1986 Illinois elections
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Turnout | 55.34% | |
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Elections in Illinois |
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Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 4, 1986.
Primaries were held March 18, 1986.[1]
Election information
[edit]1986 was a midterm election year in the United States.
Creation of the Illinois Solidarity Party
[edit]After LaRouche movement disciples won the Democratic primaries for Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State, Adlai Stevenson III created the Solidarity Party primarily to run Democratic candidates against them in the general election. He himself dropped off of the Democratic ticket for Governor, which he had won the primary for, and ran instead as the Solidarity Party candidate for Governor. The two Lyndon LaRouche-affiliated candidates, Mark J. Fairchild for Lieutenant Governor and Janice Hart for Secretary of State, had not seen their affiliations with LaRouche well-publicized until after they won their upset primary defeats over Stevenson-backed candidates George Sangmeister and Aurelia Pucinski.[2]
Illinois law required any unestablished party to run a full slate in order to obtain ballot access,[3] thus, Stevenson ran candidates in all races.
Turnout
[edit]Turnout in the primary was 26.23%, with 1,602,156 ballots cast. 1,014,908 Democratic and 570,661 Republican primary ballots were cast.[1]
Turnout in the general election was 55.34%, with 3,332,450 ballots cast.[4]
Straight-ticket voting
[edit]Illinois had a straight-ticket voting option in 1986.[4]
Party | Number of straight-ticket votes[4] |
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Democratic | 107,788 |
Republican | 465,469 |
Allin Walker | 17 |
Illinois Solidarity | 1,901 |
Libertarian | 1,239 |
Quality Congressional Representation | 421 |
Socialist Workers | 358 |
Federal elections
[edit]United States Senate
[edit]Incumbent Democratic Senator Alan Dixon was reelected.
United States House
[edit]All Illinois seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1986.
State elections
[edit]Governor and Lieutenant Governor
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Turnout | 52.37% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() County Results:
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Incumbent Governor James R. Thompson won reelection to a fourth term, defeating Adlai Stevenson III. This was a rematch of the previous 1982 gubernatorial election, which saw Stevenson as a Democratic nominee.
Stevenson, who had won the Democratic gubernatorial primary, withdrew from the Democratic ticket after Mark Fairchild, a follower of Lyndon LaRouche, won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor. Stevenson refused to run on a ticket with supporters of LaRouche's ideology. Stevenson instead created the Illinois Solidarity Party and ran as its nominee.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | James R. Thompson (incumbent) / George Ryan (incumbent) | 1,655,849 | 52.67 | |
Illinois Solidarity | Adlai Stevenson III / Mike Howlett | 1,256,626 | 39.97 | |
Democratic | No candidate / Mark Fairchild | 208,830 | 6.64 | |
Libertarian | Gary L. Shilts/ Gerry Walsh | 15,646 | 0.50 | |
Socialist Workers | Diane Roling/ Jim Little | 6,843 | 0.22 | |
Write-in | Others | 184 | 0.01 | |
Total votes | 3,143,978 | 100 |
Attorney General
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Turnout | 51.95%[4] | ||||||||||||||||
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![]() County results Hartigan: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Carey: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Attorney General Neil Hartigan, a Democrat, was reelected to a second term.
Democratic primary
[edit]Incumbent Neil Hartigan defeated Chicago alderman Martin J. Oberman in the Democratic primary.
Hartigan had originally declared his intention to forgo seeking reelection, and instead run for governor, but he ultimately reversed course and sought reelection after Adlai Stevenson III entered the race for governor.[5][6]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Neil F. Hartigan (incumbent) | 531,801 | 61.67 | |
Democratic | Martin J. Oberman | 330,561 | 38.33 | |
Write-in | Others | 1 | 0.00 | |
Total votes | 862,363 | 100 |
Republican primary
[edit]Republican Village President of Arlington Heights James T. Ryan won the Republican primary, running unopposed.[1][7] Ryan stepped-down as nominee after allegations arose that he had committed domestic abuse against both his wife and ex-wife, which arose soon after he received his party's nomination.[7][8]
There had been originally been several other candidates running for the Republican nomination in the primary, but all withdrew soon after Democratic incumbent Hartigan announced that he would seek reelection.[5]
If he had been elected, Ryan would have been the first Republican sitting mayor elected to statewide office in Illinois since Edward C. Akin was elected Attorney General in 1898.[5]
After Ryan withdrew as the Republican nominee, he was replaced on the ballot by Bernard Carey, a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners who had also formerly served as Cook County State's Attorney from 1972 through 1980.[6] Ryan's withdrawal had taken place five months before the general election.[6]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | James T. Ryan | 434,917 | 100 | |
Write-in | Others | 4 | 0.00 | |
Total votes | 434,921 | 100 |
General election
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Neil Hartigan (incumbent) | 1,925,012 | 61.71 | |
Republican | Bernard Carey | 1,129,193 | 36.20 | |
Illinois Solidarity | John Ray Keith | 33,702 | 1.08 | |
Libertarian | Natalie Loder Clark | 24,068 | 0.77 | |
Socialist Workers | Scott Dombeck | 7,254 | 0.23 | |
Total votes | 3,119,229 | 100 |
Secretary of State
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Turnout | 51.97[4] | ||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() County Results: Edgar: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Secretary of State Jim Edgar, a Republican first appointed in 1981 and subsequently elected to a full term in 1982, was reelected to a second full term.
