List of governors of Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Governor of Illinois
Flag of Illinois
Seal of the State of Illinois
Incumbent J. B. Pritzker since January 14, 2019
Residence	Illinois Governor's Mansion
Term length	Four years, no term limits
Inaugural holder	Shadrach Bond
Formation	October 6, 1818 (1818-10-06)
Salary	$177,412 (2015)

The governor of Illinois is like the chief executive officer for the state of Illinois. They are the main leader of the state government. Their job is to make sure state laws are followed.

The governor can approve or reject new laws made by the Illinois Legislature. They can also call the legislature together for special meetings. Another important power is granting pardons, which means forgiving someone for a crime. However, they cannot do this if someone has been impeached. The governor is also the top commander of Illinois's military groups, like the Illinois National Guard.

Since Illinois became a state in 1818, 43 people have served as governor. Before Illinois was a state, it had only one territorial governor, Ninian Edwards. The governor who served the longest was James R. Thompson. He was elected four times and served for 14 years, from 1977 to 1991. Only one governor, Richard J. Oglesby, served more than one term that were not back-to-back. He was elected in 1864, 1872, and 1884.

The current governor is J. B. Pritzker. He started his term on January 14, 2019.

Governors of Illinois

Illinois as a Territory

The Illinois Territory was created on March 1, 1809. It was formed from part of the Indiana Territory. Before Illinois became a state, only two governors were chosen by the president of the United States. However, only one of them actually took office.

Governors of Illinois Territory

No.	Governor		Term in office	Appointed by
1		John Boyle (1774–1834)	March 7, 1809 – April 3, 1809 (resigned before taking office)	Madison, JamesJames Madison
2		Ninian Edwards (1775–1833)	April 24, 1809 – October 6, 1818 (statehood)	Madison, JamesJames Madison

Illinois as a State

Illinois officially became a state on December 3, 1818. It joined the United States using the southern part of the Illinois Territory. The rest of the territory became part of the Michigan Territory.

The first Illinois Constitution was approved in 1818. It said that a governor would be elected every four years. Their term would begin in December after the election. The 1848 constitution changed this. It moved the start of the term to January. This made the term won in the 1844 election shorter, lasting only two years. The 1870 constitution changed the rules again. It allowed governors to serve more than one term in a row.

The job of lieutenant governor was also created in the first constitution. This person would take over if the governor's office became empty. The current constitution, from 1970, states that if the governor's job becomes vacant, the lieutenant governor becomes the new governor. Today, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected together on the same ballot. If a governor feels they cannot do their job because of a serious issue, they can let the secretary of state know. Then, the next person in line becomes the acting governor until the governor can return to their duties.

