Turnout in the primary election was 27.38%, with a total of 1,622,410 ballots cast.[5] 949,426 Democratic and 672,984 Republican primary ballots were cast.[1]
Turnout during the general election was 64.65%, with 3,856,875 ballots cast.[5]
There were "62 indictments and 58 convictions, many involving precinct captains and election officials. The grand jury concluded that 100,000 fraudulent votes had been cast in the city ... Authorities found massive fraud involving vote buying and ballots cast by others in the names of registered voters. In one case, a ballot punched for the Democratic slate had been tabulated 198 times."[6] The case was prosecuted in November 1982 by US Attorney Dan K. Webb.[7][8][9]
The gubernatorial election result has been questioned. Some Democrats have alleged that fraud might have been committed by Republicans in areas outside Chicago to secure Thompson his victory.[7] In 2016, Rudy Giuliani suggested that the gubernatorial results had been fraudulent on the part of Chicago Democrats.[10]
In January 1983, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected a petition by Democratic gubernatorial nominee Adlai Stevenson III for a full statewide recount, with the majority opinion finding there to be insufficient evidence of either mistakes, fraud, or irregularities to warrant a recount[11]
Incumbent GovernorJames R. Thompson, a Republican, narrowly won reelection to a third term, defeating Democrat Adlai Stevenson III by merely 5,074 votes. George Ryan joined Thompson on the Republican ticket, and won a first term as Lieutenant Governor.
The election was surprisingly close, as, before the election, Thompson had been favored by polls and predictions to win by roughly twenty percentage points.[13]
Incumbent TreasurerJerome Cosentino, a Democrat, did not run for a second term, instead opting to run for Secretary of State. Democrat James Donnewald was elected to succeed him in office.
As this was the first election after a redistricting, all of the seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1982. Democrats retained control of the chamber.
The election saw the reelection incumbents
William D. Forsyth Jr. and George W. Howard, III and the election of new trustee Albert N. Logan Jr.[14][15]
Incumbent second-term Democrat Earl L. Langdon was not renominated.[14][15]
Trustees of the University of Illinois election[14][15]
Illinois voters voted on a single ballot measure in 1982.[16] In order to be approved, the measures required either 60% support among those specifically voting on the amendment or 50% support among all ballots cast in the elections.[16]
.jpg)
_(cropped_less).jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)