Democratic primary
[edit]Little known candidate Janice Hart won an upset victory over Aurelia Pucinski (who had the backing of Adlai Stevenson III and others).[2] While, not well-reported until after the primary, Hart was a member of the LaRouche movement.[2]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Janice A. Hart | 375,405 | 51.17 | |
Democratic | Aurelia Marie Pucinski | 358,232 | 48.83 | |
Write-in | Others | 1 | 0.00 | |
Total votes | 733,637 | 100 |
Republican primary
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Jim Edgar (incumbent) | 487,842 | 100 | |
Write-in | Others | 8 | 0.00 | |
Total votes | 487,850 | 100 |
General election
[edit]The Illinois Solidarity Party ran Jane N. Spirgel in the election. Spirgel was an outgoing member of the DuPage County Board (on which she was the sole remaining Democratic member and had first been elected in 1974).[9]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Jim Edgar | 2,095,489 | 67.16 | |
Illinois Solidarity | Jane N. Spirgel | 521,410 | 16.71 | |
Democratic | Janice A. Hart | 478,361 | 15.33 | |
Libertarian | Steven L. Givot | 17,566 | 0.56 | |
Socialist Workers | Holly Harkness | 7,549 | 0.24 | |
Total votes | 3,120,375 | 100 |
Comptroller
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Turnout | 51.07%[4] | ||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Comptroller Roland Burris, a Democrat, was reelected to a third term.
Democratic primary
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Roland W. Burris (incumbent) | 633,142 | 77.74 | |
Democratic | Donald S. Clark | 181,252 | 22.26 | |
Write-in | Others | 1 | 0.00 | |
Total votes | 814,395 | 100 |
Republican primary
[edit]State Senator Adeline Jay Geo-Karis won the Republican primary unopposed.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Adeline Jay Geo-Karis | 415,009 | 100 | |
Write-in | Others | 1 | 0.00 | |
Total votes | 415,010 | 100 |
General election
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Roland W. Burris (incumbent) | 1,880,413 | 61.33 | |
Republican | Adeline Jay Geo-Karis | 1,074,923 | 35.06 | |
Illinois Solidarity | A. Patricia Scott | 78,389 | 2.56 | |
Libertarian | Donald Morris | 22,428 | 0.73 | |
Socialist Workers | Jim Miles | 9,998 | 0.33 | |
Total votes | 3,066,151 | 100 |
Treasurer
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Turnout | 51.08%[4] | ||||||||||||||||
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Incumbent Treasurer James Donnewald, a Democrat, lost the Democratic primary to former Treasurer Jerome Cosentino. Consentino won the general election, earning him a second non-consecutive term.
Democratic primary
[edit]Incumbent James Donnewald lost renomination to former Treasurer Jerome Cosentino. Donnewald had been the party organization's favored candidate.[10][11] Other candidates running included Cook County Board of Appeals member Pat Quinn and LaRouche movement member Robert D. Hart (who had the formal backing of Lyndon LaRouche's NDPC).[12]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Jerry Cosentino | 241,006 | 30.22 | |
Democratic | James H. Donnewald (incumbent) | 235,052 | 29.47 | |
Democratic | Patrick Quinn | 208,775 | 26.18 | |
Democratic | Robert D. Hart | 112,645 | 14.13 | |
Write-in | Others | 1 | 0.00 | |
Total votes | 797,478 | 100 |
Republican primary
[edit]J. Michael Houston, the mayor of Springfield, won the Republican nomination.[11] Houston was seeking to become the first Republican Illinois Treasurer in over twenty years.[11] He was also seeking to be the first Republican sitting mayor elected to statewide office in Illinois since Edward C. Akin was elected Illinois Attorney General in 1898.[5]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Mike Houston | 421,486 | 100 | |
Write-in | Others | 3 | 0.00 | |
Total votes | 421,489 | 100 |
General election
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Jerry Cosentino | 1,724,979 | 56.25 | |
Republican | Mike Houston | 1,252,796 | 40.85 | |
Illinois Solidarity | William E. Skedd | 50,570 | 1.65 | |
Libertarian | Jay D. Marsh | 19,875 | 0.65 | |
Socialist Workers | Lucille Robbins | 18,285 | 0.60 | |
Total votes | 3,066,505 | 100 |
State Senate
[edit]Some of the seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1986. 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 1986. Democrats retained control of the chamber.
