# 1982 Illinois gubernatorial election

Elections in Illinois :
Federal government
U.S. Presidential elections
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
Dem
Rep
1988
1992
1996
Dem
Rep
2000
Dem
Rep
2004
Dem
Rep
2008
Dem
Rep
2012
Dem
Rep
2016
Dem
Rep
2020
Dem
Rep
2024
Dem
Rep
U.S. Senate elections
1818
1819
1823
1824
1824 sp
1825
1830 sp
1831
1835
1837
1843
1846
1849
1849 sp
1853
1859
1861
1863 sp
1867
1879
1882
1885
1885 sp
1887 sp
1888
1890
1894
1896
1897
1901
1903
1907
1909
1913
1913 sp
1914
1918
1920
1924
1926
1928 sp
1930
1932
1936
1938
1940 sp
1942
1944
1948
1950
1954
1956
1960
1962
1966
1968
1970 sp
1972
1974
1978
1980
1984
1986
1990
1992
1996
1998
2002
2004
2008
2010
2010 sp
2014
2016
2020
2022
2026
U.S. House elections
1818
1819
1820
1822
1824
1826
1828
1831
1832
1834
1836
1838
1840
1842
1844
1846
1848
1850
1852
1854
1856
1858
1859
6th sp
1860
1861
6th sp
1862
1864
1866
1868
1870
1871
AL sp
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1895
10th sp
18th sp
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
4th sp
1920
1922
AL sp
1923
2nd sp
4th sp
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
19th sp
1946
1948
1950
1952
1953
7th sp
1954
1956
1957
7th sp
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1969
13th sp
1970
6th sp
1972
15th sp
1973
7th sp
1974
1975
5th sp
1976
1978
1980
10th sp
1982
1983
1st sp
1984
1985
14th sp
1986
1988
21st sp
1990
1991
15th sp
1992
1994
1995
2nd sp
1996
1998
2000
1st
2002
2004
2006
2008
14th sp
2009
5th sp
2010
17th
2012
2013
2nd sp
2014
2015
18th sp
2016
2018
2020
2022
1st
2024 :
State government
General elections
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1969
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Gubernatorial elections
1818
1822
1826
1830
1834
1838
1842
1846
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Lieutenant Gubernatorial elections
1818
1822
1826
1830
1834
1838
1842
1846
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
Attorney General elections
2018
2022
Secretary of State elections
2022
Comptroller elections
2016
Senate elections
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
1964
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Judicial elections
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Ballot measures and referendums
State capitol referendum (1834)
Cutback Amendment (1980)
Crime Victim Rights Amendment (1992)
Illinois Governor Recall Amendment (2010)
Public Pension Amendment (2012)
Marsy's Law (2014)
Right to Vote Amendment (2014)
Transportation Taxes and Fees Lockbox Amendment (2016)
Fair Tax (2020)
Right to Collective Bargaining Amendment (2022) :
Chicago
General elections
2019
2023
Mayoral elections
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
1861
1862
1863
1865
1867
1869
1871
1873
1876
1877
1879
1881
1883
1885
1887
1889
1891
1893
1893 sp
1895
1897
1899
1901
1903
1905
1907
1911
1915
1919
1923
1927
1931
1935
1939
1943
1947
1951
1955
1959
1963
1967
1971
1975
1977 sp
1979
1983
1987
1989 sp
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
2027
Aldermanic elections
1923
1925
1927
1929
2011
2015
2019
2023
Chicago Board of Education elections
2024
2026 :
Cook County
County elections
1946
1980
State's Attorney
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
vte :
The 1982 Illinois gubernatorial election was held in Illinois on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Republican governor James R. Thompson won a third term in office, defeating the Democratic nominee, former United States Senator Adlai Stevenson III, by a slim margin of 5,074 votes.

## Background

The election coincided with those for Congress and those for other state offices. The election was part of the 1982 Illinois elections.
Turnout in the primaries saw 22.42% in the gubernatorial primaries, with a total of 1,337,581 votes cast, and 20.25% in the lieutenant gubernatorial primary, with 1,208,178 votes cast.
Turnout during the general election was 61.58%, with 3,673,707 votes cast.

