List of governors of Illinois

The governor of Illinois is the head of government of the U.S. state of Illinois. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Illinois's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Illinois Legislature, to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment.[2] The governor is also the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.

Governor of Illinois
Seal of the State of Illinois
Flag of Illinois
Incumbent
J. B. Pritzker
since January 14, 2019
ResidenceIllinois Governor's Mansion
Term lengthFour years, no term limits
Inaugural holderShadrach Bond
FormationOctober 6, 1818 (1818-10-06)
Salary$177,412 (2015)[1]^α
Websitewww2.illinois.gov/gov/

Since becoming a state in 1818, 43 people have served as governor of Illinois; before statehood, it had only one territorial governor, Ninian Edwards. The longest-serving governor was James R. Thompson, who was elected to four terms lasting 14 years, from 1977 to 1991. Only one governor, Richard J. Oglesby, has served multiple non-consecutive terms, having been elected in 1864, 1872, and 1884.

The current governor is J. B. Pritzker, who took office on January 14, 2019.[3]

Governors

Governor of the Territory of Illinois

Illinois Territory was formed on March 1, 1809, from Indiana Territory.[4] It had only two governors appointed by the President of the United States before it became a state, and only one ever took office.

Governors of Illinois Territory
No. Governor Term in office[lower-alpha 1] Appointed by
1 John Boyle
(1774–1834)		 March 7, 1809
–
April 3, 1809
(resigned before taking office)[lower-alpha 2]		 Thomas Jefferson
2 Ninian Edwards[lower-alpha 3]
(1775–1833)
[9][10]		 April 24, 1809[lower-alpha 4]
–
October 6, 1818
(statehood)[lower-alpha 5]		 Thomas Jefferson
James Madison

Governors of the State of Illinois

Illinois was admitted to the Union on December 3, 1818, consisting of the southern portion of Illinois Territory; the remainder was assigned to Michigan Territory.[17]

The first Illinois Constitution, ratified in 1818, provided that a governor be elected every 4 years[18] for a term starting on the first Monday in the December following an election.[19] The constitution of 1848 moved the start of the term to the second Monday in January starting in 1849, thus shortening the term won in the 1844 election to 2 years.[20] Governors were not allowed to succeed themselves[19] until the 1870 constitution, which removed this limit.

The office of lieutenant governor was created in the first constitution,[21] to exercise the power of governor if that office becomes vacant.[22] The 1848 constitution changed this to say the power "devolves" upon the lieutenant governor in case of a vacancy.[23] The current constitution of 1970 made it so that, in the event of a vacancy, the lieutenant becomes governor,[24] and the governor and lieutenant governor are now elected on the same ticket.[25] If the governor feels seriously impeded in performing their job, they can inform the secretary of state and the next in the line of succession, who becomes acting governor until the governor can resume office.[24]

