Kwame Raoul (Democratic Party)Illinois / Attorney generalAttorney General Kwame Raoul (Democrat) was sworn in as the 42nd Attorney General of Illinois in January 2019. Born in Chicago to Haitian immigrants, Raoul brings a lifetime of legal and policy experience, advocacy and public service to the Office of the Attorney General.
42 Illinois attorneysThere have been 42 Illinois attorneys general general since 1819.
There shall be elected, by the qualified electors of this state, one attorney general, who shall hold his office for the term of four years, and until his successor shall be commissioned and qualified. He shall perform such duties and receive such compensation as may be prescribed by law.
450 Assistant Attorneys GeneralMore than 450 Assistant Attorneys General and over 300 employees serve in the Office of the Attorney General in offices in Chicago, Springfield and Carbondale as well as regional offices in Rockford, Quincy, Champaign-Urbana and Belleville.
State executive salariesOffice and current officialSalaryAttorney General of Illinois Kwame Raoul$160,800/yearIllinois Secretary of State Jesse White$156,541Illinois Superintendent of Education Carmen AyalaIllinois Director of Natural Resources Colleen Callahan5 more rows
Kim FoxxCook County State's AttorneyState's Attorney of Cook CountyIncumbent Kim Foxx since December 1, 2016Term length4 yearsSalary$192,789 (2014)WebsiteOffice of the Cook County State's Attorney
Attorneys generalAttorneys general are the top legal officers of their state or territory. They advise and represent their legislature and state agencies and act as the “People's Lawyer” for the citizens. Most are elected, though a few are appointed by the governor.
Kwame RaoulSpouse(s)Lisa MooreChildren2EducationDePaul University (BA) Illinois Institute of Technology (JD)WebsiteGovernment website16 more rows
Juliana StrattonLieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton is excited to serve Illinois as the state's 48th Lieutenant Governor.
Jesse White is Illinois' 37th Secretary of State. White was first elected to the office in 1998 and won landslide victories in 2002, in which he won all 102 counties, and again in 2006, 2010 and 2014.
Kimberly M. FoxxChicago, Illinois, U.S. Kimberly M. Foxx (née Anderson; born April 4, 1972) is an American politician, who is currently the State's Attorney (district attorney) for Cook County, Illinois.
102 countiesThere are 102 counties in Illinois.Oct 8, 2021
Democratic primary for Attorney General of Illinois. The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Illinois on March 20, 2018.
Eleven of 102 Illinois counties—10.8 percent—are Pivot Counties. These are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
10,103 of 10,114 precincts reporting. (Last updated: November 7, 4:17 p.m.)
3,659 of 3,668 precincts reporting. (Last updated: November 7, 4:17 p.m.)
930 of 930 precincts reporting. (Last updated: November 6, 10:50 p.m.)
210 of 212 precincts reporting. (Last updated: November 6, 10:02 p.m.)
215 of 215 precincts reporting. (Last updated: November 7, 12:22 a.m.)
Kwame Raoul was unable to attend the forum due to poor weather. Among the issues discussed by the seven candidates in attendance were:
Candidates discussed a variety of issues at the forum including corruption, sexual harassment in state politics, marijuana legalization, immigration, and allegations of mistreatment at the Quincy Veterans' Home. Many of the candidates also spoke in opposition to policies of President Trump (R), promising to lead statewide efforts to challenge federal policy under the Trump administration.
Eleven of 102 Illinois counties—10.8 percent—are Pivot Counties. These are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
On September 15, 2017, Madigan announced that she would not seek re-election to a fifth term in 2018. Her announcement was followed by a series of declarations of candidacy from political figures, with eight Democratic candidates filing for the seat.
Raoul was first appointed to fill the Illinois State Senate seat formerly held by Barack Obama (D) following Obama's election to the U.S. Senate in 2004. He was elected to a full term in 2006 and re-elected in 2010, 2012, and 2016. As of the 2018 election, Raoul served as the chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee and the vice chairman of the state Senate Criminal Law Committee .
In 2018, Illinois was under divided government. It had held this status since Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) took office in 2015. At the time of the election, Illinois was under divided triplex control since the governor was a Republican while the attorney general and secretary of state were Democrats. Illinois was won by the Democratic candidate in each ...
On February 2, 2018, Cook County Circuit Judge Alfred J. Paul ruled that state Rep. Scott Drury 's (D) filing was invalid and that he should be struck from the March 20 primary ballot. The challenge to Drury's candidacy was filed at the recommendation of the Illinois State Board of Elections owing to a form that had not been properly completed as part of Drury's filing. Although Drury did submit a statement of economic interest form with his filing for attorney general, the information contained in the statement dated to Drury's April 2017 filing for re-election to the state House. Drury's attorneys argued that the information requested on the form was the same for both offices and that the form had been completed within one year of his filing, as legally required. However, the state countered that because the form had originally been filled out for a legislative position, it could not be reused for an executive position since the positions were in different branches of government. Drury stated his intention to appeal the ruling, and following a February 5 court order, Drury's name remained on the ballot as the legal battle continued.
Incumbent Republican attorney general Cynthia Coffman ran for governor, but was eliminated at the state Republican party convention in April.
In June 2018, the South Dakota Republican party nominated Jason Ravnsborg for attorney general and the Democratic party nominated Randy Seiler. Ravnsborg won the election to become the 31st attorney general of South Dakota.
The 2018 Illinois Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Attorney General of Illinois. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who had served since 2003, did not seek re-election to a fifth term. Democrat Kwame Raoul won the election with 55 percent of the vote, while Republican Erika Harold took 43 percent of the vote.
The primaries and general elections coincided with those for federal congressional races and those for other state offices. The election was part of the 2018 Illinois elections.
For the primary elections, turnout was 24.57%, with 1,951,981 votes cast. For the general election, turnout was 56.16%, with 4,548,409 votes cast.
• Scott Drury, state representative
• Sharon Fairley, chief administrator of the Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability
• Aaron Goldstein, Democratic committeeman for Chicago's 33rd ward and former defense attorney for Rod Blagojevich
• Scott Drury, state representative
• Sharon Fairley, chief administrator of the Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability
• Aaron Goldstein, Democratic committeeman for Chicago's 33rd ward and former defense attorney for Rod Blagojevich
• Bubba Harsy (Libertarian)
• Tyson Manker, Iraq War veteran and candidate for Morgan County State's Attorney in 2016
• 2018 Illinois elections
Official campaign websites
• Erika Harold (R) for Attorney General
• Bubba Harsy (L) for Attorney General
• Kwame Raoul (D) for Attorney General