## Democratic primary
### Governor

Adlai Stevenson III, former United States Senator as well as the son of former Governor (1949-1953) & 1952+1956 Democratic Nominee Adlai Stevenson II and great-grandson of former Vice-President Adlai Stevenson I (1893-1897), won the primary for the gubernatorial nomination unopposed.
Democratic gubernatorial primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Adlai E. Stevenson | 731,041 | 99.99 |
| | Write-in | Others | 94 | 0.01 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 731,135 | 100 |

### Lieutenant governor

Grace Mary Stern won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor unopposed.
Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Grace Mary Stern | 588,942 | 99.98 |
| | Write-in | Others | 103 | 0.02 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 589,045 | 100 |

## Republican primary
### Governor

Incumbent James R. Thompson defeated challengers John E. Roche and V. A. Kelley.
Republican gubernatorial primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | James R. Thompson (incumbent) | 507,893 | 83.75 |
| | Republican | John E. Roche | 54,858 | 9.05 |
| | Republican | V. A. Kelley | 43,627 | 7.19 |
| | Write-in | Others | 68 | 0.01 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 606,446 | 100 |

### Lieutenant governor

George Ryan defeated Susan Catania and Donald L. Totten in the lieutenant gubernatorial primary.
Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | George Ryan | 278,544 | 44.99 |
| | Republican | Susan Catania | 188,220 | 30.40 |
| | Republican | Donald L. Totten | 152,356 | 24.61 |
| | Write-in | Others | 13 | 0.00 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 619,133 | 100 |

## General election results

Stevenson complained that Thompson was trying to portray him as an ineffectual elitist by famously stating, "He is saying 'Me tough guy,' as if to imply that I'm some kind of wimp." Before the election, Thompson had been favored by polls and predictions to win by roughly twenty percentage points.
The nominees of the third-party Libertarian and Taxpayers tickets were both right-of-center, and were therefore regarded as more likely to siphon off more potential supporters from Thompson than from Stevenson.

### Statewide result

Thompson won by a narrow 5,074 vote margin. Thompson carried 83 of Illinois' 102 counties, while Stevenson carried on 19. However, Stevenson won Cook County, home of Chicago. Cook County accounted for a substantial share of the state's population. Thompson had actually carried the vote of suburban Cook County. However, Stevenson had managed to win the city of Chicago by a margin of nearly 4 to 1. Thompson's narrow victory was likely attributable, in part, to his strong performance in the collar counties (the five counties that border Cook County; DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will).
The 1982 Democratic ticket performed better than the Democratic ticket had in the previous 1978 gubernatorial election. In the cumulative vote of Cook County and the five collar counties (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will), the 1982 Democratic Ticket performed 10% better than the 1978 ticket had. At the time, the downstate Illinois vote was seen as very important to determining victory in Illinois statewide elections. The 1982 Democratic ticket performed better than the 1978 had in downstate Illinois. However, despite the Republican ticket performing weaker in downstate Illinois than it had in the 1978 election, the Republican ticket still managed to win downstate Illinois by a 136,917 vote margin, which was a key factor in securing their victory.
1982 gubernatorial election, Illinois :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | James R. Thompson (incumbent)/ George H. Ryan | 1,816,101 | 49.44 | |
| | Democratic | Adlai Stevenson III/ Grace Mary Stern | 1,811,027 | 49.30 | |
| | Libertarian | Bea Armstrong/ David L. Kelley | 24,417 | 0.66 | |
| | Taxpayers | John E. Roche/ Melvin "Mel" Jones | 22,001 | 0.60 | |
| | N/A | write-ins | 161 | 0.00 | n−a |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,074 | 0.14 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,673,707 | 61.58 | |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Swing | | |

### Rate of voter participation

3,673,707 (61.58%) of the state's 5,965,514 registered voters voted in the gubernatorial election. This percentage of registered voters participating in the 1982 gubernatorial election marked a 7.35% increase from that of the preceding 1978 gubernatorial election.
183,311 of the 3,856,875 individuals that cast ballots in the state's 1982 general election did not vote in the gubernatorial race. This number of "blank votes" in the gubernatorial election was equal to 4.75% of the voters who participated in the state general election, and 3.07% of the state's registered voters. 2,108,639 (35.35%) of the state's registered voters did not cast valid ballots in the state's general election. The combined total of the registered voters who cast no valid ballot and the registered voters who cast ballots with "blank votes" in the gubernatorial election meant that 2,291,950 (38.42%) of the registered voters did not vote in the gubernatorial election.

