Attorney General of Illinois

	Illinois Attorney General
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$186,400
2025 FY Budget:	$193,765,000
Term limits:	None
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Illinois Constitution, Article V, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder(s)
	Attorney General of Illinois Kwame Raoul; Democratic Party; Assumed office: January 15, 2019
	Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
	Other Illinois Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Comptroller • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Director • Insurance Director • Natural Resources Director • Labor Director • Illinois Commerce Commission

The Attorney General of Illinois is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by election through universal suffrage. Based in Chicago and Springfield, he or she is responsible for providing legal counsel for the various state agencies including the Governor of Illinois and Illinois General Assembly. He or she also conducts all legal affairs pertaining to the state.^[1]

The position of Illinois Attorney General was established December 3, 1818, based on guidelines adopted by a state constitutional convention. The first person to fulfill the duties of the office was Daniel Pope Cook, who only served 11 days. He was later elected to the United States Congress; Cook County was named in his honor.^[2]

Illinois has a Democratic triplex. The Democratic Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general.

Current officeholder

The current Attorney General of Illinois is Kwame Raoul (D). Raoul assumed office in 2019.

Authority

The attorney general's office is authorized by Article V, Section 1 of the Illinois Constitution.

Article V, Section 1

Officers: The Executive Branch shall include a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller and Treasurer elected by the electors of the State. They shall keep the public records and maintain a residence at the seat of government during their terms of office.

Qualifications

To be eligible to hold the office of attorney general, a person must be:

a United States citizen, at least 25 years old
an Illinois resident for the three years preceding his or her election (Illinois Constitution, Article V § 3)

Note: These standard qualifications apply to all of Illinois' constitutional executive offices, including governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, comptroller and treasurer.

Elections

Illinois state government organizational chart

Under Article V, Section 2 of the state constitution, the attorney general shall hold office for four years beginning on the second Monday of January after their election and until their successors are qualified. They shall be elected at the general election in 1978 and every four years thereafter.

2022

See also: Illinois Attorney General election, 2022

General election

General election for Attorney General of Illinois

Incumbent Kwame Raoul defeated Thomas DeVore and Dan Robin in the general election for Attorney General of Illinois on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kwame Raoul (D)	54.4	2,219,420
	Thomas DeVore (R)	43.5	1,774,468
	Dan Robin (L)	2.2	89,664

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,083,552
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Illinois

Incumbent Kwame Raoul advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Illinois on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kwame Raoul	100.0	830,578

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 830,578
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Illinois

Thomas DeVore defeated Steve Kim and David Shestokas in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Illinois on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thomas DeVore	44.2	316,726
	Submit photo	Steve Kim	34.7	248,652
		David Shestokas	21.1	151,045

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 716,423
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.