Shelby Moore Cullom was a U.S. political figure,serving in various offices,including the United States House of Representatives,the United States Senate and the 17th Governor of Illinois.
Richard James Oglesby was an American soldier and Republican politician from Illinois,who served three non-consecutive terms as Governor of Illinois and as a United States Senator from Illinois,and earlier was a member of the Illinois Senate,elected in 1860. The town of Oglesby,Illinois,is named in his honor,as is an elementary school situated in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood of Chicago's south side.
William Gamble was a civil engineer and a United States Army cavalry officer. He served during the Second Seminole War,and fought for the Union during the American Civil War. He commanded one of two brigades in Brigadier General John Buford's Division of Cavalry,in which he played an important role in defending Union positions during the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Edward Selig Salomon was a German Jew who immigrated to the United States and served as a lieutenant colonel in Union in the American Civil War. After nomination for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers to rank from March 13,1865,by President Andrew Johnson on January 13,1866,the United States Senate confirmed the appointment on March 12,1866. Salomon later became governor of Washington Territory and a California legislator.
Wesley Merritt was an American major general who served in the cavalry of the United States Army during the American Civil War,American Indian Wars,and Spanish–American War. Following the latter war,he became the first American Military Governor of the Philippines.
John Marshall Hamilton was the 18th Governor of Illinois,serving from 1883 to 1885. Born in Union County,Ohio,Hamilton became interested in politics at a young age,joining the Wide Awakes when he was thirteen and the Union Army four years later. After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University he studied law and was admitted to the bar. A notable attorney in Bloomington,Illinois,Hamilton was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1876. He served there until 1881,when he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Illinois on a ticket with Shelby Moore Cullom. When Cullom resigned after election to the United States Senate,Hamilton became Governor of Illinois. He was not selected as a candidate for re-election,but did serve that year as a delegate to the 1884 Republican National Convention. He spent the rest of his life as an attorney in Chicago,where he died in 1905.
Edward Moody McCook was a lawyer,politician,distinguished Union cavalry general in the American Civil War,American diplomat,and governor of the territory of Colorado. He was a member of the famed "Fighting McCook" family of Ohio. Four of his brothers and 10 of his first cousins served as officers,with six of the family members becoming generals before the end of the war.
John Franklin Farnsworth was a seven-term U.S. Representative from Illinois and a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He commanded brigades in the Cavalry Corps from September 1862 to February 1863. He was nominated by President Abraham Lincoln for appointment to the grade of brigadier general on November 29,1862 but was not confirmed by the United States Senate. His nomination was ordered returned to President Lincoln on February 12,1863. He resigned his commission in the Union Army on March 4,1863,the day he started his third term in Congress.
The 8th Illinois Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment served the duration of the war,and was the only Illinois cavalry regiment to serve the entire war in the Army of the Potomac. They also aided in the hunt for John Wilkes Booth and served as President Lincoln's honor guard while he lay in state under the rotunda. Lincoln gave them the nickname of "Farnsworth's Abolitionist Regiment" when he watched them march past the White House.
Harris Merrill Plaisted was an attorney,politician,and Union Army officer from Maine. As colonel,he commanded the 11th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. After the war,he served as Maine Attorney General,a U.S. Congressman,and the 38th Governor of Maine.
George Alexander Forsyth was a United States military officer most notable for his service in the cavalry.
Illinois is a Democratic stronghold in presidential elections and one of the "big three" Democratic strongholds alongside California and New York. It is one of the most Democratic states in the nation with all state executive offices and both state legislative branches held by Democrats. For most of its history,Illinois was widely considered to be a swing state,voting for the winner of all but two presidential elections in the 20th century. Political party strength in Illinois is highly dependent upon Cook County,and the state's reputation as a blue state rests upon the fact that over 40% of its population and political power is concentrated in Chicago,Cook County,and the Chicago metropolitan area. Outside of Chicago,the suburban collar counties continue trending Democratic while downstate Illinois can be considered more conservative with several Democratic leaning regions including Champaign-Urbana,Bloomington-Normal,Rockford,Peoria,and suburban St. Louis
Martin Reuben Merritt Wallace was a Union Army officer from October 12,1861 to November 3,1864 during the American Civil War. He was colonel of the 4th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry when he was mustered out of the volunteers on November 3,1864. In recognition of his service,in May 1866,he was nominated for appointment and confirmed to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers,to rank from March 13,1865.
Andrew Shuman was an American newspaper editor and politician. A native of New York,Shuman worked at several small local newspapers until he secured a position at the Syracuse Journal in 1853. He left the position in 1856 to work as an assistant editor for the Chicago Evening Journal,a predecessor of the Chicago Sun-Times. He was elected the 21st Lieutenant Governor of Illinois in 1876. A leading candidate for the Illinois governorship in 1880,Shuman instead decided to increase his role at the Evening Journal and retired from politics.
The 1872 Illinois gubernatorial election was the fifteenth election for this office. Republican nominee,Former Governor Richard J. Oglesby defeated the Democratic and Liberal Republican nominee Gustavus Koerner. B. G. Wright represented Independent Democrats unwilling to ally with Liberal Republicans. Oglesby had agreed to run for the Governorship but to resign upon being elected so that Lt. Governor John Lourie Beveridge could assume the office. Oglesby was in turn appointed to the U.S. Senate.
John Moore,nicknamed "Honest John",was an English American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. He also served in the Mexican–American War as lieutenant colonel and was later elected Illinois Treasurer.
John Early was a Canadian American politician. Coming to Rockford,Illinois to practice carpentry,Early rose to become an agent for the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company. A staunch abolitionist,Early was an early supporter of the Republican Party and was voted to the Illinois Senate on the ticket four times. During one of these terms,he was elected President of the Illinois Senate,thus acting Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. Early died before his fourth term was completed.
John Corson Smith was an American military officer and politician from Pennsylvania. Coming to Galena,Illinois in 1854,Smith first practiced carpentry before receiving a commission at a customhouse. Smith fought in the American Civil War with the 96th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment and was brevetted a brigadier general for his actions at the Battle of Chickamauga. Returning to Galena,Smith work in Internal Revenue until moving to Chicago,Illinois in 1874. There,he was named Chief Grain Inspector,then was elected Illinois Treasurer. He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Illinois in 1884. Smith was also a prominent Freemason,leading the Illinois chapter and serving as Grand Scribe for twenty-five years.
Eugene Beauharnais Payne was a brevet brigadier general of the Union Army in the American Civil War and an Illinois State Representative.
The 1884 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 4,1884.
Colonel 
Bvt. Brigadier General 