Governors of the State of Illinois
No.[lower-alpha 6] Governor Term in office Party Election Lt. Governor[lower-alpha 7][lower-alpha 8]
1   Shadrach Bond
(1773–1832)
[28][29]		 October 6, 1818
–
December 5, 1822
(term-limited)		 Democratic-
Republican		 1818   Pierre Menard
2 Edward Coles
(1786–1868)
[30][31]		 December 5, 1822
–
December 6, 1826
(term-limited)		 Democratic-
Republican		 1822 Adolphus Hubbard
3 Ninian Edwards
(1775–1833)
[10][9][32]		 December 6, 1826
–
December 6, 1830
(term-limited)		 Democratic-
Republican		 1826 William Kinney
4 John Reynolds
(1788–1865)
[33][34]		 December 6, 1830
–
November 17, 1834
(resigned)[lower-alpha 9]		 Democratic-
Republican		 1830 Zadok Casey[lower-alpha 10]
(resigned March 1, 1833)
William Lee D. Ewing[lower-alpha 10]
(acting)
5 William Lee D. Ewing
(1795–1846)
[35][36]		 November 17, 1834
–
December 3, 1834
(successor took office)		 Democratic Lieutenant
governor
acting		 Vacant
6 Joseph Duncan
(1794–1844)
[37][38]		 December 3, 1834
–
December 7, 1838
(term-limited)		 Whig 1834 Alexander M. Jenkins[lower-alpha 10]
(resigned December 9, 1836)
William H. Davidson[lower-alpha 10]
(acting)
7 Thomas Carlin
(1789–1852)
[39][40]		 December 7, 1838
–
December 8, 1842
(term-limited)		 Democratic 1838 Stinson Anderson
8 Thomas Ford
(1800–1850)
[41][42]		 December 8, 1842
–
December 9, 1846
(term-limited)		 Democratic 1842 John Moore
9 Augustus C. French
(1808–1864)
[43][44]		 December 9, 1846
–
January 10, 1853
(term-limited)		 Democratic 1846[lower-alpha 11] Joseph Wells
1848 William McMurtry
10 Joel Aldrich Matteson
(1808–1873)
[45][46]		 January 10, 1853
–
January 12, 1857
(term-limited)		 Democratic 1852 Gustav Koerner
11 William Henry Bissell
(1811–1860)
[47][48]		 January 12, 1857
–
March 18, 1860
(died in office)		 Republican 1856 John Wood
12 John Wood
(1798–1880)
[49][50]		 March 18, 1860
–
January 14, 1861
(did not run)		 Republican Lieutenant
governor
acting		 Thomas Marshall[lower-alpha 10]
(acting)
13 Richard Yates
(1815–1873)
[51][52]		 January 14, 1861
–
January 16, 1865
(term-limited)		 Republican 1860 Francis Hoffmann
14 Richard J. Oglesby
(1824–1899)
[53][54]		 January 16, 1865
–
January 11, 1869
(term-limited)		 Republican 1864 William Bross
15 John M. Palmer
(1817–1900)
[55][56]		 January 11, 1869
–
January 13, 1873
(term-limited)[lower-alpha 12]		 Republican 1868 John Dougherty
14 Richard J. Oglesby
(1824–1899)
[53][54]		 January 13, 1873
–
January 23, 1873
(resigned)[lower-alpha 13]		 Republican 1872 John Lourie Beveridge
16 John Lourie Beveridge
(1824–1910)
[57][58]		 January 23, 1873
–
January 8, 1877
(did not run)		 Republican Lieutenant
governor
acting		 John Early
(acting)
(term ended January 8, 1875)
Archibald A. Glenn[lower-alpha 10]
(acting)
17 Shelby Moore Cullom
(1829–1914)
[59][60]		 January 8, 1877
–
February 6, 1883
(resigned)[lower-alpha 14]		 Republican 1876 Andrew Shuman
1880 John Marshall Hamilton
18 John Marshall Hamilton
(1847–1905)
[62][63]		 February 6, 1883[61]
–
January 30, 1885
(did not run)		 Republican Lieutenant
governor
acting		 William J. Campbell
(acting)
14 Richard J. Oglesby
(1824–1899)
[53][54]		 January 30, 1885
–
January 14, 1889
(did not run)		 Republican 1884 John C. Smith
19 Joseph W. Fifer
(1840–1938)
[64][65]		 January 14, 1889
–
January 10, 1893
(lost election)		 Republican 1888 Lyman Beecher Ray
