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1982 Illinois elections

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1982 Illinois elections
← 1980 November 2, 1982 1984 →
Turnout64.65%
Elections in Illinois
Federal government
U.S. Presidential elections
U.S. Senate elections
U.S. House elections
State government
General elections
Gubernatorial elections
Lieutenant Gubernatorial elections
Attorney General elections
Secretary of State elections
Comptroller elections
Senate elections
House of Representatives elections
Judicial elections
Ballot measures and referendums
Chicago
General elections
Mayoral elections
Aldermanic elections
Chicago Board of Education elections
Cook County
County elections

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 2, 1982.

Primaries were held on March 16.[1]

Election information

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1982 was a midterm election year in the United States.

Amid the ongoing recession and resultant unpopularity of incumbent Republican president Ronald Reagan, Democrats made significant gains in the national elections for the United States House of Representatives and in the gubernatorial elections.[2][3][4] In Illinois, Democrats made gains in the House of Representatives elections. Democrats also managed to flip control of the office of Illinois Attorney General. While the election was incredibly close, Republican James R. Thompson managed to retain his governorship.

Turnout

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Turnout in the primary election was 27.38%, with a total of 1,622,410 ballots cast.[5] 949,426 Democratic and 672,984 Republican primary ballots were cast.[1]

Turnout during the general election was 64.65%, with 3,856,875 ballots cast.[5]

Convictions for fraud

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There were "62 indictments and 58 convictions, many involving precinct captains and election officials. The grand jury concluded that 100,000 fraudulent votes had been cast in the city ... Authorities found massive fraud involving vote buying and ballots cast by others in the names of registered voters. In one case, a ballot punched for the Democratic slate had been tabulated 198 times."[6] The case was prosecuted in November 1982 by US Attorney Dan K. Webb.[7][8][9]

The gubernatorial election result has been questioned. Some Democrats have alleged that fraud might have been committed by Republicans in areas outside Chicago to secure Thompson his victory.[7] In 2016, Rudy Giuliani suggested that the gubernatorial results had been fraudulent on the part of Chicago Democrats.[10]

In January 1983, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected a petition by Democratic gubernatorial nominee Adlai Stevenson III for a full statewide recount, with the majority opinion finding there to be insufficient evidence of either mistakes, fraud, or irregularities to warrant a recount[11]

Federal elections

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United States House

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Main article: 1982 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois
See also: 1982 United States House of Representatives elections

Illinois had lost two congressional districts (the 23rd and 24th) in reapportionment following the 1980 United States census. All 22 of Illinois' remaining seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1982

Before the election, there were 14 Republican and 10 Democratic seats. In 1982, 12 Democrats and 9 Republicans were elected from Illinois.

State elections

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Governor and Lieutenant Governor

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Main article: 1982 Illinois gubernatorial election
1982 Illinois gubernatorial election
← 1978 November 2, 1982 1986 →
Turnout61.58%[5][12]
 
Nominee James R. Thompson Adlai Stevenson III
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate George Ryan Grace Mary Stern
Popular vote 1,816,101 1,811,027
Percentage 49.4% 49.3%
County Results

Thompson:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%

Stevenson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Governor before election

James R. Thompson
Republican

Elected Governor

James R. Thompson
Republican

Incumbent Governor James R. Thompson, a Republican, narrowly won reelection to a third term, defeating Democrat Adlai Stevenson III by merely 5,074 votes. George Ryan joined Thompson on the Republican ticket, and won a first term as Lieutenant Governor.

The election was surprisingly close, as, before the election, Thompson had been favored by polls and predictions to win by roughly twenty percentage points.[13]

Gubernatorial election[12][14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican James R. Thompson (incumbent) / George Ryan 1,816,101 49.44
Democratic Adlai Stevenson III / Grace Mary Stern 1,811,027 49.30
Libertarian Bea Armstrong/ David L. Kelley 24,417 0.66
Taxpayers John E. Roche/ Melvin "Mel" Jones 22,001 0.60
Write-in Others 161 0.00
Total votes 3,673,707 100

Attorney General

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1982 Illinois Attorney General election
← 1978 November 2, 1982 1986 →
Turnout60.96%[5][12]
 
Nominee Neil Hartigan Ty Fahner
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 2,064,196 1,519,507
Percentage 56.76% 41.78%
County results
Hartigan:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Fahner:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Attorney General before election

Tyrone C. Fahner
Republican

Elected Attorney General

Neil Hartigan
Democratic

Incumbent Attorney General Tyrone C. Fahner, a Republican appointed in 1980, lost reelection to Democrat Neil Hartigan.

