1960 Illinois elections


Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 8, 1960.
Primaries were held on April 12.

Election information

Turnout

In the primaries, turnout was 40.92%, with 2,082,667 ballots cast.
In the general election, turnout was 88.11%, with 4,845,319 ballots cast.

Federal elections

United States President

Illinois voted for the Democratic ticket of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

United States Senate

Democratic Senator Paul Douglas was reelected to a third term.

United States House

All 25 Illinois seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1960.
No seats switched parties, leaving Illinois' House delegation to consist of 14 Democrats and 11 Republicans.

State elections

Governor

Incumbent Governor William Stratton, a Republican seeking a third term, lost reelection to Democrat Otto Kerner Jr.
Heading into this election, Stratton was seen as vulnerable to being unseated if the Democrats ran a strong candidate, as he had only narrowly won reelection in 1956, and since the Democratic Party had nationally had a strong performance in the 1958 elections.

Democratic primary

Names floated as potential Democratic contenders included Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley. Daley opted not to run. Daley, the head of the Cook County Democratic Party and a political boss, helped slate Otto Kerner for the nomination. Kerner won the Democratic primary.

Republican primary

General election

Lieutenant Governor

Incumbent Lieutenant Governor John William Chapman, a Republican seeking a third term, lost reelection to Democrat Samuel H. Shapiro.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

General election

Attorney General

Incumbent Attorney General William L. Guild lost to Democrat William G. Clark.
Originally, before his death, Grenville Beardsley had been seeking reelection, having won the Republican primary.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

General election

Secretary of State

Incumbent Secretary of State Charles F. Carpentier, a Republican, was reelected to a third term.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

General election

Auditor of Public Accounts

Incumbent Auditor of Public Accounts Elbert S. Smith, a Republican seeking a second term, lost to Democrat Michael Howlett.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

General election

State Senate

Seats of the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1960. Republicans retained control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives

Seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1960. Republicans flipped control of the chamber.

Trustees of University of Illinois

An at-large election was held for three seats as Trustees of University of Illinois. All three Democratic nominees won.
Democratic incumbent Kenney E. Williamson, first appointed in 1940, won reelection to a third full term. Democratic incumbent Frances Best Watkins won reelection to a third term. They were joined in winning election by fellow Democrat Irving Dillard.
Incumbent Democrat George Herrick was not nominated for reelection.

Judicial elections

Judicial elections were held in 1960.

Supreme Court

First Supreme Court Judicial District
Second Supreme Court Judicial District
Third Supreme Court Judicial District

Lower courts

On April 12, a special election was held to fill a vacancy on the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.

Ballot measures

Two ballot measures, both of them bond issues, were put before Illinois voters in 1960.
In order for bond issues to pass, the number of affirmative voters each measure was required to receive was one equal to 50% of the number of votes cast for members of the Illinois General Assembly in the 1960 general election. Bond measures needed a vote equal to majority of the votes cast for whichever chamber of the Illinois General Assembly had the highest cumulative vote count. Since. in 1960, this was the 4,525,191 votes that were cast General Assembly in 1960, the vote count needed to be reached was at least 2,262,596 affirmative votes. The vote also needed a majority of votes cast on each measure to be affirmative.

Bond Issue for Education

Voters approved the Bond Issue for Education, which issued bonds to support improvements in education.

Bond Issue for Mental Health

Voters approved the Bond Issue for Mental Health, which would issue bonds to support improvements mental health and public welfare.

Local elections

Local elections were held.