20 John Peter Altgeld
(1847–1902)
[66][67]		 January 10, 1893
–
January 11, 1897
(lost election)		 Democratic 1892 Joseph B. Gill
21 John Riley Tanner
(1844–1901)
[68][69]		 January 11, 1897
–
January 14, 1901
(did not run)[lower-alpha 15]		 Republican 1896 William Northcott
22 Richard Yates Jr.
(1860–1936)
[70][71]		 January 14, 1901
–
January 9, 1905
(lost nomination)[lower-alpha 16]		 Republican 1900
23 Charles S. Deneen
(1863–1940)
[72][73]		 January 9, 1905
–
February 3, 1913
(lost election)		 Republican 1904 Lawrence Yates Sherman
1908 John G. Oglesby
24 Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne
(1853–1937)
[74][75]		 February 3, 1913
–
January 8, 1917
(lost election)		 Democratic 1912 Barratt O'Hara
25 Frank Orren Lowden
(1861–1943)
[76][77]		 January 8, 1917
–
January 10, 1921
(did not run)		 Republican 1916 John G. Oglesby
26 Len Small
(1862–1936)
[78][79]		 January 10, 1921
–
January 14, 1929
(did not run)		 Republican 1920 Fred E. Sterling
1924
27 Louis Lincoln Emmerson
(1863–1941)
[80][81]		 January 14, 1929
–
January 9, 1933
(did not run)		 Republican 1928
28 Henry Horner
(1878–1940)
[82][83]		 January 9, 1933
–
October 6, 1940
(died in office)		 Democratic 1932 Thomas Donovan
1936 John Henry Stelle
29 John Henry Stelle
(1891–1962)
[84][85]		 October 6, 1940
–
January 13, 1941
(did not run)		 Democratic Lieutenant
governor
acting		 Vacant
30 Dwight H. Green
(1897–1958)
[86][87]		 January 13, 1941
–
January 10, 1949
(lost election)		 Republican 1940 Hugh W. Cross
1944
31 Adlai Stevenson II
(1900–1965)
[88][89]		 January 10, 1949
–
January 12, 1953
(did not run)[lower-alpha 17]		 Democratic 1948 Sherwood Dixon
32 William Stratton
(1914–2001)
[90][91]		 January 12, 1953
–
January 9, 1961
(lost election)		 Republican 1952 John William Chapman
1956
33 Otto Kerner Jr.
(1908–1976)
[92][93]		 January 9, 1961
–
May 20, 1968
(resigned)[lower-alpha 18]		 Democratic 1960 Samuel H. Shapiro
1964
34 Samuel H. Shapiro
(1907–1987)
[96][97]		 May 21, 1968
–
January 13, 1969
(lost election)		 Democratic Lieutenant
governor
acting		 Vacant
35 Richard B. Ogilvie
(1923–1988)
[98][99]		 January 13, 1969
–
January 8, 1973
(lost election)		 Republican 1968 Paul Simon[lower-alpha 10]
36 Dan Walker
(1922–2015)
[100][101]		 January 8, 1973
–
January 10, 1977
(lost nomination)[lower-alpha 19]		 Democratic 1972 Neil Hartigan
37 James R. Thompson
(1936–2020)
[102][103]		 January 10, 1977
–
January 14, 1991
(did not run)		 Republican 1976[lower-alpha 20] Dave O'Neal
(resigned July 31, 1981)
1978
Vacant
1982 George Ryan
1986
38 Jim Edgar
(b. 1946)
[105]		 January 14, 1991
–
January 11, 1999
(did not run)		 Republican 1990 Bob Kustra
(resigned July 1, 1998)
1994
Vacant
39 George Ryan
(b. 1934)
[106]		 January 11, 1999
–
January 13, 2003
(did not run)		 Republican 1998 Corinne Wood
40 Rod Blagojevich
(b. 1956)
[107]		 January 13, 2003
–
January 29, 2009
(impeached and removed)[lower-alpha 21]		 Democratic 2002 Pat Quinn
2006
41 Pat Quinn
(b. 1948)
[109]		 January 29, 2009
–
January 12, 2015
(lost election)		 Democratic Succeeded from
lieutenant
governor		 Vacant
2010 Sheila Simon
42 Bruce Rauner
(b. 1956)
[110]		 January 12, 2015
–
January 14, 2019
(lost election)		 Republican 2014 Evelyn Sanguinetti
43 J. B. Pritzker
(b. 1965)
[111]		 January 14, 2019
–
Incumbent[lower-alpha 22]		 Democratic 2018 Juliana Stratton
2022

