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County Results Pritzker: 40-50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Rauner: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Illinois | ||||||||
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The 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Governor of Illinois, concurrently with the 2018 Illinois general election. Incumbent Republican Governor Bruce Rauner ran for re-election to a second term in office, [1] but was defeated by Democratic nominee J. B. Pritzker.
The Governor of Illinois is the chief executive of the State of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state. The governor is responsible for enacting laws passed by the Illinois General Assembly. Illinois is one of 14 states that does not have a gubernatorial term-limit. The governor is commander-in-chief of the state's land, air and sea forces, when they are in state service.
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is its historic rival, the Democratic Party.
Bruce Vincent Rauner is an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois, from 2015 to 2019. Prior to his election, he was the chairman of R8 Capital Partners and chairman of the private equity firm GTCR, based in Chicago. He was the Republican nominee in the 2014 Illinois gubernatorial election and defeated Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn by 50.3% to 46.4%. Rauner was defeated in the 2018 gubernatorial election by Democratic challenger J. B. Pritzker.
Evelyn Sanguinetti is an American lawyer and politician, who served as the 47th lieutenant governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. She previously served on the Wheaton City Council.
Rock Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois, bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 147,546. Its county seat is Rock Island; its largest city is neighboring Moline.
Jeanne M. Ives is an American politician and former Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 42nd district. The district includes Carol Stream, Lisle, Warrenville, Wheaton, Winfield, West Chicago, and Naperville. She ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary in the 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election, narrowly losing to incumbent Governor Bruce Rauner.
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House consists of 118 representatives elected from individual legislative districts for two-year terms with no limits; redistricted every 10 years, based on the 2010 U.S. census each representative represents approximately 108,734 people.
Richard Morthland is a member of the Rock Island County Board and was a Republican member of the Illinois General Assembly for a single term from 2011-2013. Morthland served on the Rock Island County Board from 2008 to 2011 and was reelected to the County Board in 2016. Morthland has a bachelor's degree from St. Ambrose University, master's degrees from Denver Seminary and Spring Arbor University, and is a doctoral student at Denver Seminary. In addition to politics, Morthland is an Assistant Professor at Black Hawk College and is a farmer on his family's farm that dates back to 1842 when it was homesteaded in Coe Township.
A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for an elected office but seldom wins. The term is not generally extended to incumbent politicians who successfully defend their seats repeatedly.
Rockford is a city in Winnebago County in the U.S. state of Illinois, in far northern Illinois. Located on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County. The largest city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, Rockford is the third-largest city in the state and the 171st most populous in the United States According to 2010 U.S. Census Data, the City of Rockford had a population of 152,871, with an outlying metropolitan area population of 348,360. The City of Rockford's population is 147,051 as of 2017, down 4.1% since 2010.
Jeanne Ives |
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Declined to endorse in primary |
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Rauner and Ives held their first and only scheduled forum on January 29. Rauner largely ignored his opponent and focused on attacking Speaker Mike Madigan, comparing him to his likely Democratic challenger, J. B. Pritzker. Ives, on the other hand, attacked Rauner for being an ineffective governor and alienating social conservatives. [31] Rauner and Ives were invited by the University of Springfield to debate a second time, although Rauner declined the invitation. [32]
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Bruce Rauner | Jeanne Ives | Undecided |
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Ogden & Fry (R-Ives) | March 14, 2018 | 787 | ± 3.5% | 42% | 35% | 23% |
Southern Illinois University | February 19–25, 2018 | 259 | ± 6.0% | 51% | 31% | 18% |
We Ask America | January 14–16, 2018 | 1,026 | ± 3.1% | 65% | 21% | 15% |
We Ask America | October 25–29, 2017 | 1,064 | ± 3.0% | 64% | 19% | 16% |
Ogden & Fry (R-Liberty Principles PAC) | October 12, 2017 | 495 | ± 4.5% | 59% | 14% | 28% |
Hypothetical polling | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Bruce Rauner (incumbent) | 362,721 | 51.40 | |
Republican | Jeanne Ives | 342,906 | 48.60 | |
Total votes | 705,627 | 100.00 |
Despite a 14% decrease in Republican Primary votes cast, Rauner increased his final result by 9%, in number of votes, from 2014. In 2018, he managed to capture a narrow majority of the votes, with 51.4%, in his victory over conservative Ives. Rauner only received 40.2% of the primary vote in 2014, in his narrow win victory over Kirk Dillard, Bill Brady, and Dan Rutherford.
