Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Attorney General of Illinois
| Illinois Attorney General | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Partisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| Compensation: | $156,541 |
| 2012 FY Budget: | $78,223,700 |
| 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 | |
| Elections | |
| Next election: | November 8, 2022 |
| Last election: | November 6, 2018 |
| 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]
Current officeholder
The current attorney general is Democrat Kwame Raoul. Raoul was first elected to the office in 2018 and was sworn in January 14, 2019. Raoul previously represented District 13 in the Illinois State Senate from 2004 to 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
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.
2018
- See also: Illinois Attorney General election, 2018
General election
General election for Attorney General of Illinois
Kwame Raoul defeated Erika Harold and Bubba Harsy in the general election for Attorney General of Illinois on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kwame Raoul (D) | 54.7 | 2,488,326 |
 | Erika Harold (R) | 42.7 | 1,944,142 | |
 | Bubba Harsy (L) | 2.5 | 115,941 | |
| Total votes: 4,548,409 | |||
 = 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
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Illinois on March 20, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kwame Raoul | 30.2 | 390,472 |
 | Pat Quinn | 27.2 | 352,425 | |
| Sharon Fairley | 12.7 | 164,304 | ||
 | Nancy Rotering | 9.5 | 123,446 | |
 | Scott Drury | 7.9 | 102,193 | |
| Jesse Ruiz | 5.4 | 70,158 | ||
 | Renato Mariotti | 4.0 | 51,902 | |
 | Aaron Goldstein | 3.0 | 39,196 | |
| Total votes: 1,294,096 | |||
| = 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
Erika Harold defeated Gary Grasso in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Illinois on March 20, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Erika Harold | 59.2 | 389,197 |
 | Gary Grasso | 40.8 | 268,688 | |
| Total votes: 657,885 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2014
- See also: Illinois Attorney General election, 2014
| Attorney General of Illinois, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Lisa Madigan Incumbent |
59.5% | 2,142,558 | |
| Republican | Paul Schimpf | 37.8% | 1,360,763 | |
| Libertarian | Ben Koyl | 2.8% | 99,903 | |
| Total Votes | 3,603,224 | |||
| Election results via Illinois State Board of Elections | ||||
Full history
To view the electoral history dating back to 2010 for the office of Illinois attorney general, click [show] to expand the section. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2010
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vacancies
Article V, Section 7 of the Illinois Constitution addresses vacancies in the office of attorney general. If the attorney general's office becomes vacant, the governor will appoint a replacement to serve until a successor is duly elected.
Duties
As per the Illinois Constitution, "the attorney general shall be the legal officer of the State, and shall have the duties and powers that may be prescribed by law."(Illinois Constitution, Article V § 15)
The job of the attorney general is to:[4]
- Advocate on behalf of all of the people of Illinois;
- Legislate with members of the General Assembly for new laws; and
- Litigate to ensure state laws are followed and respected.
Divisions
The Illinois Attorney General's Office has 11 division areas of service:[5]
- Protecting Consumers
- Advocating for Women
- Keeping Communities Safe
- Advocating for Older Citizens
- Safeguarding Children
- Defending Your Rights
- Preserving the Environment
- Helping Crime Victims
- Enduring Open and Honest Government
- Building Better Charities
- MethNet
Campaign finance
The Attorney General of Illinois is responsible for prosecuting campaign finance complaints on a case-by-case basis. Campaign finance reports can be referred to the attorney general at any time regardless if it involves criminal or civil law from the Illinois State Board of Elections.[6]
State budget
- See also: Illinois state budget and finances
The budget for the Office of the Attorney General in Fiscal Year 2012 was $78,223,700[7]
Compensation
- See also: Compensation of state executive officers
The salaries of elected executives in Illinois are determined by the Illinois State Legislature as mandated in the state constitution. Article V, Section 21 of the Illinois Constitution also notes that executives cannot receive additional compensation beyond their salaries nor can their salaries be changed during current terms:
Article V, Section 21 of the Illinois Constitution
| Text of Section 21:
Compensation Officers of the Executive Branch shall be paid salaries established by law and shall receive no other compensation for their services. Changes in the salaries of these officers elected or appointed for stated terms shall not take effect during the stated terms.[8] |
2016
In 2016, the attorney general received a salary of $156,541, according to the Council of State Governments.[9]
2015
In 2015, the attorney general received a salary of $156,541, according to the Council of State Governments.[10]
2014
In 2014, the attorney general received a salary of $156,541, according to the Council of State Governments.[11]
2013
In 2013, the attorney general received a salary of $156,541. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.[12]
2012
In 2012, the attorney general was paid an estimated $156,541. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.