See also

Notes
  1. The range given is from the date the governor was confirmed by the Senate, or appointed by the President during a Senate recess, to the date the governor left office.
  2. Boyle was nominated on March 6, 1809,[5] and confirmed by the Senate on March 7.[6] However, he resigned on April 3, having never taken office.[7]
  3. Territorial Secretary Nathaniel Pope served as acting governor until Edwards arrived in Illinois in June 1809.[8]
  4. Edwards was appointed on April 24, 1809;[9] nominated on June 16;[11] and confirmed by the Senate on June 17.[12] He took office on June 11.[9] He was reappointed on July 7, 1812,[13] during a Senate recess; reconfirmed on November 20, 1812;[14] reappointed on November 20, 1815,[15] during a Senate recess; and reconfirmed on January 9, 1816.[16]
  5. Edwards served as governor until statehood, when he was elected to the United States Senate.
  6. Based on the official site labeling Bruce Rauner as the 42nd governor,[26] it is assumed the official numbering includes repeat governors only once; subsequent terms are marked with their original number italicized.
  7. Lieutenant governors represented the same party as their governor unless noted.
  8. When the lieutenant governor is serving as governor, the Illinois Blue Book considers the president pro tempore of the senate to be acting lieutenant governor. However, this only applies to acting lieutenant governors before 1883; after that, there are no acting lieutenant governors noted, and instead these are marked vacant. It is unknown why this changed; the constitution does not appear to have any relevant changes around that time.[27]
  9. Reynolds resigned to take an elected seat in the United States House of Representatives.[34]
  10. Represented the Democratic Party
  11. The election schedule was shifted after this term, shortening it to two years.[20]
  12. The term limit was removed in the 1870 constitution, but as Palmer was first elected under the previous constitution; Sobel writes that this meant he was term-limited.[55]
  13. Oglesby resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.[54]
  14. Cullom resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.[60][61]
  15. Tanner instead ran unsuccessfully for nomination to the United States Senate.[68]
  16. Yates lost the Republican nomination to Charles S. Deneen.[70]
  17. Stevenson instead ran unsuccessfully for President of the United States.[88]
  18. Kerner resigned to take seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.[93] Contemporary news reported that Kerner resigned at midnight,[94] though one article says he resigned one minute after.[95]
  19. Walker lost the Democratic nomination to Michael Howlett.[100]
  20. The schedule for the 1970 constitution provided that the 1976 election would be for a two-year term, shifting the election schedule away from presidential election years.[104]
  21. Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office on charges of corruption.[107][108]
  22. Pritzker's second term began on January 9, 2023, and will expire January 11, 2027.