Rauner did well in central Illinois compared to the Republican primary four years earlier, when he managed 30% in the downstate region and finished 2nd to Kirk Dillard. In 2018, he carried the region with 52%.
Daniel Biss |
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Chris Kennedy |
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Declined to endorse for the primary |
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The Illinois LGBTQ Forum: The Democratic Candidates for Governor [164] was held on December 6, 2017 and organized by Affinity Community Services, the Association of Latinos/as Motivating Action (ALMA), the Equality Illinois Institute, and Pride Action Tank. Candidates who attended included Daniel Biss, Tio Hardiman, Ameya Pawar, J. B. Pritzker, and Chris Kennedy.
Whitney Young High School hosted the first student-run gubernatorial debate in the United States on October 4, 2017. All 7 then current candidates attended, meaning Daniel Biss, Bob Daiber, Tio Hardiman, Chris Kennedy, Alex Paterakis, Ameya Pawar, and J. B. Pritzker. [165]
The Illinois chapter of progressive advocacy organization Our Revolution sponsored a forum at the Chicago Teacher's Union headquarters on October 8, 2017. Candidates voiced similar opinions on single-payer health care, gun control, and the minimum wage, but differed on a hypothetical state deal with Amazon and relationships with powerful Illinois Speaker Mike Madigan. [166]
The Democratic candidates held their first televised debate on January 23. [167] All six candidates met again a week later on January 30. The debate was not televised but was uploaded to WSIL-TV's YouTube channel. [168]
Another debate was held on February 21, which was hosted by the University of Springfield. [32] Chris Kennedy did not attend due to a back injury, although all five other candidates participated. [169] Another major debate took place on March 1. It involved issues such as gun control, Blagojevich's tapes, sexual harassment, and relatability. [170] Another debate took place the next day in Springfield. The topics involved Madigan, sexual harassment, among other issues. The spotlight remained on the top contenders: Chris Kennedy, J.B Pritzker, and Daniel Biss. [171]
Pritzker was criticized for refusing to commit to attend the only live-television debate planned outside the Chicago media market, prompting the debate's cancellation. [172] Biss and Kennedy gathered petition signatures to encourage the debate's continuation, and Biss commented that "JB is borrowing a page from the billionaire playbook, avoiding debates and shunning reporters who ask tough questions." [173] Another debate took place on March 14, revolving around topics including Pritzker's newly reported offshore holdings, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, and education. Kennedy and Biss both attacked Pritzker on the offshore businesses, Kennedy "saying it's like a job interview, and Pritzker lying to get the job", and Biss saying "Pritzker did that to avoid taxes". [174]
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Daniel Biss | Chris Kennedy | J. B. Pritzker | Other | Undecided |
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Victory Research | March 13–16, 2018 | 1,204 | ± 2.8% | 22% | 26% | 32% | – | 16% |
We Ask America | March 7–9, 2018 | 1,029 | ± 3.1% | 15% | 16% | 35% | 1% [175] | 31% |
Southern Illinois University | February 19–25, 2018 | 472 | ± 4.5% | 21% | 17% | 31% | 6% [176] | 25% |
Global Strategy Group (D-Pritzker) | February 9–13, 2018 | 802 | ± 3.5% | 21% | 23% | 37% | – | – |
ALG Research (D-Biss) | February 6–11, 2018 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 24% | 24% | 32% | 4% [177] | 16% |
Victory Research | February 6–7, 2018 | 1,209 | ± 2.8% | 24% | 17% | 27% | 5% [178] | 28% |
Global Strategy Group (D-Pritzker) | February 1, 2018 | 801 | ± 3.5% | 22% | 16% | 41% | – | 21% |
32% | – | 52% | – | 16% | ||||
We Ask America | January 29–30, 2018 | 811 | ± 3.4% | 17% | 12% | 30% | 3% [177] | 38% |
We Ask America | October 17–18, 2017 | 1,154 | ± 3% | 6% | 15% | 39% | 2% [179] | 36% |
ALG Research (D-Biss) | July 2017 | – | – | 5% | 23% | 30% | 2% [180] | 35% |
Garin-Hart-Yang (D-Kennedy) | June 26–29, 2017 | 602 | ± 4% | – | 44% | 38% | – | 18% |
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner (D-Summers) | March 2–6, 2017 | 500 | ± 4.4% | – | 44% | 11% | 7% [181] | 34% |
Hypothetical polling | ||||||||||||||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | J. B. Pritzker | 573,679 | 45.2 | |
Democratic | Daniel Biss | 337,342 | 26.6 | |
Democratic | Chris Kennedy | 308,731 | 24.3 | |
Democratic | Tio Hardiman | 20,479 | 1.6 | |
Democratic | Bob Daiber | 14,814 | 1.2 | |
Democratic | Robert Marshall | 14,193 | 1.1 | |
Total votes | 1,269,238 | 100.0 |
Pritzker won 98 of Illinois' counties. Kennedy won two, and Biss also won two.
