did not seek a third term. Republican George Ryan was elected to succeed him.

Attorney General

1998 Illinois Attorney General election

← 1994 November 3, 1998 2002 →
Turnout	49.25%
Nominee Jim Ryan Miriam Santos Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,026,781 1,242,979 Percentage 60.92% 37.36%
County results Ryan:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Santos:      50–60%
Attorney General before election Jim Ryan Republican Elected Attorney General Jim Ryan Republican

Incumbent Attorney General Jim Ryan, a Republican, was reelected to a second term. As of 2022 this is the last time a Republican was elected Illinois Attorney General.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

Reform primary

General election

Secretary of State

1998 Illinois Secretary of State election

← 1994 November 3, 1998 2002 →
Turnout	50.04%
Nominee Jesse White Al Salvi Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,874,626 1,437,420 Percentage 55.46% 42.53%
County results White:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Salvi:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Secretary of State before election George Ryan Republican Elected Secretary of State Jesse White Democratic

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

1998 Illinois State Comptroller election

← 1994 November 3, 1998 2002 →
Turnout	47.85%
Nominee Daniel Hynes Chris Lauzen Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,895,273 1,280,860 Percentage 58.63% 39.63%
County results Hynes:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Lauzen:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
State Comptroller before election Loleta Didrickson Republican Elected State Comptroller Daniel Hynes Democratic

Incumbent Comptroller Loleta Didrickson, 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

1998 Illinois State Treasurer election

← 1994 November 3, 1998 2002 →
Turnout	47.71%
Nominee Judy Baar Topinka Daniel J. McLaughlin Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,610,498 1,548,219 Percentage 49.97% 48.04%
County results Topinka:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% McLaughlin:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Treasurer before election Judy Baar Topinka Republican Elected Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka Republican

Incumbent Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, a Republican, was reelected to a second term.

Democratic primary

Orland Park mayor Daniel J. McLaughlin defeated Calumet City mayor Jerry Genova.

Republican primary

Reform primary

General election

State Senate

1998 Illinois Senate election

← 1996 November 3, 1998 (1998-11-03) 2000 →
41 of 59 seats in the Illinois Senate 30 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 31 28 Seats won 32 27 Seat change 1 1
Results:      Republican gain      Republican hold      Democratic hold      No election
President before election James Philip Republican Elected President James Philip Republican

41 out of 59 seats in the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1998. Republicans retained control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives

1998 Illinois House of Representatives election

← 1996 November 3, 1998 (1998-11-03) 2000 →
All 118 seats in the Illinois House of Representatives 60 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Michael Madigan Lee Daniels Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat 22nd 46th Last election 60 58 Seats won 62 56 Seat change 2 2
Results:      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold
Speaker before election Michael Madigan Democratic Speaker-Elect Michael Madigan Democratic

All of the seats in the Illinois House of Representatives 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 which amended Article VI, Section 15 of the Constitution of Illinois to make modifications to the courts commission.

Local elections

Local elections were held. These included county elections, such as the Cook County elections.

Notes

1. For more on Cook County primary election turnout, see 1998 Cook County, Illinois elections#Primary election
2. For more on Cook County general election turnout, see 1998 Cook County, Illinois elections#General election

References

1. "Illinois Primary Results - March 17, 1998". www.cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
2. ^ "Voter Turnout". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on May 30, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
3. ^ "Election Results". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
4. "ORLAND MOVES TO CONTROL GROWTH". Crain's Chicago Business. August 6, 1994. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
5. O'Connor, Matt (March 14, 2002). "Ex-Cal City chief gets prison term". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
6. ^ "1998 GENERAL ELECTION". www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
7. ^ "Party control of Illinois state government". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
8. ^ "Illinois Constitution - Amendments Proposed". www.ilga.gov. Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
9. "Illinois Courts Commission, Amendment 1 (1998)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 29, 2020.

• 1998 Illinois elections
• 1998 elections in the United States by state