References
General
  • "Former Illinois Governors". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  • "Illinois Blue Book" (PDF). Illinois Secretary of State. pp. 359–360. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  • Sobel, Robert (1978). Biographical directory of the governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. I. Meckler Books. ISBN 9780930466015. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  • McMullin, Thomas A. (1984). Biographical directory of American territorial governors. Westport, CT : Meckler. ISBN 978-0-930466-11-4. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
Constitutions
Specific
  1. "Governors' Salaries, 2015". The Council of State Governments. June 25, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  2. IL Const. art. V
  3. "Election Results". Elections.il.gov. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  4. 2 Stat. 514
  5. U.S. Senate Exec. Journal. 11th Cong., special sess., 6 March 1809, 119. Accessed February 23, 2023.
  6. U.S. Senate Exec. Journal. 11th Cong., special sess., 7 March 1809, 120. Accessed February 23, 2023.
  7. The Territorial Papers of the United States: Volume XVI: The Territory of Illinois 1809-1814 (PDF). United States Government Publishing Office. 1948. pp. 18–19.
  8. Robert P. Howard (1988), Mostly Good and Competent Men: Illinois Governors, 1818–1988, Illinois Issues and the Illinois State Historical Society, 39–40.
  9. McMullin pp. 145–147
  10. Sobel pp. 366–367
  11. U.S. Senate Exec. Journal. 11th Cong., 1st sess., 16 June 1809, 122. Accessed February 23, 2023.
  12. U.S. Senate Exec. Journal. 11th Cong., 1st sess., 17 June 1809, 124. Accessed February 23, 2023.
  13. Ferguson, Gillum (2012). Illinois in the War of 1812. University of Illinois Press. pp. 115–130. doi:10.5406/j.ctt1xcqz0.12. ISBN 978-0-252-03674-3.
  14. U.S. Senate Exec. Journal. 12th Cong., 2nd sess., 20 November 1812, 305. Accessed February 23, 2023.
  15. The Territorial Papers of the United States: Volume I: General. United States Government Publishing Office. 1934. p. 11.
  16. U.S. Senate Exec. Journal. 14th Cong., 1st sess., 9 January 1816, 213e. Accessed February 23, 2023.
  17. 3 Stat. 536
  18. 1818 Const. art. III, § 2
  19. 1818 Const. art. III, § 3
  20. 1848 Const. art. IV, § 3
  21. 1818 Const. art. III, § 13
  22. 1818 Const. art. III, § 18
  23. 1848 Const. art. IV, § 19
  24. IL Const. art. V, § 6
  25. IL Const. art. V, § 4
  26. "About the Governor". State of Illinois. Archived from the original on 2018-04-26. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  27. Illinois Blue Book, p. 360
  28. Sobel p. 365
  29. "Shadrack Bond". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  30. Sobel p. 366
  31. "Edward Coles". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  32. "Ninian Edwards". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  33. Sobel pp. 367–368
  34. "John Reynolds". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  35. Sobel p. 368
  36. "William Lee Davidson Ewing". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  37. Sobel p. 369
  38. "Joseph Duncan". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  39. Sobel pp. 369–370
  40. "Thomas Carlin". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  41. Sobel pp. 370–371
  42. "Thomas Ford". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  43. Sobel p. 371
  44. "Augustus C. French". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  45. Sobel pp. 371–372
  46. "Joel Aldrich Matteson". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  47. Sobel pp. 372–373
  48. "William Henry Bissell". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  49. Sobel p. 373
  50. "John Wood". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  51. Sobel p. 374
  52. "Richard Yates Sr". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  53. Sobel pp. 374–375
  54. "Richard James Oglesby". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  55. Sobel p. 376
  56. "John McAuley Palmer". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  57. Sobel p. 377
  58. "John Lourie Beveridge". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  59. Sobel pp. 377–378
  60. "Shelby Moore Cullom". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  61. "Governor Cullom Resigns". Chicago Tribune. 1883-02-07. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  62. Sobel pp. 378–379
  63. "John Marshall Hamilton". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  64. Sobel pp. 379–380
  65. "Joseph Wilson Fifer". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  66. Sobel pp. 380–381
  67. "John Peter Altgeld". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  68. Sobel p. 381
  69. "John Riley Tanner". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  70. Sobel p. 382
  71. "Richard Yates Jr". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  72. Sobel pp. 382–383
  73. "Charles Samuel Deneen". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  74. Sobel p. 383
  75. "Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  76. Sobel p. 384
  77. "Frank Orren Lowden". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  78. Sobel pp. 384–385
  79. "Lennington Small". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  80. Sobel pp. 385–386
  81. "Louis Lincoln Emmerson". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  82. Sobel p. 386
  83. "Henry Horner". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  84. Sobel pp. 386–387
  85. "John Henry Stelle". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  86. Sobel pp. 387–388
  87. "Dwight Herbert Green". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  88. Sobel p. 388
  89. "Adlai Ewing Stevenson". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  90. Sobel p. 389
  91. "William Grant Stratton". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  92. Sobel pp. 389–390
  93. "Otto Kerner, Jr". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  94. "Kerner Resigns As Ill. Governor". Daily Republican-Register. 1968-05-20. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  95. "Kerner Resigns Post to Shapiro". Daily Republican-Register. 1968-05-21. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  96. Sobel p. 390
  97. "Samuel H. Shapiro". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  98. Sobel pp. 390–391
  99. "Richard Buell Ogilvie". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  100. Sobel p. 391
  101. "Daniel Walker". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  102. Sobel p. 392
  103. "James Robert Thompson". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  104. Lousin, Ann (2011). The Illinois State Constitution. Oxford University Press. p. 130. ISBN 9780199766925.
  105. "Jim Edgar". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  106. "George H. Ryan". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  107. "Rod R. Blagojevich". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  108. "Blagojevich Ousted by Illinois State Senate". The New York Times. January 29, 2009. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  109. "Pat Quinn". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  110. "Bruce Rauner". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  111. "JB Pritzker". National Governors Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.

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