2010
In 2010, the attorney general was paid an estimated $156,600 according to the Council of State Governments.[13]
Historical officeholders
There have been 42 Illinois attorneys general general since 1819.[14]
| List of Former Officeholders from 1819-Present | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Tenure | Party | ||
| 1 | Daniel Pope Cook | 1819 - 1819 | |||
| 2 | William Mears | 1819 - 1821 | |||
| 3 | Samuel D. Lockwood | 1821 - 1823 | |||
| 4 | James Turney | 1823 - 1829 | |||
| 5 | George Forquer | 1829 - 1832 | |||
| 6 | James Semple | 1833 - 1834 | |||
| 7 | Ninian W. Edwards | 1834 - 1835 | |||
| 8 | Jesse B. Thomas, Jr. | 1835 - 1836 | |||
| 9 | Walter B. Scates | 1836 - 1837 | |||
| 10 | Usher F. Linder | 1837 - 1838 | |||
| 11 | George W. Olney | 1838 - 1839 | |||
| 12 | Wickliffe Kitchell | 1839 - 1840 | |||
| 13 | Josiah Lamborn | 1840 - 1843 | |||
| 14 | James A. McDougall | 1843 - 1846 | |||
| 15 | David B. Campbell | 1846 - 1848 | |||
| 16 | Robert G. Ingersoll | 1867 - 1869 |  Republican
| ||
| 17 | Washington Bushnell | 1869 - 1873 | |||
| 18 | James K. Edsall | 1873 - 1881 | |||
| 19 | James McCartney | 1881 - 1885 | |||
| 20 | George Hunt | 1885 - 1893 | |||
| 21 | Maurice T. Moloney | 1893 - 1897 | |||
| 22 | Edward C. Akin | 1897 - 1901 | |||
| 23 | Howland J. Hamlin | 1901 - 1905 | |||
| 24 | William H. Stead | 1905 - 1913 | |||
| 25 | Patrick J. Lucey | 1912 - 1917 | |||
| 26 | Edward J. Brundage | 1917 - 1925 | |||
| 27 | Oscar E. Carlstrom | 1925 - 1933 | |||
| 28 | Otto Kerner | 1933 - 1938 | |||
| 29 | John Edward A. Cassidy | 1938 - 1941 | |||
| 30 | George F. Barrett | 1941 - 1949 | |||
| 31 | Ivan A. Elliott | 1949 - 1953 | |||
| 32 | Latham Castle | 1953 - 1959 | |||
| 33 | Grenville Beardsley | 1959 - 1960 | |||
| 34 | William L. Guild | 1960 - 1961 | |||
| 35 | William G. Clark | 1961 - 1969 | |||
| 36 | William J. Scott | 1969 - 1980 | |||
| 37 | Tyrone C. Fahner | 1980 - 1983 | |||
| 38 | Neil F. Hartigan | 1983 - 1991 |  Democratic
| ||
| 39 | Roland W. Burris | 1991 - 1995 | Democratic
| ||
| 40 | Jim Ryan | 1995 - 2003 | Republican
| ||
| 41 | Lisa Madigan | 2003 - 2019 | Democratic
| ||
| 42 | Kwame Raoul | 2019 - present | Democratic
| ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Illinois Attorney General. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
Contact Info
Capitol Address:
Office of Attorney General
100 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: (312) 814-3000
Toll Free Phone: (800) 964-3013
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Illinois Attorney General, "About Us," accessed April 16, 2015
- ↑ Biographical Director of the United States Congress, "COOK, Daniel Pope, (1794 - 1827)," accessed April 16, 2015
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections - 2010 General Election Results
- ↑ Illinois Attorney General, "About" accessed July 28, 2012
- ↑ Illinois Attorney General, "Index," accessed July 28, 2012
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Illinois Campaign Financing Act (Referenced Statute 5/9-23)," accessed April 16, 2015
- ↑ Operating Budget Book, “Illinois State Budget Fiscal Year 2013,” 5.31," accessed June20, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedil - ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2016," accessed August 27, 2016
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2015," accessed August 27, 2016
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed November 14, 2014
- ↑ The Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2013, Table 4.11," accessed February 2, 2014
- ↑ The Council of State Governments, "The Book of States 2010 Table 4.11," accessed September 5, 2012
- ↑ Illinois Attorney General, "History," accessed July 28, 2012
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
