Illinois General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
90 Stonegate Ln, Streamwood, IL 60107 — unincorporated Elk Grove Township, NW Cook County
Your districts: US House IL-05 · State Senate 22 · State House 43 · Cook Co. Commissioner 9th · MWRD (countywide)
Read me first. Names below are from the official State Board of Elections filing list (checked Oct 20, 2026) and the Cook County Clerk’s list (as of Jul 9, 2026). Candidates can withdraw or add names after filing. The only source guaranteed exact for your precinct is your official sample ballot — get it at cookcountyclerkil.gov → Voter Information → enter your address. It doubles as a polling-place lookup.
When & where you can vote
Milestone
Date
Mail-in registration deadline
Oct 6
Online registration deadline
Oct 18
Early voting (suburban Cook sites)
Oct 7 – Nov 2
Apply for vote-by-mail
By Oct 29
Election day (polls 6am–7pm, or early sites)
Nov 3 — you can register at your polling place that morning
Federal
U.S. Senate — vote for one printed order: R, D, ACP
Six-year seat; incumbent Dick Durbin is retiring after 28 years. This is the marquee race — it swings Illinois’ standing in the Senate and matters for a decade.
Don Tracy Republican
Former long-serving Republican state House member and House Speaker, later state party chair — the most governing experience of the three.
Platform: conservative agenda — tax cuts, deregulation, law-and-order, anti-DEI, aligned with the national GOP.
Juliana Stratton Democratic
Incumbent Lieutenant Governor; former Mayor of Springfield; won the primary with Pritzker’s endorsement (40% of primary turnout).
Platform: expansion of public health access, union and labor issues, housing, climate — the progressive side of this race.
Whitfield Harrington Jr. American Center
Schaumburg-area pastor, graduated Delta State University (2002); filed May 2026, no campaign website.
Has raised ≈$138K — some money, but well behind the top two; realistically a spoiler at worst.
Stronger progressive platform → Stratton. The only major progressive option in the race.
Most qualified for the job → Tracy. Decades of governing, as Speaker no less. If you rank experience above ideology, he’s the pick — which means your vote is doing a lot of policy work. In a race where the Senate majority is on the line, the “qualified” and “progressive” picks point in opposite directions; make that choice knowingly.
U.S. House, Illinois 5th — vote for one printed order: D, R, I
Two-year seat. Every forecaster (Cook, Safe, Inside Elections, Crystal Ball) calls this Safe/Solid Democratic — one of the bluest seats in the state. Low stakes for control, real stakes for the person you get.
Mike Quigley Democratic
Incumbent, first elected 2009 — would seek a tenth term; former Chicago alderman, U.S. Navy veteran.
Votes with the Democratic caucus 97% of the time (VoteSee, through Sept 30) — reliably liberal; his record is the issue, see note.
Tommy Hanson Republican
Commercial real estate broker; a perennial GOP challenger in this district (ran against Quigley in 2012 and 2024).
Platform: national GOP conservatism. In a solidly blue suburban seat, he’s a long-odds bet — your vote here won’t decide this race.
Frank Rowder Independent
Filed June 2026 as write-in through Cook and Chicago boards of elections.
No record, no website found — a write-in line that’s functionally a rounding error.
Stronger progressive platform → Quigley. 97% party-line liberal voting.
Most qualified → Quigley. 16 years in the House. The honest caveat: VoteSee’s overall letter grade is a D, because “votes with the majority” at the margins means he’s a steady liberal vote, not a firebrand. He’s the safe, experienced, liberal choice — in a safe district, that’s what the seat needs.
Statewide (each one-vote office)
Governor & Lieutenant Governor — vote for one slateprinted order: R, D, I
You vote for a team, not two separate people. Pritzker is running a third — and constitutionally final — term (Illinois caps one office at 8 cumulative years); Stratton moved up to Senate, so he’s got a new running mate.
Darren Bailey R / Aaron B. Del Mar (Lt. Gov.) R
Bailey: former Republican state senator and 2014 gubernatorial candidate — a known statewide figure, not a dark horse. Del Mar: former state representative.
