#ILDecision2014 Live Coverage
Mike Gordell, Champaign resident, fills out a voter's registration form at Brookens Administrative Center on election night.
Thanks for joining us for #ILDecision2014. Follow along with Illinois Public Media on Twitter!
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Rauner gives victory speech
Rauner now on stage claiming victory. Says Illinois voters demanded a divided government.
— natasha korecki (@natashakorecki) November 5, 2014* * *
Quinn refuses to concede until provisional ballots are counted
Quinn: we will never ever yield until all the votes are in. pic.twitter.com/RdLMVMK47d
— Monique Garcia (@moniquegarcia) November 5, 2014* * *
Champaign School Board referendum fails
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Frerichs, Cross neck and neck in race for treasurer
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Democrat Sheila Simon concedes to Republican Judy Baar Topinka in Comptroller race
Sheila Simon conceding.
— Scott Smith (@ourmaninchicago) November 5, 2014* * *
AP calls race for governor as win for Republican Bruce Rauner.
But Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn's campaign says there are too many early ballots that still need to be counted.
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Rauner pulls ahead in governor's race
83 percent in, Rauner 50 percent to Quinn 46 percent. Cheers drowning out ABC 7 live report right now #dhelection #twill
— Melissa Silverberg (@m_silverberg) November 5, 2014* * *
Democrat Carol Ammons wins over Republican Kristin Williamson for Illinois' 103rd House District. That seat is being vacated by Democat Naomi Jakobsson, who's retiring after 10 years in the General Assembly.
Ammons, who wasn't even predicted to win her primary, credits her win to volunteer organization. She says if Illinois' pension law is overturned by the Supreme Court, she would want to sit down with state unions who contributed heavily to her campaign.
--Hannah, photo by Claire Everett
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With ~50 precincts reporting in Champaign county, all but 2 have voters approving the @Unit4Schools referendum. http://t.co/h2IIaFD61h
— Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) November 5, 2014
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Attorney General Lisa Madigan wins third term
Democrat Lisa Madigan has defeated her Republican challenger Paul Schimpf of Waterloo. Schimpf had trailed in polls and fundraising, but fought against Madigan, claiming her family ties to father, House Speaker Michael Madigan, made for a breeding ground of corruption in Illinois.
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Secretary of State Jesse White wins fifth term
Jesse White said his GOP opponent conceded, says fifth term as secretary of state will be his last.
— Michelle Manchir (@mmanchir) November 5, 2014White won over Republican challenger Mike Webster.
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Checking in on the governor's race:
Associated Press had Quinn at 50 percent and Rauner at 47 percent with 54 percent of precincts counted.
— ChiTrib Clout Street (@ChiTribCloutSt) November 5, 2014Interesting trend in Chicago. With 68% reporting, Quinn up over Rauner 76-22. Traditional belief is a Repub must beat 20% in city to win.
— Dave McKinney (@davemckinney123) November 5, 2014* * *
John Shimkus Re-Elected to 15th Congressional District
Rep. John Shimkus (R-15) has been elected to a ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Shimkus defeated Democratic challenger Eric Thorsland of Mahomet.
Listen to Shimkus speak with Illinois Public Media's Jeff Bossert last month:
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The tiny village of Garrett, Illinois, in Douglas County, had an initiative on the ballot to dissolve itself, after several citizens were unhappy with paying a fine instead of cleaning up items in their yards. Village Board President Rocky Warren says the 160-person village can't afford to dissolve.
UPDATE: Garrett voters have NOT approved the resolution to dissolve the village.
--Hannah
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Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) defeats Republican challenger Jim Oberweis
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has defeated Republican state Sen. Jim Oberweis to win a fourth term.
The Senate's second-ranking Democrat had been expected to keep the seat he's held since 1997. He campaigned as a champion for the middle class, pushing for a higher minimum wage and tax breaks for companies that keep good-paying jobs in the U.S.
The 69-year-old from Springfield also says his tenure and position on Capitol Hill have helped him bring billions of dollars in federal funds back to Illinois.
Oberweis called Durbin a career politician and accused him of losing touch with voters. The 68-year-old dairy entrepreneur from Sugar Grove said he had the business background to create jobs. Durbin painted Oberweis as too extreme for Illinois.
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Champaign County Clerk Gordy Hulten says when all is said and done, over 50,000 people will have voted in Champaign County this year. Of that 50,000+, at least 5,000 voted early, either by absentee ballot, or in-person early voting.
New this year in Illinois is same-day voter registration, a one-time initiative passed through the General Assembly in the Spring. While many Republicans decried early voting as a Democratic ploy to increase voter turnout for that party, Hulten, a Republican himself, says he bucks that partisan trend.
But Hulten says he'd rather see same-day voter registration at voters' "home" polling places, rather than causing a bottleneck at larger polling places like Brookens.
--Hannah
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Retiring Rep. Naomi Jakobsson (D-103) brought cookies to voters in line at Brookens Administratrive Center in Urbana. Jakobsson is backing democrat Carol Ammons in her race to take the House seat against Republican Kristin Williamson.
--Claire
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Welcome to Election Night at will.illinois.edu, thanks for joining us! I'm Hannah Meisel, reporter for WILL, and tonight I'm stationed at the Champaign County Clerk's office in Urbana. With me is Claire Everett of CU Citizen Access. Tune into Am 580 & FM 90.9 for even more coverage. It's an NPR Party!
--Hannah