The president of the Illinois Senate is the presiding officer of the Illinois Senate, the upper house of the Illinois General Assembly. The post dates from the General Assembly's 32nd session, in 1881.
From 1881 to 1973, the lieutenant governor was constitutionally President of the Senate. The highest elected post in the chamber, until then, was known as president pro tempore, and presided over the body in the absence of the lieutenant governor. Since then, the Illinois Senate has elected its president from its membership. The president is sixth (behind the lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, comptroller, and treasurer, respectively) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Illinois. [1] [2]
The colors indicate the political party affiliation of each presiding officer.
# | President | Party | General Assembly | Date of election |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | William J. Campbell | Republican | 32nd | January 6, 1881 |
33rd | ||||
34th | ||||
2 | August W. Berggren | Republican | 35th | January 5, 1887 |
3 | Theodore S. Chapman | Republican | 36th | January 9, 1889 |
4 | Milton W. Matthews | Republican | 37th | January 7, 1891 |
5 | John W. Coppinger | Democrat | 38th | January 4, 1893 |
6 | Charles Bogardus | Republican | 39th | January 9, 1895 |
7 | Hendrick V. Fisher | Republican | 40th | January 6, 1897 |
8 | Walter Warder | Republican | 41st | January 4, 2999 |
9 | John J. Brenholt | Republican | 42nd | January 9, 1901 |
10 | John C. McKenzie | Republican | 43rd | January 7, 1903 |
11 | Leon A. Townsend | Republican | 44th | January 4, 1905 |
12 | Orville F. Berry | Republican | ||
13 | Stanton C. Pemberton | Republican | 45th | January 9, 1907 |
14 | Robert S. Hamilton | Republican | 46th | January 6, 1909 |
15 | Henry M. Dunlap | Republican | 47th | January 4, 1911 |
16 | Walter I. Manny | Democrat | 48th | January 22, 1913 |
17 | Stephen D. Canady | Democrat | 49th | January 6, 1915 |
18 | Adam C. Cliffe | Republican | 50th | January 3, 1917 |
51st | ||||
19 | William S. Jewell | Republican | 52nd | January 5, 1921 |
20 | Richard J. Barr | Republican | 53rd | January 3, 1923 |
54th | ||||
55th | ||||
21 | Martin R. Carlson | Republican | 56th | January 9, 1929 |
22 | Richard J. Barr | Republican | 57th | January 7, 1931 |
23 | Richey V. Graham | Democrat | 58th | January 4, 1933 |
59th | ||||
24 | George M. Maypole | Democrat | 60th | January 6, 1937 |
61st | ||||
25 | Arnold P. Benson | Republican | 62nd | January 8, 1941 |
63rd | ||||
26 | Edward E. Laughlin | Republican | 64th | January 3, 1945 |
65th | ||||
27 | Wallace Thompson | Republican | 66th | January 10, 1949 |
67th | ||||
28 | Walker Butler | Republican | 68th | January 7, 1953 |
29 | Arthur J. Bidwill | Republican | 69th | January 5, 1955 |
70th | ||||
71st | ||||
72nd | ||||
73rd | ||||
30 | W. Russell Arrington | Republican | 74th | January 6, 1965 |
75th | ||||
76th | ||||
31 | Cecil A. Partee | Democrat | 77th | January 6, 1971 |
# | President | Party | General Assembly | Date of election |
---|---|---|---|---|
32 | William C. Harris | Republican | 78th | January 10, 1973 |
33 | Cecil A. Partee | Democrat | 79th | January 8, 1975 |
34 | Thomas C. Hynes | Democrat | 80th | February 16, 1977 |
35 | Philip J. Rock | Democrat | 81st | January 10, 1979 |
82nd | ||||
83rd | ||||
84th | ||||
85th | ||||
86th | ||||
87th | ||||
36 | James "Pate" Philip | Republican | 88th | January 13, 1993 |
89th | ||||
90th | ||||
91st | ||||
92nd | ||||
37 | Emil Jones, Jr. | Democrat | 93rd | January 8, 2003 |
94th | ||||
95th | ||||
38 | John Cullerton | Democrat | 96th | January 14, 2009 |
97th | ||||
98th | ||||
99th | ||||
100th | ||||
101st | ||||
39 | Don Harmon | Democrat | 101st | January 19, 2020 |
102nd | ||||
103rd | ||||
104th |
President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies.