### Geographic breakdowns of the results
#### Chicago vs. suburban Cook County vs. collar counties vs. downstate Illinois

The following table breaks down the results into three categories, providing a comparative breakdown between the results in Chicago, the results in suburban Cook County, the results in the five collar counties (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will), and the results of the remainder of Illinois ("downstate Illinois").
Chicago vs. suburban Cook County vs. collar counties vs. downstate Illinois :
| Region | Thompson vote | Stevenson vote | Margin | Notes |
| Chicago | 259,963 (26%) | 728,580 (74%) | 446,617 Stevenson | Thompson carried 2 wards while Stevenson carried 48 |
| Suburban Cook County | 436,095 (61%) | 279,000 (39%) | 157,095 Thompson | Thompson carried 28 townships while Stevenson carried 2 |
| Collar counties | 341,971 (68%) | 162,292 (32%) | 179,679 (34.97%) Thompson | Thompson carried 5 counties, while Sevenson carried 0 |
| Downstate Illinois (96 counties) | 778,072 (54.15%) | 641,115 (44.62%) | 136,917 (9.53%) Thompson | Thompson carried 78 counties while Stevenson carried 18 |

#### Cook County and collar counties vs. downstate Illinois

The following table breaks down the results into two categories, providing a comparative breakdown between the cumulative results of Cook County and the five collar counties (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will) with the results of the remainder of Illinois ("downstate Illinois"). Thompson performed stronger in downstate Illinois than he did in the cumaltive vote of Cook County and the collar counties, while Stevenson inversely performed stronger in the cumulative vote of Cook County and the collar counties than he did in downstate Illinois.
As this table indicates, Cook County and the collar counties cumulatively were the location of 60.91% of the statewide vote, with downstate Illinois being the location of only 39.09% of the statewide vote.
Cook County and collar counties vs. downstate Illinois :
| Region | Thompson vote | Stevenson vote | Armstrong vote | Roche vote | Write-in vote | Total vote | % of overall state vote | Margin | Counties carried by candidate |
| Cook County and collar counties | 1,038,029 (46.39%) | 1,169,872 (52.28%) | 15,758 (0.70%) | 14,036 (0.63%) | 128 (0.00%) | 2,237,823 | 60.91% | 109,843 (4.91%) Stevenson | Thompson: 5 Stevenson: 1 |
| Downstate Illinois (96 counties) | 778,072 (54.19%) | 641,115 (44.65%) | 8,659 (0.60%) | 7,965 (0.55%) | 33 (0.00%) | 1,435,884 | 39.09% | 136,917 (9.54%) Thompson | Thompson: 78 Stevenson: 18 |

#### General geographic breakdown of Cook County and collar counties

The following table gives a comparative breakdown of the results in the Chicago metropolitan area counties, breaking these results into three categories: the result within the municipal limits of Chicago, the results in the remainder of Cook County ("suburban Cook County"), and the cumulative results of the five collar counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will.
Geographic breakdown of results in Cook County and collar counties :
| Region | Thompson vote | Stevenson vote | Margin | Notes |
| Chicago | 259,963 (26%) | 728,580 (74%) | 446,617 Stevenson | Thompson carried 2 wards while Stevenson carried 48 |
| Suburban Cook County | 436,095 (61%) | 279,000 (39%) | 157,095 Thompson | Thompson carried 28 townships while Stevenson carried 2 |
| Collar counties | 341,971 (68%) | 162,292 (32%) | 179,679 (34.97%) Thompson | Thompson carried 5 counties, while Sevenson carried 0 |
| Total | 1,038,029 (46.41%) | 1,169,872 (52.30%) | 109,843 (4.91%) Stevenson | |

#### Chicago vs. suburban Cook County and the collar counties

The following table gives a comparative breakdown of the results Chicago metropolitan area counties, contrasting the result within the municipal limits of Chicago with the outlying vote in the outlying area of its metropolitan area counties (Cook County and the five collar counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will).
Cook County and the five collar counties saw a cumulative total of 2,237,823 votes cast between them, equivalent to 60.89% of the statewide total.
This table demonstrates that, while Stevenson had carried the cumulative vote of Cook County and the collar counties, he had only done so due to his landslide performance (74%) in Chicago. The table demonstrates that Thompson won a landslide in cumulative vote of suburban Cook County and the collar counties (64%), performing even stronger there than his 55% performance in downstate Illinois.
Chicago vs. suburban Cook County and the collar counties :
| Region | Thompson vote | Stevenson vote | Margin |
| Chicago | 259,963 (26%) | 728,580 (74%) | 446,617 (45.18%) Stevenson |
| Suburban Cook County and collar counties | 778,066 (64%) | 441,292 (36%) | 336,774 (27.62%) Thompson |
| Total | 1,038,029 (46.41%) | 1,169,872 (52.30%) | 109,843 (4.91%) Stevenson |