In order to qualify as an established party in Illinois, a candidate for said party must earn at least 5% of the vote in a statewide election. This last occurred in 2006, when Rich Whitney won 10% of the vote, allowing the Illinois Green Party to achieve such status. Established party status comes with benefits. For example, candidates of an established party needs only 5,000 voter signatures on its petitions to gain ballot access. For non-established parties this number is approximately 25,000. [182] [183]
For the 2018 election, non-established parties do not need to run a full slate in order to qualify for ballot access. [184]
Sam McCann, a longtime intraparty opponent of Bruce Rauner, resigned from the Republican Caucus to run for Governor as a member of the newly created Conservative Party. His running mate is Aaron Merreighn, a constituent with whom he has worked on legislative issues relating to veterans. [185]
Kash Jackson is the Libertarian nominee for Illinois governor. 2018, Libertarian nominees for governor, other statewide offices, and the General Assembly were chosen by the Libertarian Party of Illinois at a state convention on March 3, 2018. [186] The convention for 2018 candidate selection was held on March 3, 2018 in Bloomington, Illinois. [187] Jackson will appear on the ballot. [188]
Kash Jackson |
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William J. Kelly was nominated for Governor and Chad Koppie, a member of the Kane County Regional Board of School Trustees, were chosen to run as the gubernatorial ticket of the Illinois Constitution Party. However, on June 5, 2018, Kelly dropped out and endorsed the third party campaign of Sam McCann. [201] [202] [203]
The Green Party ran a slate of statewide candidates in 2006 and 2010, but failed to be placed on the ballot in 2014 [205] [206] and declined to run any statewide candidates in 2018. [207]
Bruce Rauner had been rated as one of the, if not the most, vulnerable governors running for re-election in 2018 by Politico and the National Journal. [208] [209]
Bruce Rauner (R) |
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J. B. Pritzker (D) |
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Kash Jackson (L) |
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Host network | Date | Link(s) | Participants | |||||
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J.B. Pritzker (D) | Bruce Rauner (R) | Kash Jackson (L) | Sam McCann (C) | |||||
WMAQ-TV | September 20, 2018 | [285] | Participant | Participant | Participant | Participant | ||
WLS-TV | October 3, 2018 | [286] | Participant | Participant | Non-invitee | Non-invitee | ||
WGEM-TV | October 11, 2018 | [287] [288] | Participant | Participant | Non-invitee | Non-invitee | ||
Source | Ranking | As of |
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The Cook Political Report [289] | Likely D | October 26, 2018 |
The Washington Post [290] | Likely D | November 5, 2018 |
FiveThirtyEight [291] | Safe D | November 5, 2018 |
Rothenberg Political Report [292] | Likely D | November 1, 2018 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball [293] | Likely D | November 5, 2018 |
Real Clear Politics [294] | Likely D | November 5, 2018 |
Daily Kos Elections [295] | Likely D | November 5, 2018 |
Governing [296] | Likely D | November 5, 2018 |
Politico [297] | Likely D | November 5, 2018 |
Fox News [298] [lower-alpha 1] | Likely D | November 5, 2018 |
Campaign finance reports as of June 30,2018 [update] | |||
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Candidate (party) | Total receipts | Total disbursements | Cash on hand |
J.B. Pritzker (D) | $128,252,532.95 | $88,571,672.99 | $39,680,860.96 |
Bruce Rauner (R) | $78,725,390.39 | $45,101,897.60 | $33,623,492.79 |