Trustees of University of Illinois
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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 reelection incumbent Democrat Nina T. Shepherd to a third term, as well as the election of new Democratic trustees Judith Ann Calder and Charles Wolff.[4][13]
First-term incumbent Republicans Galey Day and Dean E. Madden lost reelection.[4][13]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Nina T. Shephered (incumbent) | 1,394,762 | 16.67 | |
Democratic | Judith Ann Calder | 1,362,623 | 16.29 | |
Democratic | Charles Wolff | 1,300,436 | 15.54 | |
Republican | Dean E. Madden (incumbent) | 1,271,806 | 15.20 | |
Republican | Mrs. Galey Day (incumbent) | 1,253,707 | 14.99 | |
Republican | David A. McConnell | 1,221,379 | 14.60 | |
Illinois Solidarity | Elena Mulcahy | 108,337 | 1.30 | |
Illinois Solidarity | James S. Spencer | 102,419 | 1.22 | |
Illinois Solidarity | Philip Martin | 92,253 | 1.10 | |
Libertarian | Anne McCracken | 83,586 | 1.00 | |
Libertarian | Stephen N. Nelson | 52,823 | 0.63 | |
Libertarian | Gene Bourke | 43,312 | 0.52 | |
Socialist Workers | Pedro Vasquez | 31,220 | 0.37 | |
Socialist Workers | Cathleen Gutekanst | 28,093 | 0.34 | |
Socialist Workers | Stephen Bloodworth | 19,755 | 0.24 | |
Total votes | 8,366,511 | 100 |
Judicial elections
[edit]Multiple judicial positions were up for election in 1986.[4]
Ballot measures
[edit]Illinois voters voted on two ballot measures in 1986,[14] both of them legislatively referred constitutional amendments. In order to be approved, measures required either 60% support among those specifically voting on the amendment or 50% support among all ballots cast in the elections.[14]
Bail Amendment
[edit]Voters approved the Bail Amendment, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment which amended Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution of Illinois to further expand the population that may be denied bail.[14][15]
Bail Amendment[4][14][15] | |||
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Option | Votes | % of votes on measure |
% of all ballots cast |
Yes | 1,368,242 | 77.25 | 41.18 |
No | 402,891 | 22.75 | 12.13 |
Total votes | 1,771,133 | 100 | 53.31 |
Voter turnout | 29.50% |
Exempt Veterans' Organizations from Property Taxes Amendment
[edit]Exempt Veterans' Organizations from Property Taxes Amendment, a legislatively refereed constitutional amendment which would amend Article IX, Section 6 of the Constitution of Illinois to exempt property used exclusively by veterans' organizations from property taxes, failed to meet either threshold amend the constitution.[14][16]
Exempt Veterans' Organizations from Property Taxes Amendment[4][14][16] | |||
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Option | Votes | % of votes on measure |
% of all ballots cast |
Yes | 860,609 | 54.19 | 25.90 |
No | 727,737 | 45.82 | 21.90 |
Total votes | 1,588,346 | 100 | 47.80 |
Voter turnout | 26.46% |
Local elections
[edit]Local elections were held. These included county elections, such as the Cook County elections.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, MARCH 18, 1986" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- ^ a b c Malcolm, Andrew H. (March 20, 1986), "2 CONSERVATIVE EXTREMISTS UPSET DEMOCRATS IN THE ILLINOIS PRIMARY", New York Times, pp. A18, retrieved November 9, 2016
- ^ "Right to Run: Ballot access laws across the country exclude third party candidates". The Politic. March 19, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 4, 1986" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 10, 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d Dold, R. Bruce (December 8, 1985). "RYAN FIGHTS HISTORY IN CAMPAIGN". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- ^ a b c Dold, R. Bruce (October 30, 1986). "CAREY FIGHTS HARTIGAN`S LEAD IN ATTORNEY GENERAL CONTEST". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- ^ a b "Former Wheeling Township Supervisor, Former Acting Arlington Heights Mayor Michael Schroeder Dies at 61". Cardinal News. Arlington Cardinal. May 8, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- ^ Daley, Steve (May 25, 1986). "PAPER DIDN`T TRAMPLE PRIVACY WITH SCOOP". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- ^ Schmeltzer, John. "`SPUNKY` SPIRGEL LAST DEMOCRATIC SURVIVOR ON DU PAGE COUNTY BOARD". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- ^ Neal, Steve (June 12, 1986). "COSENTINO: NEVER ONE TO DUCK A FIGHT". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ a b c Devall, Cheryl (October 14, 1986). "COSENTINO`S EDGE CUTS BOTH WAYS". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ West, Harry G.; Sanders, Todd (April 17, 2003). "Transparency and Conspiracy: Ethnographies of Suspicion in the New World Order". Duke University Press. p. 224. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Trustees, University of Illinois Board of Trustees" (PDF). University of Illinois. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "Illinois Constitution - Amendments Proposed". www.ilga.gov. Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
- ^ a b "Illinois Bail Amendment (1986)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
- ^ a b "Illinois Exempt Veterans' Organizations from Property Taxes (1986)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 29, 2020.