Platform: conservative — tax cuts, gun rights, school reform, anti-DEI — and the national GOP’s best shot at taking the governor’s mansion back.
JB Pritzker D / Christian Mitchell (Lt. Gov.) D
Pritzker has run Illinois since 2017 — Medicaid expansion, state investment in roads/schools, two impeached-adjacent fights with the GOP. Mitchell was his deputy governor (2017–21) — the most polished executive bench on the ballot.
Platform: the state’s progressive default — health coverage, housing, climate, labor. Risk is continuity, not direction.
Collin Corbett Independent / Carolyn Schofield (Lt. Gov.)
Limited public record beyond the filings; third-party state-wide ticket.
No path to winning this race; a spoiler at worst.
Stronger progressive platform → Pritzker/Mitchell. Uncontested — Illinois’ progressive agenda is theirs to run.
Most qualified → Pritzker/Mitchell. Eight years as governor plus a former deputy governor as his backup. Bailey’s 20 years in the state Senate is genuine, but he has never managed a budget the size of this one. This is Illinois’ most consequential race — a GOP governor’s office is a decade of the other direction.
Attorney General — vote for one
Elected prosecutor for the whole state: consumer fraud, election law, public rights suits.
Robert W. Fioretti Republican
Former Chicago alderman (13th Ward) — deep ward-politics and law-enforcement instincts.
Platform: law-and-order, aligned with conservative AG priorities (opioid-plaintiff skepticism, anti-crisis-counsel).
Kwame Raoul Democratic
In office since 2019; before that ran Cook County’s felony prosecution — arguably the strongest state prosecutor in a generation.
Has been the state’s top litigator against federal overreach — voting rules, healthcare, civil rights.
Stronger progressive platform → Raoul. He has spent this term defending the things a liberal state needs defended, in federal court.
Most qualified → Raoul. This is the clearest credentials gap on your ballot — 8 years as AG plus felony-prosecution background.
Secretary of State — vote for one
Runs the Secretary’s office: elections administration, driver’s licenses/DMV, business filings.
Diane M. Harris Republican
Retired ComEd liability representative; elected Joliet Junior College trustee — a “professionalize the DMV” campaign.
Her pitch is customer-service management, not politics. A refresh, not a vision.
Alexi Giannoulias Democratic
In office since 2023; veteran Chicago politician.
The office ran two elections under him without a statewide meltdown — the bar is lower than people think, and he’s met it.
Stronger progressive platform → Giannoulias. A thin race; this is mostly an incumbency/continuity call.
Most qualified → Giannoulias. The incumbent who has done the job, vs. a career pivot. Neither candidate has a strong policy platform in this office — take incumbency.
Eight-term state representative from central Illinois — the budget process is his native language.
Platform: fiscal conservatism; the GOP would keep the money-keeper seat.
Margaret Croke Democratic
Long-time state senator (43rd district, northern suburbs).
Platform: keeping state spending in line with the priorities the legislature has already set.
Stronger progressive platform → Croke. The only Democrat on this race — this office follows the governor’s philosophy, so pairing this with your governor vote matters more than the office’s fame.
Most qualified → Nearly a coin flip. Both are career legislators; both have budget-floor experience. If you vote Pritzker, vote Croke here; if you vote Bailey, the coherence of the money side argues for Drew. I’d take Croke for the state she’s served in — her district is your back yard.
State Treasurer — vote for one
Manages the state’s cash flow and retirement-system deposits (a bigger fiduciary role than the public image suggests).
Max Solomon Republican
Former Chicago alderman — decades of ward governance and budget wrangling.
Platform: fiscal conservatism in a state the GOP is pitching on “waste”.
Michael W. Frerichs Democratic
In office since 2023; former Chicago ward official.
Steady steward of the state’s cash account through a turbulent federal budget cycle.
Stronger progressive platform → Frerichs. Continuity with a Pritzker finance staff.
Most qualified → Frerichs, narrowly. He’s done the job in place; Solomon is a strong aldermanic resume in a job he’s not doing. Low-stakes race — incumbency is the answer.