Democratic primary

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Attorney General Democratic primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Neil F. Hartigan 606,662 99.99
Write-in Others 48 0.01
Total votes 606,710 100

Republican primary

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Attorney General Republican primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ty Fahner (incumbent) 524,853 100
Write-in Others 27 0.01
Total votes 524,880 100

General election

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Attorney General election[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Neil F. Hartigan 2,064,196 56.76
Republican Ty Fahner (incumbent) 1,519,507 41.78
Libertarian Natalie Loder Clark 28,074 0.77
Taxpayers Gordon James Arnett 24,719 0.68
Write-in Others 12 0.00
Total votes 3,636,508 100

Secretary of State

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1982 Illinois Secretary of State election
← 1978 November 2, 1986 1986 →
Turnout61.87%[5][12]
 
Nominee Jim Edgar Jerome Cosentino
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,942,664 1,709,008
Percentage 52.64% 46.31%
County results
Edgar:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Cosentino:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Secretary of State before election

Jim Edgar
Republican

Elected Secretary of State

Jim Edgar
Republican

Incumbent Secretary of State Jim Edgar, a Republican first appointed in 1981, was elected to a full term.

Democratic primary

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Secretary of State Democratic primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jerry Cosentino 614,540 100
Write-in Others 23 0.00
Total votes 614,563 100

Republican primary

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Secretary of State Republican primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jim Edgar (incumbent) 558,327 100
Write-in Others 15 0.00
Total votes 558,342 100

General election

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Secretary of State election[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jim Edgar (incumbent) 1,942,664 52.64
Democratic Jerome Cosentino 1,709,008 46.31
Taxpayers Kenneth J. Prazak 19,728 0.53
Libertarian Roger Hosbein 19,216 0.52
Write-in Others 9 0.00
Total votes 3,690,625 100

Comptroller

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1982 Illinois State Comptroller election
← 1978 November 2, 1982 1986 →
Turnout60.56%[5][12]
 
Nominee Roland Burris Calvin Skinner
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,696,414 1,440,747
Percentage 54.07% 45.93%
County results
Burris:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Skinner:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
State Comptroller before election

Roland Burris
Democratic

Elected State Comptroller

Roland Burris
Democratic

Incumbent Comptroller Roland Burris, a Democrat, won reelection to a second term.

Democratic primary

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Incumbent Roland Burris won renomination unopposed.

Secretary of State Democratic primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Roland W. Burris (incumbent) 630,921 100
Write-in Others 25 0.00
Total votes 630,946 100

Republican primary

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Former State Representative Calvin Skinner won the Republican primary unopposed.

Secretary of State Republican primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Cal Skinner Jr. 512,639 100
Write-in Others 27 0.01
Total votes 512,666 100

General election

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Comptroller election[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Roland W. Burris (incumbent) 2,327,779 64.43
Republican Cal Skinner Jr. 1,210,467 33.50
Taxpayers Leland W. Bormann 37,835 1.05
Libertarian Stephen M. Johnson 36,856 1.02
Write-in Others 12 0.00
Total votes 3,612,949 100

Treasurer

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1982 Illinois State Treasurer election
← 1978 November 2, 1982 1986 →
Turnout60.47%[5][12]
 
Nominee James Donnewald John P. Dailey
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,940,828 1,573,496
Percentage 53.81% 43.62%
County results
Donnewald:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Dailey:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Treasurer before election

Jerome Cosentino
Democratic

Elected Treasurer

James Donnewald
Democratic

Incumbent Treasurer Jerome Cosentino, a Democrat, did not run for a second term, instead opting to run for Secretary of State. Democrat James Donnewald was elected to succeed him in office.

