1990 Illinois elections

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]

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.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Quick facts Turnout, Nominee ...

1990 Illinois gubernatorial election

← 1986 November 6, 1990 1994 →
Turnout	54.00%
Nominee Jim Edgar Neil Hartigan Party Republican Democratic Running mate Bob Kustra James B. Burns Popular vote 1,653,126 1,569,217 Percentage 50.8% 48.2%
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

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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.

Attorney General

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1990 Illinois Attorney General election

← 1986 November 6, 1990 1994 →
Turnout	53.33%[4]
Nominee Roland Burris Jim Ryan Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,656,045 1,560,831 Percentage 51.48% 48.52%
County results Burris:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Ryan:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Attorney General before election Neil Hartigan Democratic Elected Attorney General Roland Burris Democratic

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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.

Secretary of State

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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%
County results Ryan:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Cosentino:      50–60%      60–70%
Secretary of State before election Jim Edgar Republican Elected Secretary of State George Ryan Republican

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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.

Comptroller

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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%
County results Netsch:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Suter:      50–60%      60–70%
State Comptroller before election Roland Burris Democratic Elected State Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch Democratic

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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.

Treasurer

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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%
County results Quinn:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Baise:      50–60%      60–70%
Treasurer before election Jerome Cosentino Democratic Elected Treasurer Pat Quinn Democratic

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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.

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

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]

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]

More information Redemption Periods for Property Sold for Non-Payment of Taxes Amendment, Option ...

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%

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