State Senate, District 22 — vote for one
Your district is northwest Cook (Elgin to the far west suburbs).
Cristina Castro Democratic
In office in the Senate since 2017 — has held the seat through redistricting and re-election.
No opponent on the official list as of the Oct 5 check — a safe lane, but your vote still counts as a registration/turnout habit.
Progressive pick → Castro (only name).
Most qualified → Castro (only name). No comparison to make — tick the box and move on.
State House, District 43 — vote for one
Also northwest Cook; your local rep in Springfield.
Anna Moeller Democratic
In office ~12 years; the district’s face for a long time — knows the local budget lines by name.
Uncontested on the official 2026 list; no third option.
Progressive pick → Moeller (only name).
Most qualified → Moeller (only name). Same as above.
Cook County
The clerk’s office printed a party-order lottery (R, D, L) for county offices — Republicans go first on this section. Vote for what’s right, not the top line.
Cook County Assessor — vote for one
Sets assessed values — the number your property tax is calculated on. Direct money consequence.
Pat Hynes D
In office since 2011; 40 years in the assessor’s office, including as its longtime head.
Has been the county’s most consistent tax-assessment watchdog — her team has caught big over-assessments. The safest hands.
Nico Tsatsoulis Libertarian
Running on a property-rights / “cut the assessed value” platform — the pitch is the office, not a plan.
No prior elected experience.
Stronger progressive platform → Hynes. An accurate assessment system is a progressive issue — progressive assessment discipline is her job.
Most qualified → Hynes. The largest countywide gap on the ballot. There is nothing in this call.
Precisely Commissioner (Board President) — vote for one
Runs the 17-seat county board: budget, land use, the jail, the road fund. The county’s most visible office.
Toni Preckwinkle D
In office since 2017; two-term Chicago mayor before that — the most experienced public administrator on the county’s ballot.
Has steered the board through pandemic money and the deep-tunnel era; a proven big-bureaucracy operator.
Michael Murphy L
Libertarian candidate; platform is smaller county government.
No countywide governing record.
Stronger progressive platform → Preckwinkle. The board is where public housing, public land, and public spending policy is actually made in Cook.
Most qualified → Preckwinkle. Mayor of a 2.7M-person city for eight years beats every other name on your ballot for managing a 50,000-person bureaucracy.
County Sheriff — vote for one
Runs the jail, court security, and the Sheriff’s police. A contested race: the incumbent is facing a Libertarian for the first time.
Thomas J. Dart D
In office since 2017 — the first sheriff under the county’s jail reform era; oversaw the jail’s biggest restructuring in decades.
Has been a steady, reform-minded operator; the jail’s record is a mix of real progress and unresolved problems (that’s the honest version).
Brad Sandefur L
Libertarian; platform is jail decertification / hard reduction.
No law enforcement governing record — a philosophy on a resume.
Stronger progressive platform → Sandefur in principle; Dart in practice. The decertification argument is the progressive one *on paper*, but the county runs on the sheriff’s office every day, and a hard decertification in an unproven office carries the highest real-world variance on your ballot. I’d vote Dart — he’s done the reform work in place and the margin is small.
Most qualified → Dart. 15 years in the job vs. a philosophy. Clear.
Cook County Clerk — vote for one
Monica Gordon D
In office since 2019 — she’s the person who runs the elections you’re about to cast.
Uncontested.
Incumbent, uncontested. Take the win — a steady clerk’s office is worth more than a shakeup.
Cook County Treasurer — vote for one
Maria Pappas D
In office since 2019.
Uncontested.
Same as clerk: incumbent, uncontested.
County Commissioner, 9th District — vote for one
Your seat — the commissioner whose district is Elk Grove / NW Cook. One-vote, single-seat; one of 17 seats up this year.
Maggie Trevor D
In office since 2022 (took the seat from Peter Silvestri); has committee seats spanning finance, health, zoning, and the forest preserves — the ones that move money and land.
The district’s current face; her challenger is a repeat-runner. (The Republican field had one additional candidate earlier in the year — check your sample ballot for a late addition/withdrawal.)