#### Geographic breakdown of collar counties

The following table gives a comparative breakdown of the results in each of the five collar counties. The cumulative vote of the collar counties (513,825 votes) was equivalent to 13.99% of the statewide vote.
County breakdown of Collar County results :
| County | Thompson vote | Stevenson vote | Armstrong vote | Roche vote | Write-in vote | Total vote | % of overall state vote | Thompson's margin over Stevenson |
| DuPage | 138,502 (71.44%) | 51,543 (25.59%) | 1,974 (1.02%) | 1,824 (0.94%) | 20 (0.01%) | 193,863 | 5.28% | 86,959 (44.86%) |
| Kane | 48,513 (67.36%) | 22,132 (30.73%) | 744 (1.03%) | 612 (0.85%) | 17 (0.02%) | 72,018 | 1.96% | 26,381 (36.63%) |
| Lake | 72,420 (62.93%) | 40,757 (35.42%) | 1,090 (0.95%) | 803 (0.70%) | 4 (0.00%) | 115,074 | 3.13% | 31,663 (27.52%) |
| McHenry | 29,343 (72.74%) | 10,181 (25.24%) | 442 (1.10%) | 374 (0.93%) | 2 (0.00%) | 40,342 | 1.10% | 19,162 (47.50%) |
| Will | 53,193 (57.49%) | 37,679 (40.72%) | 668 (0.72%) | 983 (1.06%) | 5 (0.00%) | 92,528 | 2.52% | 15,514 (15.77%) |
| Total | 341,971 (66.55%) | 162,292 (31.59%) | 4,918 (0.96%) | 4,596 (0.89%) | 48 (0.00%) | 513,825 | 13.99% | 179,679 (34.97%) |

#### Geographic breakdown of Cook County

The following table gives a comparative breakdown of the results in Cook County, contrasting the votes cast in the municipal limits of Chicago with the votes cast in the remainder of Cook County ("suburban Cook County").
Cook County saw a total of 1,723,998 votes cast, equivalent to 46.93% of all votes cast in the election.
This table demonstrates that, while Stevenson won a 58.48% of the vote in Cook County, with a margin of 18.07% over Thompson, this was solely attributable to Stevenson's 44.75% margin over Thompson in Chicago, as Thompson actually carried the remainder of Cook County by a 21.97% margin over Stevenson.
Breakdown of Cook County results :
| Region | Thompson vote | Stevenson vote | Margin |
| Chicago | 259,963 (26%) | 728,580 (74%) | 446,617 (44.75%) Stevenson |
| Suburban Cook County | 436,095 (61%) | 279,000 (39%) | 157,095 (21.97%) Thompson |
| Total | 696,058 (40.37%)) | 1,007,580 (58.44%) | 311,522 (18.07%) Stevenson |

#### Geographic breakdown of Stevenson's vote

40.23% of Stevenson's votes came from Chicago. 15.41% of Stevenson's votes came from suburban Cook County. 8.96% of Stevenson's votes came from the collar counties. 35.40% of Stevenson's votes came from downstate Illinois.

#### Geographic breakdown of Thompson's vote

14.31% of Thompson's votes came from Chicago. 24.01% of Thompson's votes came from suburban Cook County. 18.83% of Thompson's votes came from the collar counties. 42.84% of Thompson's votes came from downstate Illinois.

## Post-election day developments
### Certification of results

The final canvass conducted by election officials was conducted on November 22, 1982. The Illinois State Board of Elections certified the result on January 23, 1982.