Governors of the State of Illinois

No.	Governor			Term in office	Party	Election	Lt. Governor
1			Shadrach Bond (1773–1832)	October 6, 1818 – December 5, 1822 (term-limited)	Democratic- Republican	1818		Menard, PierrePierre Menard
2			Edward Coles (1786–1868)	December 5, 1822 – December 6, 1826 (term-limited)	Independent	1822		Hubbard, AdolphusAdolphus Hubbard
3			Ninian Edwards (1775–1833)	December 6, 1826 – December 6, 1830 (term-limited)	Democratic- Republican	1826		Kinney, WilliamWilliam Kinney
4			John Reynolds (1788–1865)	December 6, 1830 – November 17, 1834 (resigned)	Democratic	1830		Casey, ZadokZadok Casey (resigned March 1, 1833)
								Ewing, William Lee D.William Lee D. Ewing (acting)
5			William Lee D. Ewing (1795–1846)	November 17, 1834 – December 3, 1834 (successor took office)	Democratic	Lieutenant governor acting	Vacant
6			Joseph Duncan (1794–1844)	December 3, 1834 – December 7, 1838 (term-limited)	Whig	1834		Jenkins, Alexander M.Alexander M. Jenkins (resigned December 9, 1836)
								Davidson, William H.William H. Davidson (acting)
7			Thomas Carlin (1789–1852)	December 7, 1838 – December 8, 1842 (term-limited)	Democratic	1838		Anderson, StinsonStinson Anderson
8			Thomas Ford (1800–1850)	December 8, 1842 – December 9, 1846 (term-limited)	Democratic	1842		Moore, JohnJohn Moore
9			Augustus C. French (1808–1864)	December 9, 1846 – January 10, 1853 (term-limited)	Democratic	1846		Wells, JosephJoseph Wells
						1848		McMurtry, WilliamWilliam McMurtry
10			Joel Aldrich Matteson (1808–1873)	January 10, 1853 – January 12, 1857 (term-limited)	Democratic	1852		Koerner, GustavGustav Koerner
11			William Henry Bissell (1811–1860)	January 12, 1857 – March 18, 1860 (died in office)	Republican	1856		Wood, JohnJohn Wood
12			John Wood (1798–1880)	March 18, 1860 – January 14, 1861 (successor took office)	Republican	Lieutenant governor acting		Marshall, ThomasThomas Marshall (acting)
13			Richard Yates (1815–1873)	January 14, 1861 – January 16, 1865 (term-limited)	Republican	1860		Hoffmann, FrancisFrancis Hoffmann
14			Richard J. Oglesby (1824–1899)	January 16, 1865 – January 11, 1869 (term-limited)	Republican	1864		Bross, WilliamWilliam Bross
15			John M. Palmer (1817–1900)	January 11, 1869 – January 13, 1873 (term-limited)	Republican	1868		Dougherty, JohnJohn Dougherty
14			Richard J. Oglesby (1824–1899)	January 13, 1873 – January 23, 1873 (resigned)	Republican	1872		Beveridge, John LourieJohn Lourie Beveridge
16			John Lourie Beveridge (1824–1910)	January 23, 1873 – January 8, 1877 (successor took office)	Republican	Lieutenant governor acting		Early, JohnJohn Early (acting) (term ended January 8, 1875)
								Glenn, Archibald A.Archibald A. Glenn (acting)
17			Shelby Moore Cullom (1829–1914)	January 8, 1877 – February 6, 1883 (resigned)	Republican	1876		Shuman, AndrewAndrew Shuman
						1880		Hamilton, John MarshallJohn Marshall Hamilton
18			John Marshall Hamilton (1847–1905)	February 6, 1883 – January 30, 1885 (successor took office)	Republican	Lieutenant governor acting		Campbell, William J.William J. Campbell (acting)
14			Richard J. Oglesby (1824–1899)	January 30, 1885 – January 14, 1889 (did not run)	Republican	1884		Smith, John C.John C. Smith
19			Joseph W. Fifer (1840–1938)	January 14, 1889 – January 10, 1893 (lost election)	Republican	1888		Ray, Lyman BeecherLyman Beecher Ray
20			John Peter Altgeld (1847–1902)	January 10, 1893 – January 11, 1897 (lost election)	Democratic	1892		Gill, Joseph B.Joseph B. Gill
21			John Riley Tanner (1844–1901)	January 11, 1897 – January 14, 1901 (did not run)	Republican	1896		Northcott, WilliamWilliam Northcott
22			Richard Yates Jr. (1860–1936)	January 14, 1901 – January 9, 1905 (lost nomination)	Republican	1900
23			Charles S. Deneen (1863–1940)	January 9, 1905 – February 3, 1913 (lost election)	Republican	1904		Sherman, Lawrence YatesLawrence Yates Sherman
						1908		Oglesby, John G.John G. Oglesby
24			Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne (1853–1937)	February 3, 1913 – January 8, 1917 (lost election)	Democratic	1912		O'Hara, BarrattBarratt O'Hara
25			Frank Orren Lowden<<small|(1861–1943)}}	January 8, 1917 – January 10, 1921 (did not run)	Republican	1916		Oglesby, John G.John G. Oglesby
26			Len Small (1862–1936)	January 10, 1921 – January 14, 1929 (did not run)	Republican	1920		Sterling, Fred E.Fred E. Sterling
						1924
27			Louis Lincoln Emmerson (1863–1941)	January 14, 1929 – January 9, 1933 (did not run)	Republican	1928
28			Henry Horner (1878–1940)	January 9, 1933 – October 6, 1940 (died in office)	Democratic	1932		Donovan, ThomasThomas Donovan
						1936		Stelle, John HenryJohn Henry Stelle
29			John Henry Stelle (1891–1962)	October 6, 1940 – January 13, 1941 (successor took office)	Democratic	Lieutenant governor acting	Vacant
30			Dwight H. Green (1897–1958)	January 13, 1941 – January 10, 1949 (lost election)	Republican	1940		Cross, Hugh W.Hugh W. Cross
						1944
31			Adlai Stevenson II (1900–1965)	January 10, 1949 – January 12, 1953 (did not run)	Democratic	1948		Dixon, SherwoodSherwood Dixon
32			William Stratton (1914–2001)	January 12, 1953 – January 9, 1961 (lost election)	Republican	1952		Chapman, John WilliamJohn William Chapman
						1956
33			Otto Kerner Jr. (1908–1976)	January 9, 1961 – May 20, 1968 (resigned)	Democratic	1960		Shapiro, Samuel H.Samuel H. Shapiro
						1964
34			Samuel H. Shapiro (1907–1987)	May 21, 1968 – January 13, 1969 (lost election)	Democratic	Lieutenant governor acting	Vacant
35			Richard B. Ogilvie (1923–1988)	January 13, 1969 – January 8, 1973 (lost election)	Republican	1968		Simon, PaulPaul Simon
36			Dan Walker (1922–2015)	January 8, 1973 – January 10, 1977 (lost nomination)	Democratic	1972		Hartigan, NeilNeil Hartigan
37			James R. Thompson (1936–2020)	January 10, 1977 – January 14, 1991 (did not run)	Republican	1976		O'Neal, DaveDave O'Neal (resigned July 31, 1981)
						1978
							Vacant
						1982		Ryan, GeorgeGeorge Ryan
						1986
38			Jim Edgar (b. 1946)	January 14, 1991 – January 11, 1999 (did not run)	Republican	1990			Kustra, BobBob Kustra (resigned July 1, 1998)
						1994
							Vacant
39			George Ryan (b. 1934)	January 11, 1999 – January 13, 2003 (did not run)	Republican	1998		Wood, CorinneCorinne Wood
40			Rod Blagojevich (b. 1956)	January 13, 2003 – January 29, 2009 (impeached and removed)	Democratic	2002		Quinn, PatPat Quinn
						2006
41			Pat Quinn (b. 1948)	January 29, 2009 – January 12, 2015 (lost election)	Democratic	Succeeded from lieutenant governor	Vacant
						2010		Simon, SheilaSheila Simon
42			Bruce Rauner (b. 1956)	January 12, 2015 – January 14, 2019 (lost election)	Republican	2014		Sanguinetti, EvelynEvelyn Sanguinetti
43			J. B. Pritzker (b. 1965)	January 14, 2019 – Incumbent	Democratic	2018		Stratton, JulianaJuliana Stratton
						2022

See also

• List of Illinois state legislatures
• List of commandants of the Illinois Country