1990 Illinois elections

1990 Illinois Attorney General election
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Turnout	53.33%
Attorney General before election; Neil Hartigan; Democratic	Elected Attorney General ; Roland Burris; Democratic

1990 Illinois gubernatorial election
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Turnout	54.00%
	<img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/1990_Illinois_gubernatorial_election_results_map_by_county.svg/168px-1990_Illinois_gubernatorial_election_results_map_by_county.svg.png" decoding="async" width="168" height="300" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="455" data-file-height="810"> County Results ; Edgar: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% Hartigan: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Governor before election; James R. Thompson; Republican	Elected Governor ; Jim Edgar; Republican

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 6, 1990. The primary elections were held on March 20, 1990.^[1]

All statewide offices saw their incumbents forgo seeking reelection. However, no statewide office saw a change in party composition, with Republicans retaining the governorship and lieutenant governorship in their joint election, as well as the office of Secretary of State, and Democrats retaining the offices of Attorney General, Comptroller, and Treasurer.^[2]

Democrats retained their control of both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly.^[3]

Election information

1990 was a midterm election year in the United States.

Turnout

For the primaries, turnout was 32.62%, with 1,962,284 ballots cast (with 1,123,972 Democratic ballots, 805,381 Republican ballots, 525 Illinois Solidarity, 21 Independent Progressive, and 32,385 nonpartisan ballots cast).^[1]

For the general election, turnout was 56.71%, with 3,420,720 ballots cast.^[4]

Straight-ticket voting

Illinois had a straight-ticket voting option in 1990.^[4]

Party	Number of straight-ticket votes^[4]
Democratic	498,918
Republican	360,273
Illinois Solidarity	2,108
Independent Progressive	7
Jim Wham	394
Libertarian	3,005

Federal elections

United States Senate

Incumbent Democrat Paul Simon was reelected to a second term.

United States House

All 22 of Illinois' seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1990.

The Democratic Party flipped one Republican-held seat, making the composition of Illinois' House delegation 15 Democrats and 7 Republicans.

State elections

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Incumbent Governor James R. Thompson did not seek reelection to a fifth term. Republican Jim Edgar was elected to succeed him in office, defeating Democrat Neil Hartigan by a narrow margin of about 80,000 votes.

Gubernatorial election^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Edgar / Bob Kustra	1,653,126	50.75
	Democratic	Neil Hartigan / James B. Burns	1,569,217	48.17
	Illinois Solidarity	Jessie Fields	35,067	1.08
Total votes			3,257,410

Attorney General

Incumbent Attorney General Neil Hartigan, a Democrat, did not run for a third term, instead opting to run for governor. Democrat Roland Burris was elected to succeed him in office.

Democratic primary

Illinois Comptroller Roland Burris won the Democratic primary, running unopposed.

Attorney General Democratic primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Roland Burris	801,279	100
Total votes			801,279	100

Republican primary

Attorney General Republican primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Ryan	645,000	100
Total votes			645,000	100

General election

Attorney General election^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Roland Burris	1,656,045	51.48
	Republican	Jim Ryan	1,560,831	48.52
Total votes			3,216,876	100

Secretary of State

1990 Illinois Secretary of State election

← 1986

November 6, 1990

1994 →

Turnout

52.16%^[4]


Nominee	George Ryan	Jerome Cosentino
Party	Republican	Democratic
Popular vote	1,680,531	1,465,785
Percentage	53.41%	46.59%

Secretary of State before election

Jim Edgar
Republican

Elected Secretary of State

George Ryan
Republican

Incumbent Secretary of State Jim Edgar, a Republican first appointed in 1981 and subsequently reelected to two full terms, did not seek reelection to another term, instead opting to run for governor. Republican George Ryan was elected to succeed him in office.

Democratic primary

Illinois Treasurer Jerome Cosentino won the Democratic primary, running unopposed.

Secretary of State Democratic primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jerry Cosentino	769,279	100
Total votes			769,279	100

Republican primary

Lieutenant Governor of Illinois George Ryan won the Republican primary, running unopposed.

