Illinois elections, 2015

2016 → ← 2014 The state of Illinois held elections in 2015. In Illinois, school board elections were held for 78 seats in 24 school districts, all of which feature among America's largest school districts by enrollment. Municipal elections for Chicago, Illinois were also held in 2015. This was a lighter year for Illinois as 2014 saw elections for U.S. House, U.S. Senate, state executives, state senate, state house, statewide ballot measures, local ballot measures, school boards and state courts. Below are the dates of note: 2015 elections and events in Illinois. Early voting begins February 9, 2015 Early voting ends February 21, 2015 Chicago, Illinois municipal election, including local measures February 24, 2015 Early voting begins March 23, 2015 Early voting ends April 4, 2015 Illinois school board elections April 7, 2015 Election day July 1, 2015 Races to watch Chicago's mayoral election Chicago's mayoral election was considered a race to watch in 2015. In 2014, voters in the state threw out Gov. Pat Quinn (D) in favor of a Republican candidate. In 2015, both more progressive and more conservative opponents joined the race against Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Though the polls favored Emanuel in the general election on February 24, 2015, his opponents forced him into a runoff election that took place on April 7, 2015. In that election, Emanuel faced Cook County Commissioner and former Chicago Alderman Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, defeating him 56.2 percent to 43.8 percent. Elections by type School boards See also: School board elections, 2015 and Illinois school board elections, 2015 A total of 24 Illinois school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment held elections in 2015 for 82 seats. All of the elections were held on April 7, 2015. The largest school district by enrollment with an election in 2015 was School District U-46 with 40,340 K-12 students. The smallest school district by enrollment with an election in 2015 was Consolidated School District 158 with 9,305 K-12 students. Champaign Community Unit School District 4, McLean County Unit District No 5 and School District U-46 tied for the most seats on the ballot in 2015 with five seats up for election in each district. Peoria Public Schools District 150 had the fewest seats on the ballot in 2015 with two seats up for election. The district listed below served 409,548 K-12 students during the 2012-2013 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Click on the district name for more information on the district and its school board elections. 2015 Illinois School Board Elections District Date Seats up for election Total board seats Student enrollment Champaign Community Unit School District 4 4/7/2015 5 7 9,656 Cicero Public School District 99 4/7/2015 3 7 13,304 Community Consolidated School District 15 4/7/2015 3 7 12,925 Community Unit School District 200 4/7/2015 3 7 13,244 Community Unit School District 300 4/7/2015 4 7 20,775 Consolidated School District 158 4/7/2015 3 7 9,305 East Aurora School District 131 4/7/2015 4 7 14,765 Indian Prairie School District 204 4/7/2015 3 7 28,996 Joliet Public Schools District 86 4/7/2015 4 7 11,619 McLean County Unit District No 5 4/7/2015 5 7 13,660 Naperville Community Unit School District 203 4/7/2015 3 7 17,544 Oswego Community Unit School District 308 4/7/2015 3 7 17,595 Peoria Public Schools District 150 4/7/2015 2 7 13,976 Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 4/7/2015 3 7 28,726 Rockford Public Schools 4/7/2015 3 7 28,777 School District 54 4/7/2015 3 7 14,085 School District U-46 4/7/2015 5 7 40,340 Springfield School District 186 4/7/2015 3 7 15,044 St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 4/7/2015 3 7 13,464 Township High School District 211 4/7/2015 4 7 12,362 Township High School District 214 4/7/2015 3 7 12,129 Valley View School District 365U 4/7/2015 3 7 17,819 Waukegan Public School District 60 4/7/2015 3 7 16,812 West Aurora Public School District 129 4/7/2015 4 7 12,626 Municipal government See also United States municipal elections, 2015#Illinois Chicago, Illinois municipal elections, 2015 Ballot measures See also List of Illinois ballot measures Local ballot measures See also Local ballot measures, Illinois Chicago local measures, February 24, 2015 Voting information Links related to voting in Illinois: For an overview and information on deadlines and updates to voting laws, please visit voting in Illinois. For information on ballot access and signature requirements, please visit our page on ballot access requirements for political candidates in Illinois. All voters are eligible to vote absentee in Illinois. Illinois provides early voting with specific requirements as to who can vote early. Early voting begins 15 days before an election and ends on the third day prior to the election. There is no system for online voter registration in Illinois. Primary information A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. In Illinois, state law provides for a closed primary where a voter must be affiliated with a party to vote in that party's primary. However, voters state their affiliation at the polls and any voter may change their affiliation on the day of the primary. A voter's eligibility to vote a party's ballot may be challenged. For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article. Historical voter turnout 2014 In 2014, Illinois saw 40.9 percent of eligible voters turn out to vote in the November general election. 2012 In 2012, Illinois saw 59.3 percent of eligible voters turn out to vote in the November general election and 17.9 percent in the primary election. See also Elections portal Elections and events calendar Voter guides State Blue Books State Poll Opening and Closing Times State Election Result Canvassing State voter ID laws Voting in Illinois Absentee voting Early voting Online voter registration Election terms and definitions Recent news This section links to a Google news search for the term "Illinois + elections + 2015" Illinois elections News Feed Footnotes