Illinois

:This article is about the State of Illinois. See Illinois (disambiguation) for other uses.

Government

The state government of Illinois is modeled after the federal government with adaptations originating from traditions cultivated during the state's frontier era. As codified in the state constitution, there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch is led by the Governor of Illinois. Legislative functions are given to the Illinois General Assembly, composed of the 118-member Illinois State House of Representatives and the 59-member Illinois State Senate. The judiciary is comprised of the state supreme court, which oversees the lower appellate courts and circuit courts.

Related Topics:
Governor of Illinois - Illinois General Assembly - Illinois State House of Representatives - Illinois State Senate - State supreme court - Appellate court - Circuit court

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• The Governor of Illinois is Rod Blagojevich (Democrat)
• The Lieutenant Governor of Illinois is Pat Quinn (Democrat)
• The Attorney General of Illinois is Lisa Madigan (Democrat)
• The Secretary of State of Illinois is Jesse White (Democrat)
• The Comptroller of Illinois is Daniel Hynes (Democrat)
• The Treasurer of Illinois is Judy Baar Topinka (Republican)
• The Senior United States Senator is Richard J. Durbin (Democrat)
• The Junior United States Senator is Barack Obama (Democrat)

As the birthplace of the Republican Party, the GOP was long dominant in Illinois. This has changed and the state has supported Democratic presidential candidates in the last four elections. John Kerry easily won the state's 21 electoral votes in 2004 by a margin of 11 percentage points with 54.8% of the vote. It is the most liberal of the Midwestern states. Traditionally Chicago, East Saint Louis, and the Quad Cities tend to vote heavily Democratic, along with the Central Illinois population centers of Peoria, Champaign-Urbana, Springfield and Decatur. Rural districts tend to vote more heavily Republican, but some, particularly in the southern part of the state, have voted Democratic as well.

Related Topics:
Chicago - East Saint Louis - Quad Cities - Peoria - Champaign-Urbana - Springfield - Decatur

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