1982 Illinois elections

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. 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 Turnout in the primary election was 27.38%, with a total of 1,622,410 ballots cast. 949,426 Democratic and 672,984 Republican primary ballots were cast. Turnout during the general election was 64.65%, with 3,856,875 ballots cast. The case was prosecuted in November 1982 by US Attorney Dan K. Webb. 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. 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 ==Federal elections==

United States House 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==

Governor and Lieutenant Governor 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. Attorney General Incumbent Attorney General Tyrone C. Fahner, a Republican appointed in 1980, lost reelection to Democrat Neil Hartigan. Democratic primary Republican primary General election Secretary of State Incumbent Secretary of State Jim Edgar, a Republican first appointed in 1981, was elected to a full term. Democratic primary Republican primary General election Comptroller Incumbent Comptroller Roland Burris, a Democrat, won reelection to a second term. Democratic primary Incumbent Roland Burris won renomination unopposed. Republican primary Former State Representative Calvin Skinner won the Republican primary unopposed. General election Treasurer 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 Republican primary General election State Senate 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 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 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. 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. ==Local elections==

Local elections were held. ==References==