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
The lieutenant governor of North Carolina is the second-highest elected official in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is the only elected official to have powers in both the legislative and executive branches of state government. A member of the North Carolina Council of State, the lieutenant governor serves a four-year term with a two consecutive term limit. The current lieutenant governor is Rachel Hunt, a Democrat, who has held the office since 2025. The Constitution of North Carolina designates the lieutenant governor the ex officio president of the State Senate and a member of the State Board of Education. They are also required to serve as acting governor of the state in the event of the governor's absence, and assume the governorship in the event it becomes vacant.
The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. As of 2025, the current General Assembly is the 104th; the term of an assembly lasts two years.
The lieutenant governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the Legislative Budget Board.
The Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate of Tennessee is the presiding officer of the Tennessee Senate and first in line in the succession to the office of governor of Tennessee in the event of the death, resignation, or removal from office through impeachment and conviction of the governor of Tennessee.
The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The Georgia State Senate and the lower house of the General Assembly, the Georgia House of Representatives, comprise the bicameral legislature of the state. Together, the Senate and the House maintain authority under Article III. of the 1983 Constitution of Georgia to enact laws "necessary and proper for the welfare of the state", although state law is subordinate to the state constitution, the United States Constitution, and federal law.
The lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The lieutenant governor is elected every four years along with the governor and attorney general.
The lieutenant governor of Illinois is the second highest executive of the State of Illinois. In Illinois, the lieutenant governor and governor run on a joint ticket and are directly elected by popular vote. Gubernatorial candidates select their running mates when filing for office and appear on the primary election ballot together. When the governor of Illinois becomes unable to discharge the duties of that office, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor. If the governor dies, resigns or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor becomes governor. Under the Illinois Constitution, the Attorney General is next in line of succession to the Governor's office after the lieutenant governor, but does not succeed to the lieutenant governor's office. From the impeachment of Rod Blagojevich in 2009, until the inauguration of Sheila Simon in 2011, Attorney General Lisa Madigan would have become governor if Pat Quinn had vacated the office. Historically, the lieutenant governor has been from either the Democratic Party or Republican Party. The current lieutenant governor is Democrat Juliana Stratton.
The speaker of the California State Assembly is the presiding officer and highest-ranking member of the California State Assembly, controlling the flow of legislation and committee assignments. The speaker is nominated by the majority party's caucus and elected by the full Assembly typically at the beginning of each two year session. Meanwhile, other floor leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders, are elected by their respective party caucuses according to each party's strength in the chamber. The current speaker is Democrat Robert Rivas of the 29th district.
The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutenant governor independently of the gubernatorial primary. The winners of the party primaries are then teamed together as a single ticket for the fall general election. The lieutenant governor presides in the Pennsylvania State Senate and is first in the line of succession to the governor; in the event the governor dies, resigns, or otherwise leaves office, the lieutenant governor becomes governor. The lieutenant governor casts tie breaking votes in the state senate.
The Louisiana State Senate is the Upper House of the State Legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees.
The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, as of the 2010 United States census. Each Senate district is composed of two House districts. The Senate meets at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.
The government of Virginia combines the executive, legislative and judicial branches of authority in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The current governor of Virginia is Glenn Youngkin. The State Capitol building in Richmond was designed by Thomas Jefferson, and the cornerstone was laid by Governor Patrick Henry in 1785. Virginia currently functions under the 1971 Constitution of Virginia. It is Virginia's seventh constitution. Under the Constitution, the government is composed of three branches: the legislative, the executive and the judicial.
The Government of Tennessee is organized under the provisions of the 1870 Constitution of Tennessee, first adopted in 1796. As set forth by the state constitution, administrative influence in Tennessee is divided among three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial.
A lieutenant governor is an official in state governments of 45 out of 50 of the United States. In most cases, the lieutenant governor is the highest officer of state after the governor, standing in for that officer when they are absent from the state or temporarily incapacitated. In the event a governor dies, resigns or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor typically becomes governor.
The President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate is a constitutionally-created office in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The incumbent holder of the office is Republican Kim Ward.
The president pro tempore of the Vermont Senate presides over the Senate of the U.S. state of Vermont in the absence of the lieutenant governor. The president pro tempore also sets the policy priorities and legislative agenda for the Senate.
The president of the Louisiana State Senate is the highest-ranking member of the Louisiana State Senate. The president convenes the session and calls members to order, and can designate another state senator as the presiding officer.