Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 8, 1988.[1]

1988 Illinois elections

← 1986 November 8, 1988 1990 →
Turnout73.89%

Primaries were held on March 15.[2]

Election information

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Turnout

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Turnout during the primary was 42.56%, with 2,552,932 ballots cast (with 1,588,438 Democratic ballots, 899,153 Republican ballots, 418 Illinois Solidarity, and 34,923 nonpartisan ballots cast).[2]

Turnout during the general election was 73.89%, 4,697,192 ballots cast.[1]

Straight-ticket voting

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Illinois had a straight-ticket voting option in 1988.[1]

Party Number of
straight-ticket
votes[1]
Democratic 855,402
Republican 839,467
Illinois Solidarity 1,442
Libertarian 2,365

Federal elections

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United States President

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Illinois voted for Republican ticket of George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle.[1]

This was the sixth consecutive election in which the state had voted for the Republican ticket in a presidential election. As of the 2020 election, it is also the last time that the state has voted for the Republican ticket.

United States House

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All of Illinois' 22 congressional seats were up for reelection in 1988.

State elections

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State Senate

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Some of the seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1988. Democrats retained control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives

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All of the seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1988. Democrats retained control of the chamber.

Trustees of University of Illinois

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1988 Trustees of University of Illinois election
← 1986 November 8, 1988 1990 →

A regularly-scheduled election was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois system for full six-year terms, while a special election was held to fill an additional seat for a partial term.

Regular election

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

The election saw the election of new three new trustees, Republicans Donald W. Grabowski and Judith Reese as well as Democrat Ken Boyle.[1][3]

First-term incumbent Democrat Albert N. Logan lost reelection.[1][3]

Third-term incumbent Democrats George W. Howard III and William D. Forsyth Jr. were not nominated for reelection.[1][3]

Trustees of the University of Illinois election[1][3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Judith Reese 1,954,187 16.52
Republican Donald W. Grabowski 1,899,739 16.06
Democratic Ken Boyle 1,890,185 15.98
Republican John F. Rundquist 1,836,088 15.52
Democratic Albert N. Logan (incumbent) 1,826,705 15.44
Democratic Eden Martin 1,821,057 15.40
Libertarian Katherine M. Kelley 184,735 1.56
Libertarian Anne McCracken 167,029 1.41
Illinois Solidarity Martin C. Ortega 97,887 0.83
Libertarian Stephen Nelson 89,414 0.76
Illinois Solidarity Alan Port 61,935 0.52
Total votes 11,828,961 100

Special election

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A special election was held to fill the trustee seat left vacant by Democrat Anne E. Smith.[3] Smith's unexpired term would end in 1991.[3] The seat was filled by the interim appointment of Republican Paul R. Cicero.[3] He was defeated by Democrat Gloria Jackson Bacon.[1][3]

Turnout in the special election was 60.60%.[1]

Trustee of the University of Illinois special election[1][3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Gloria Jackson Bacon 1,983,643 51.50
Republican Paul R. Cicero 1,868,322 48.50
Total votes 3,851,965 100

Judicial elections

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Multiple judicial positions were up for election in 1988.[1]

Ballot measures

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Illinois voters voted on several ballot measures in 1988.[4] In order to be approved, measures required either 60% support among those specifically voting on the measure or 50% support among all ballots cast in the elections.[4]

Redemption Period for Tax Delinquent Property Amendment

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The Illinois Redemption Period for Tax Delinquent Property Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment which would amend Article IX, Section 8 of the Constitution of Illinois to modify the redemption period on the sale of a tax delinquent property, failed to meet either threshold to amend the constitution.[4][5] It only missed the threshold of 60% of votes cast specifically on the measure by a mere 0.87% margin (21,960 votes).[4][5]

Redemption Period for Tax Delinquent Property Amendment[4][5]
Option Votes % of votes
on measure
% of all ballots
cast
Yes 1,497,885 59.13 31.89
No 1,035,190 40.87 22.04
Total votes 2,533,075 100 53.93
Voter turnout 39.85%

Voting Requirement Amendment

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Voters approved the Voting Requirement Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment which amended Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Illinois to lower the voting age in the state constitution to 18 and lower the residency requirement to vote to 30 days.[4][6]

The voting age in Illinois was already 18, due to the passage of the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. However, the voting age in the state constitution (superseded by United States Constitution) was still 21.

Voting Requirement Amendment[4][6]
Option Votes % of votes
on measure
% of all ballots
cast
Yes 2,086,744 64.23 44.43
No 1,162,258 35.77 24.74
Total votes 3,249,002 100 69.17
Voter turnout 51.11%

Proposed call for a Constitutional Convention

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A measure which would call for a state constitutional convention failed.[4][7] Article XIV of the Constitution of Illinois requires that Illinois voters be asked at least every 20 years if they desire a constitutional convention,[8][9] thus this election was an automatic ballot referral.[7] It was constitutionally required to be held, since the last vote on holding a constitutional convention had occurred in 1968.[7][8]

Proposed call for a Constitutional Convention[4][7]
Option Votes % of votes
on referendum
% of all ballots
cast
Yes 900,109 24.82 19.16
No 2,727,144 75.18 58.06
Total votes 3,627,253 100 77.22
Voter turnout 57.06%

Local elections

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

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 8, 1988" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL PRIMARY ELECTION MARCH 15, 1988" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Illinois Constitution - Amendments Proposed". www.ilga.gov. Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "Illinois Redemption Period for Tax Delinquent Property Amendment (1988)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Illinois Voting Requirement Amendment (1988)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d "Illinois Constitutional Convention Question (1988)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Klemens, Michael D. (June 1987). "The state of the State Preparing for the next call for a constitutional convention". Illinois Issues. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  9. ^ Constitution of the State of Illinois. Article 14 - Constitutional revisions