Democratic primary

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Treasurer Democratic primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James H. Donnewald 579,254 100
Write-in Others 8 0.00
Total votes 579,262 100

Republican primary

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Treasurer Republican primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John P. Dailey 353,106 60.61
Republican W. Robert Blair 229,487 39.39
Write-in Others 8 0.00
Total votes 582,601 100

General election

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Treasurer election[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic James H. Donnewald 1,940,828 53.81
Republican John P. Dailey 1,573,496 43.62
Taxpayers Naomi F. Wilson 60,251 1.67
Libertarian Walter E. Edge 32,452 0.90
Write-in Paul Salander 22 0.00
Total votes 3,607,049 100

State Senate

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As this was the first election after a redistricting, all of the seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1982. Democrats retained control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives

[edit]

All of the seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1982. Democrats flipped control of the chamber.

Trustees of University of Illinois

[edit]
1982 Trustees of University of Illinois election
← 1980 November 2, 1982 1984 →

An election was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois system.

The election saw the reelection incumbents William D. Forsyth Jr. and George W. Howard, III and the election of new trustee Albert N. Logan Jr.[14][15]

Incumbent second-term Democrat Earl L. Langdon was not renominated.[14][15]

Trustees of the University of Illinois election[14][15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic William D. Forsyth Jr. (incumbent) 1,865,806 22.95
Democratic Albert N. Logan 1,775,410 21.84
Democratic George W. Howard, III (incumbent) 1,739,795 21.40
Republican Jane Hayes Rader 1,403,554 17.26
Republican Park Livingston 1,252,356 15.40
Republican Larry Gougler 1,234,911 15.19
Taxpayers Helen Louise Wells 209,396 2.58
Taxpayers Robert Joseph Loftus 133,157 1.64
Taxpayers Phoebe T. Dover 131,786 1.62
Libertarian Michael Edward Stack 92,501 1.14
Libertarian Joseph Maxwell 81,901 1.01
Libertarian Geoffrey S. Nathan 76,064 0.95
Total votes 8,130,831 100

Judicial elections

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Multiple judicial positions were up for election in 1982.

Ballot measure

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Illinois voters voted on a single ballot measure in 1982.[16] 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.[16]

Bail Amendment

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Voters approved the Bail Amendment (also known as "Amendment 1"), a legislatively referred constitutional amendment which amended Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution of Illinois to expand the population that could be denied bail to include those who committed an offense that could result in a life imprisonment sentence.[16][17]

Bail Amendment[5][16][17]
Option Votes % of votes
on referendum 		% of all ballots
cast
Yes 1,389,796 85.31 36.03
No 239,380 14.69 6.21
Total votes 1,629,176 100 42.24
Voter turnout 27.31%

Local elections

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Local elections were held.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL PRIMARY ELECTION MARCH 16, 1982" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 27, 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ "How High the Wave? Don't Just Think 1994; Think 1974, 1958, 1982 | News & Analysis | Inside Elections". insideelections.com. Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales. October 26, 2006. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  3. ^ "Media definitions of a wave election". Ballotpedia.
  4. ^ "Was it a wave election? Depends on your data set". NBC News. November 25, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 6, 1984" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 24, 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Despite Trump claim, officials say technology means vote fraud thing of past". Chicago Tribune. October 19, 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Election fraud Chicago style: Illinois' decades-old notoriety for election corruption is legendary". Salon. February 14, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  8. ^ "Report of the Special January 1982 Grand Jury" (PDF). United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. December 14, 1984.
  9. ^ "WEBB ASKS PRIMARY VOTE FRAUD PROBE". Chicago Tribune. March 11, 1987. Archived from the original on August 28, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  10. ^ "Official: Chicago legacy of voter fraud has been cleaned up". HeraldNet.com. October 19, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  11. ^ "DEMOCRATS GIVE UP ILLINOIS CAMPAIGN". The New York Times. January 8, 1983. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 2, 1982" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 27, 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ "Stevenson Looking Forward to a Recount in Illinois". The New York Times. November 21, 1982. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h "Illinois Blue Book 1985-1986". www.idaillinois.org. Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  15. ^ a b c "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  16. ^ a b c d "Illinois Constitution – Amendments Proposed". www.ilga.gov. Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  17. ^ a b "Illinois Bail Amendment (1982)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
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