Secretary of State Republican primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George H. Ryan	639,808	100
Total votes			639,808	100

General election

Secretary of State election^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George H. Ryan	1,680,531	53.41
	Democratic	Jerome Cosentino	1,465,785	46.59
Total votes			3,146,316	100

Comptroller

1990 Illinois State Comptroller election

← 1986

November 6, 1990

1994 →

Turnout

52.01%^[4]


Nominee	Dawn Clark Netsch	Sue Suter
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	1,696,414	1,440,747
Percentage	54.07%	45.93%

State Comptroller before election

Roland Burris
Democratic

Elected State Comptroller

Dawn Clark Netsch
Democratic

Incumbent Comptroller Roland Burris, a Democrat, did not seek reelection to a fourth term, instead opting to run for Attorney General. Democrat Dawn Clark Netsch was elected to succeed him in office.

Democratic primary

State Senator Dawn Clark Netsch defeated attorney Shawn Collins, State Representative Woody Bowman, and Kane County Democratic Party Chairman Bill Sarto.^[1]^[6]

Secretary of State Democratic primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dawn Clark Netsch	401,928	47.73
	Democratic	Shawn Collins	230,889	27.42
	Democratic	Woody Bowman	135,321	16.07
	Democratic	Bill Sarto	73,993	8.79
Total votes			842,131	100

Republican primary

Republican Sue Suter, the director of the Illinois Department of Public Aid^[7] who previously from 1984 until 1988 had been head of the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services, won the Republican primary unopposed.^[1]^[8] This was Suter's first attempt at elected office.^[8]

Secretary of State Republican primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sue Suter	600,830	100
Total votes			600,830	100

General election

Comptroller election^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dawn Clark Netsch	1,696,414	54.07
	Republican	Sue Suter	1,440,747	45.93
Total votes			3,137,161	100

Treasurer

1990 Illinois State Treasurer election

← 1986

November 6, 1990

1994 →

Turnout

51.81%^[4]


Nominee	Pat Quinn	Greg Baise
Party	Democratic	Republican
Popular vote	1,740,742	1,384,492
Percentage	55.70%	44.30%

Treasurer before election

Jerome Cosentino
Democratic

Elected Treasurer

Pat Quinn
Democratic

Incumbent Treasurer Jerome Cosentino, a Democrat, did not run for what would have been a third overall (second consecutive) term, instead opting to run for Secretary of State. Democrat Pat Quinn was elected to succeed him in office.

Democratic primary

Former Cook County Board of Tax Appeals commissioner and Chicago Revenue Director Pat Quinn defeated State Representative Peg McDonnell Breslin. Quinn previously had been an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination in 1986.

Breslin had been the candidate endorsed by the Democratic Party organization.^[9]

Treasurer Democratic primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patrick Quinn	449,442	51.12
	Democratic	Peg McDonnell Breslin	429,810	48.88
Total votes			879,252	100

Republican primary

Former Illinois Secretary of Transportation Greg Baise won the Republican primary unopposed.^[1]^[10]

Treasurer Republican primary^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Greg Baise	594,238	100
Total votes			594,238	100

General election

Baise campaigned on a message of conservatism.^[11] Quinn campaigned as a populist reformer in opposition to big government.^[11]

During the general election campaign, Quinn won the endorsement of the AFL–CIO.^[2]

Treasurer election^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patrick Quinn	1,740,742	55.70
	Republican	Greg Baise	1,384,492	44.30
	Write-in	Paul Salander	55	0.00
Total votes			3,125,289	100

State Senate

Some of the seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1990. Democrats retained control of the chamber.^[3]

State House of Representatives

All of the seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1990. Democrats retained control of the chamber.^[3]

Trustees of University of Illinois

1990 Trustees of University of Illinois election

← 1988

November 6, 1990

1992 →

An election was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois system for six-year terms.

The election saw the reelection of incumbent Democrat Gloria Jackson Bacon to a second term and incumbent Republican Susan Loving Gravenhorst to a third term, as well as the election of new trustee Democrat Thomas R. Lamont.^[12]

Fourth-term incumbent Republican Ralph Crane Hahn lost reelection.^[12]

Trustees of the University of Illinois election^[4]^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gloria Jackson Bacon (incumbent)	1,597,215	19.00
	Republican	Susan Loving Gravenhorst (incumbent)	1,416,930	16.86
	Democratic	Tom Lamont	1,412,371	16.80
	Republican	Ralph Crane Hahn (incumbent)	1,330,902	15.84
	Democratic	Joe Luco	1,311,182	15.60
	Republican	John G. Huftalin	1,110,264	13.21
	Illinois Solidarity	Martin C. Ortega	226,103	2.69
Total votes			8,404,967	100

Judicial elections

Multiple judicial positions were up for election in 1990.