Sam McCann (C) | $1,497,885.08 | $649,634.08 | $848,251.00 |
Kash Jackson (L) | $10,783.00 | $1,985.32 | $8,797.68 |
Source: Federal Election Commission [299] [ not in citation given ] |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Bruce Rauner (R) | J. B. Pritzker (D) | Kash Jackson (L) | Sam McCann (C) | Other | Undecided |
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Victory Research | November 1–3, 2018 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 33% | 49% | 5% | 8% | – | 6% |
Ipsos | September 27 – October 5, 2018 | 968 | ± 4.0% | 30% | 50% | 3% | 6% | 2% | 8% |
Victory Research | September 27 – October 2, 2018 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 32% | 47% | 6% | 7% | – | 8% |
Southern Illinois University | September 24–29, 2018 | 715 | ± 3.7% | 27% | 49% | 4% | 4% | – | 17% |
ALG Research (D-Forward Illinois) | September 21–25, 2018 | 1,007 | ± 3.1% | 32% | 48% | 3% | 4% | – | – |
Research America Inc. | September 5–13, 2018 | 1,024 | ± 3.1% | 27% | 44% | 4% | 6% | 0% | 14% |
Marist College | August 12–16, 2018 | 734 | ± 4.4% | 30% | 46% | 6% | 4% | 2% | 13% |
University of Illinois Springfield | July 3 – August 15, 2018 | 717 | ± 3.7% | 23% | 35% | – | – | 15% | 23% |
Victory Research | August 12–14, 2018 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 30% | 41% | 2% | 9% | – | 18% |
Baselice & Associates (C-McCann) | July 25–29, 2018 | 800 | ± 3.5% | 29% | 42% | 6% | 11% | 1% | 10% |
Illinois Public Opinion (D) | July 12, 2018 | 423 | ± 5.0% | 26% | 39% | 1% | 10% | – | 23% |
Victory Research | June 26–28, 2018 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 30% | 45% | 2% | 5% | – | 18% |
We Ask America | June 9–11, 2018 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 27% | 36% | – | – | 26% | 11% |
Victory Research | May 22–24, 2018 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 32% | 47% | – | – | – | – |
Victory Research | April 18–21, 2018 | 1,208 | ± 2.8% | 31% | 49% | – | – | – | 19% |
Ogden & Fry | March 23, 2018 | 667 | ± 3.9% | 28% | 46% | – | – | – | 26% |
Southern Illinois University | February 19–25, 2018 | 1,001 | ± 3.0% | 35% | 50% | – | – | – | 15% |
Public Policy Polling (D-Biss) | February 5–6, 2018 | 600 | ± 3.3% | 35% | 48% | – | – | – | 17% |
Ogden & Fry (R-Liberty Principles PAC) | October 2, 2017 | 517 | ± 4.4% | 30% | 47% | – | – | – | 23% |
Hypothetical polling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
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Democratic | J. B. Pritzker | 2,479,746 | 54.53% | +8.18% | |
Republican | Bruce Rauner (incumbent) | 1,765,751 | 38.83% | -11.44% | |
Conservative | Sam McCann | 192,527 | 4.23% | N/A | |
Libertarian | Kash Jackson | 109,518 | 2.40% | -0.95% | |
n/a | Write-ins | 115 | 0.01% | -0.02% | |
Total votes | 4,547,657 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
Democratic gain from Republican |
Christopher George "Chris" Kennedy is an American businessman, politician, and Chair of Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises, Inc. He is a son of former U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a member of the Kennedy family. Kennedy served as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the University of Illinois from 2009 to 2015. Until April 2012, he was also president of Merchandise Mart Properties, a commercial property management firm based in Chicago.
Jay Robert Pritzker, known as J. B. Pritzker, is an American businessman, philanthropist and politician serving as the 43rd Governor of Illinois since 2019. He is a private business owner based in Chicago and a managing partner and co-founder of the Pritzker Group and a member of the Pritzker family who own the Hyatt hotel chain; he has an estimated personal net worth of $3.5 billion.