### Partial recounts

For the first time since its passage in 1977, Illinois' law outlining election recounts was invoked. The law enabled candidates to request partial recounts of the votes in up to 25% of the state's more than 7,000 election precincts, with candidates being able to hand-pick the precincts to be recounted. Stevenson opted for a recount of precincts in 70 of the state's 102 counties. The counties chosen where ones where Thompson had received a strong share of the vote. Thompson also opted to invoke his right to a partial recount, and chose to have a recount of precincts in 32 of Chicago's 50 wards. The wards in question were ones where Stevenson had received a strong share of the vote.

### Unsuccessful petition by Stevenson for a full state recount

On December 7, 1982 Stevenson and Stern filed a petition with the Illinois Supreme Court requesting a recount. Stevenson and Stern's petition argued that the election had been impacted by "widespread irregularities and error". Thompson and Ryan filed their objections to this on December 10, 1982. Under the state's 1977 election recount law, if a complete statewide recount had been ordered, the recount would have been supervised by a three-member panel of Illinois Circuit Court judges. Under the law, the Illinois Supreme Court would have selected the three judges to serve on the panel.
At the time of the case, four of the Illinois Supreme Court's seven justices were Democrats. Oral arguments were heard by the court on December 21, 1982. Stevenson put forth an argument that, based on the evidence gathered in the partial recount of 500,000 votes in 70 of the state's 102 counties, that he believed a full statewide recount would find him to have won the election by an approximately 11,000-vote margin. Stevenson claimed that the partial recount in the precincts he had selected had found enough invalid ballots to decrease Thompson's margin-of-victory from 5,074 to merely 325 votes. However, Thompson's legal counsel characterized a recount as unwarranted, and also challenged the figures Stevenson alleged that the recount of his selected counties had indicated. Thompson argued that many of the ballots which Stevenson had characterized as illegitimate had been so-characterized due to "defacing" that was actually the result of markings from electronic tabulating machines. Thompson's legal counsel argued that Stevenson did not provide the level of evidence required by the state's 1977 election recount law (a law which had, up until then, never been tested).
On January 7, 1983, the court issued a 4–3 decision, with a majority opinion authored by Chief Justice Howard C. Ryan, rejecting Stevenson's petition for a recount. The majority opinion of the court found insufficient evidence of either mistakes, fraud, or irregularities to warrant a recount. Furthermore, in their decision, the court found the state's 1977 law outlining rules for statewide election recounts to be unconstitutional, finding that, in passing the law, the Illinois Legislature unconstitutionally established what was effectively a new court due to the provision having a three-member panel of Illinois Circuit Court judges oversee statewide recounts. The opinion cited the 1975 state decision Rice v. Cunningham in finding that, "the General Assembly did not have the authority to provide that a case be heard by a three judge panel," and that, "the 1970 Constitution confers no authority in the legislature to create new courts". The court's axing of the 1977 election law had been unprompted by either party in the case. The majority opinion was supported by Republican justices Howard C. Ryan, Thomas Moran, Robert C. Underwood, and Democratic justice Seymour Simon. Dissenting were Democratic justices William G. Clark, Joseph Goldenhersh, and Daniel P. Ward.
The court's opinion was issued merely three days before the scheduled inauguration of the gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial terms. Hours after the court's decision, Stevenson conceded defeat, and declared that he would not challenge the court's decision.

### Fraud convictions

In January 1983, when the Illinois Supreme Court rejected the petition by Stevenson for a full statewide recount, the majority decision had opined that there was insufficient evidence of either mistakes, fraud, or irregularities that to justify a recount. However, in December 1984, a special grand jury issued 62 indictments (ultimately result in 58 convictions), many involving precinct captains and election officials, for election fraud related to the 1982 Illinois elections. The grand jury had judged that, in their opinion, 100,000 fraudulent votes had been cast in Chicago. In its 26-page report, the grand jury alleged that, in one Chicago ward, votes were bought for $2 a vote, and in one precinct captain incentivized voters by distributing drinks. It was alleged that 10% of the votes that had been examined were fraudulently cast. Authorities alleged that they had discovered large fraud involving vote buying and voter impersonation. Authorities alleged that in one instance, they discovered that a ballot which had been cast for the Democratic Party slate was tabulated 198 times. The case was prosecuted by US Attorney Dan K. Webb.
The gubernatorial election result has been questioned. Some Democrats have alleged that fraud might have committed by Republicans in areas outside Chicago to secure Thompson his victory. In 2016, Rudy Giuliani suggested that the gubernatorial results had been fraudulent on the part of Chicago Democrats.