Ballot measure

Illinois voters voted on a single ballot measure in 1990.^[13] In order to be approved, the measure required either 60% support among those specifically voting on the amendment or 50% support among all ballots cast in the elections.^[13]

Redemption Periods for Property Sold for Non-Payment of Taxes Amendment

Voters approved the Redemption Periods for Property Sold for Non-Payment of Taxes Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment which amended Article IX, Section 8 of the Constitution of Illinois to reduce the redemption period on the tax sale of certain delinquent properties.^[13]^[14]

Redemption Periods for Property Sold for Non-Payment of Taxes Amendment ^[13]^[14]
Option	Votes	% of votes on measure	% of all ballots cast
Yes	1,004,546	72.25	29.37
No	385,772	27.75	11.28
Total votes	1,390,318	100	40.64
Voter turnout	23.05%

Local elections

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

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "State of Illinois official vote cast at the primary election held on ..." Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Kenney, David; Brown, Barbara L. (1993). Basic Illinois Government: A Systematic Explanation. SIU Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-8093-1822-3.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Party control of Illinois state government". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l "State of Illinois official vote cast at the general election ." Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
^ "1990 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Illinois". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
^ Hardy, Thomas (January 18, 1990). "DAN WALKER COMES BACK TO HAUNT A COMPTROLLER CANDIDATE". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
^ Reardon, Patrick (January 16, 1989). "NEW STATE PUBLIC AID DIRECTOR SAYS SHE'S AN ADVOCATE FOR CLIENTS". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Illinois candidates' profiles. State comptroller". nwitimes.com. The Times of Northwest Indiana. October 21, 1990. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
^ Watson, Angie (April 1990). "Quinn prevails; incumbents upset". Illinois Issues (9). Retrieved March 26, 2020.
^ "An Interview with Gregory Baise Part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Illinois Statecraft Oral History project" (PDF). Government of Illinois. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Guy, Sandra (October 14, 1990). "Illinois election 1990. Candidate profiles. Illinois state". nwitimes.com. The Times of Northwest Indiana.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Illinois Constitution - Amendments Proposed". www.ilga.gov. Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Illinois Redemption Periods for Property Sold for Non-Payment of Taxes, Amendment 1 (1990)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 29, 2020.

[primary-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "State of Illinois official vote cast at the primary election held on ..." Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 8, 2020.

[basicillinois-2] Kenney, David; Brown, Barbara L. (1993). Basic Illinois Government: A Systematic Explanation. SIU Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-8093-1822-3.

[ballotpediapartycontrol-3] "Party control of Illinois state government". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 26, 2020.

[general-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l "State of Illinois official vote cast at the general election ." Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 8, 2020.

[5] "1990 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Illinois". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

[6] Hardy, Thomas (January 18, 1990). "DAN WALKER COMES BACK TO HAUNT A COMPTROLLER CANDIDATE". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 8, 2020.

[7] Reardon, Patrick (January 16, 1989). "NEW STATE PUBLIC AID DIRECTOR SAYS SHE'S AN ADVOCATE FOR CLIENTS". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 9, 2020.

[nwtimes1-8] "Illinois candidates' profiles. State comptroller". nwitimes.com. The Times of Northwest Indiana. October 21, 1990. Retrieved April 8, 2020.

[9] Watson, Angie (April 1990). "Quinn prevails; incumbents upset". Illinois Issues (9). Retrieved March 26, 2020.

[10] "An Interview with Gregory Baise Part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Illinois Statecraft Oral History project" (PDF). Government of Illinois. Retrieved April 8, 2020.

[NWItimes14oct-11] Guy, Sandra (October 14, 1990). "Illinois election 1990. Candidate profiles. Illinois state". nwitimes.com. The Times of Northwest Indiana.

[ui-12] "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.

[ilga1-13] "Illinois Constitution - Amendments Proposed". www.ilga.gov. Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved March 26, 2020.

[amendment-14] "Illinois Redemption Periods for Property Sold for Non-Payment of Taxes, Amendment 1 (1990)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 29, 2020.

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