Daniel Kálmán Biss is an American politician who was the member of the Illinois Senate for the 9th district from January 2013 until January 2019. The district includes Chicago's northern suburbs, including Evanston, Glencoe, Glenview, Morton Grove, Northbrook, Northfield, Skokie, Wilmette, and Winnetka. Biss first ran for office in 2008 and was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013. He was also a candidate in the Democratic Party primary for Governor of Illinois in the 2018 election.
The 2014 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, concurrently with the election to Illinois' Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Illinois on November 4, 2014. All of Illinois' executive officers were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat, and all of Illinois' eighteen seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on March 18, 2014.
Litesa Wallace is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives. She has represented the Rockford-based 67th district since her appointment in July 2014 to replace the outgoing State Representative Chuck Jefferson.
Will Guzzardi is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who represents the 39th district. The 39th district includes parts of the Avondale, Belmont Cragin, Hermosa, Old Irving Park, Portage Park and Logan Square.
A special election for Illinois Comptroller took place on November 8, 2016. After comptroller Judy Baar Topinka died shortly after her reelection in 2014, Republican Governor Bruce Rauner appointed Leslie Munger, a former business executive and unsuccessful 2014 nominee for the Illinois House of Representatives, to fill her seat at the beginning of his term in 2015. Per Illinois state law, a special election was held to elect a comptroller to finish Topinka's term. Munger ran as the Republican nominee against Democratic Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza. State Senator Daniel Biss ran for the Democratic nomination, but dropped out in November 2015.
Cristina Castro is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate who took office in January 2017. Castro represents the 22nd district, which includes all or portions of Elgin, Barrington Hills, Carpentersville, East Dundee and South Elgin, Streamwood, Hoffman Estates, Hanover Park, Schaumburg, and Bartlett.
Juliana Stratton is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 48th lieutenant governor of Illinois, since 2019. She previously served as a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019. She is the first African-American woman to become Illinois' lieutenant governor.
The 2018 Ohio gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Ohio, concurrently with the election of Ohio's Class I U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various Ohio and local elections. Incumbent Republican Governor John Kasich was term-limited and could not seek reelection to a third consecutive term.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Illinois on November 6, 2018. The elections for Illinois's 18 congressional districts, Governor, statewide constitutional officers, Illinois Senate, and Illinois House were held on this date.
Grayson "Kash" Jackson is a United States Navy veteran and libertarian political activist.
The 2018 Illinois Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Attorney General of Illinois. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who had served since 2003, did not seek re-election to a fifth term. Democrat Kwame Raoul won the election with 55 percent of the vote, while Republican Erika Harold took 43 percent of the vote.
The 2018 elections for the Illinois Senate took place on November 6, 2018 to elect senators from 39 of the state's 59 Senate districts to serve in the 101st General Assembly, with seats apportioned among the states based on the 2010 United States Census. Under the Illinois Constitution of 1970, senators are divided into three groups, each group having a two-year term at a different part of the decade between censuses, with the rest of the decade being taken up by two four-year terms. The Democratic Party has held a majority in the Senate since 2003, and gained a net of 3 seats.
Ram Villivalam is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate for the 8th district. The 8th Senate District consists of the Forest Glen, North Park and West Ridge neighborhoods in the City of Chicago and the nearby suburbs of Park Ridge, Morton Grove, Niles, Lincolnwood and Skokie.
The Illinois Policy Institute(IPI) is a libertarian and conservative nonprofit think tank with offices in Chicago and Springfield. Founded in 2002, it is active in the areas of education policy, pension policy, and state budget issues. IPI has been a critic of a number of Illinois' tax policies. According to NPR, IPI has "advocated for smaller government, lower taxes and decried the power of longtime House Speaker Michael Madigan." Its methods include publishing newspaper columns and editorial cartoons. It has an affiliated lobbying arm and legal arm. The Chicago Sun-Times described the group as "leading a crusade against government regulations, state spending and labor unions in Illinois."
On Tuesday [Biss] received the support of 314 Action, a pro-science advocacy group that supports STEM professionals running for public office. President Shaughnessy Naughton said Biss "has already proven in the state Senate that he will take an evidence-based approach to policy making, and his skills and approach as a mathematician are going to be invaluable" to the state.