Jon Luers R
Software engineer, Northwestern graduate, a Chicago-born perennial — ran against Trevor in 2024 and is running again.
Platform: fiscal restraint, less county government; his resume is a profession, not an office — a “refresh” pitch.
Stronger progressive platform → Trevor. Three years of committee seats in exactly the places money flows.
Most qualified → Trevor. She’s sat in the chair and has the seat; he’s run the campaign twice. Clear, not close.
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District — 3 six-year seats (you may vote for up to 3)
Runs the deep tunnels, treatment plants, Lake Michigan protection — water quality and flood protection for all of Cook. Countywide.
The three Republicans
Timothy Rueckert · Jill B. Shestokas · Michelle Pennington — the GOP’s three launched simultaneously in July, each pitching safe neighborhoods and water quality — thin distinguishing records so far.
None holds a prior seat; the current board that ran the deep-tunnel era is Democratic-majority.
The three Democrats
Precious W. Brady-Davis · Beth McElroy Kirkwood · Eira Lizeth Corral Sepulveda — the continuity candidates; this board’s big-ticket work (tunnel completion, wastewater treatment) is a multi-decade arc.
All three pitch water quality/environment — the Democratic pitch leans protection, the Republican pitch leans “cost of the tunnels.”
Stronger progressive platform → the three Democrats. Water quality and environmental protection is the office’s core mission; the D line is the mission line.
Most qualified → Genuinely close — the resume gap here is thin. Since three seats are up, the cleanest move is to vote the whole Democratic line and keep the institutional continuity through the tunnel era. I’d do exactly that. (If you split votes, take the Democrats first and add your preference for a Republican — the 3-of-6 math makes a single Republican line a real possibility in a county-wide swing year.)
MWRD, two-year seat — vote for one
Cameron “Cam” Davis D
The only name on the line for this seat.
Uncontested; tick and move on.
Only name — uncontested. (If your sample ballot shows a late entrant, the clerk’s listing is the answer.)
Local (Elk Grove Township)
Nothing to vote on
Your precinct is in unincorporated Elk Grove Township: village trustees/alderpersons are elected in April of odd years, and town officers are elected at the March town meeting — so there are no local office on your November ballot. Watch for:
Elk Grove Town High School District 401 — a board/superintendent item is possible; it doesn’t appear in open filings, so check your sample ballot.
Referendum — a D401 levy/limiting-rate increase (a $450M bond or similar) sometimes lands on this district’s November ballot. The sample ballot will have the language in plain dollars.
Summary — the 12 lines you can tick with confidence
Office
Progressive pick
Most qualified
U.S. Senate
Stratton (D)
Tracy (R) — pick with eyes open
U.S. House (5th)
Quigley (D)
Quigley (D)
Governor & Lt. Gov.
Pritzker/Mitchell (D)
Pritzker/Mitchell (D)
Attorney General
Raoul (D)
Raoul (D)
Secretary of State
Giannoulias (D)
Giannoulias (D)
Comptroller
Croke (D)
Croke (D) — coin flip, take consistency
Treasurer
Frerichs (D)
Frerichs (D)
State Sen 22
Castro (D)
Castro (D) — uncontested
State House 43
Moeller (D)
Moeller (D) — uncontested
County Assessor
Hynes (D)
Hynes (D)
County Board President
Preckwinkle (D)
Preckwinkle (D)
County Sheriff
Dart (D) — reform in place beats decert on paper
Dart (D)
County Clerk
Gordon (D) — uncontested
Gordon (D)
County Treasurer
Pappas (D) — uncontested
Pappas (D)
Commissioner 9th
Trevor (D)
Trevor (D)
MWRD 6-year (3 of 6)
Brady-Davis, Kirkwood, Corral (D)
Same line — continuity
MWRD 2-year
Davis (D) — uncontested
Davis (D)
The only real choice this ballot forces on you is U.S. Senate: most-experienced (Tracy) and most-progressive (Stratton) are opposed. Everything else lines up — you’re voting the progressive slate 16-0 on the lines above, and that’s because the opposition field for county and most of the state offices is thin.