1942 Illinois elections

← 1940 November 3, 1942 1944 →

Elections in Illinois
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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 Aldermanic elections 1923 1925 1927 1929 2011 2015 2019 2023 Chicago Board of Education elections 2024 2026
Cicero Municipal elections 1924
Cook County County elections 1946 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
v t e

Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 3, 1942.^[1]

Primaries were held April 14, 1942.^[1]

Election information

1942 was a midterm election year in the United States.

Turnout

In the primary election 1,963,298 ballots were cast (1,026,644 Democratic and 936,654 Republican).^[1]

In the general election 3,049,312 ballots were cast.^[1]

Federal elections

United States Senate

Incumbent Republican Charles W. Brooks was reelected.

United States House

Illinois had redistricted before this election, and had lost one seat due to reapportionment following the 1950 United States Census. All of Illinois' remaining 26 seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 1942.

Before the election Republicans held 16 seats and Democrats held 11 seats from Illinois. In 1942, Republicans won 19 seats and Democrats won 7 seats.

State elections

Treasurer

1942 Illinois State Treasurer election

← 1940 November 3, 1942 1944 →

Nominee William G. Stratton W. D. Forsyth Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,553,944 1,300,091 Percentage 54.25% 45.39%

Treasurer before election Warren Wright Republican Elected Treasurer William G. Stratton Republican

Incumbent first-term Treasurer, Republican Warren Wright, did not seek reelection, instead opting to run for United States Senate. Republican William G. Stratton was elected to succeed him.

Democratic primary

W. D. Forsyth defeated former Illinois Treasurer and Auditor of Public Accounts Edward J. Barrett and two other candidates.

Republican primary

Incumbent congressman William G. Stratton won the Republican nomination.

General election

Superintendent of Public Instruction

1942 Illinois Superintendent of Public Instruction election

← 1938 November 3, 1942 1946 →

Nominee Vernon L. Nickell John A. Wieland Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,497,550 1,333,679 Percentage 52.71% 46.94%

Superintendent before election John A. Wieland Democratic Elected Superintendent Vernon L. Nickell Republican

Incumbent second-term Superintendent of Public Instruction John A. Wieland, a Democrat, lost reelection, being unseated by Republican Vernon L. Nickell was elected to succeed him in office.

Democratic primary

Republican primary

General election

State Senate

Seats in the Illinois Senate were up for election in 1942. Republicans retained control of the chamber.

State House of Representatives

Seats in the Illinois House of Representatives were up for election in 1942. Republicans retained control of the chamber.

Trustees of University of Illinois

1942 Trustees of University of Illinois election

← 1940 November 3, 1942 1944 →
3 out of 9 seats on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees 5 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Seats before 4 5 Seats after 6 3 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 4,492,540 3,859,990 ½ Percentage 53.57% 46.03% Swing 3.13%[A] 3.24%[B] Seats up 1 2 Races won 3 0 [1][2][3]

An election was held for three of nine seats for Trustees of University of Illinois. All three Republican nominees won. With their net increase of two seats in this election, Republicans captured a majority of seats on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

Incumbent Republican Chester R. Davis (elected in a special election two years prior) was reelected.^[1][2] New Republican members Martin G. Luken and Frank H. McKelvey were also elected.^[1][2]

Incumbent Democrats Homer M. Adams and James M. Cleary were not renominated.^[2]

Kenney E. Williamson, one of the Democratic Party nominees, had briefly served before, having been appointed in 1940.^[2]

Judicial elections

Supreme Court

On June 1, 1942, several districts of the Supreme Court of Illinois had elections.^[1]

1st district

Republican Charles H. Thompson unseated Democratic incumbent Paul Farthing.

2nd district

Republican incumbent June C. Smith with reelected.

3rd district

Republican incumbent Walter T. Gunn was reelected, running unopposed.

6th district

Incumbent Democrat Elwyn Riley Shaw was unseated by Republican William J. Fulton.

7th district

Incumbent Democrat Francis S. Wilson was reelected, running unopposed.

Lower courts

Election were held on November 3, 1942 to fill two vacancies on the 16th Judicial Circuit and one vacancy on the 17th Judicial Circuit.

An election was held November 3, 1942 to fill two vacancies on the Superior Court of Cook County.^[1]

Ballot measure

One measure was put before voters in 1942.

Illinois Revenue Amendment

The Illinois Revenue Amendment, a proposed amendment to Section 1 of Article IX of the Constitution, failed to meet the threshold for approval.^[1][4]

If approved, this amendment would have enabled the legislature to exempt from certain taxes businesses that sold food for human consumption, allowing the legislature to define the word "food".^[4]

In order to be approved, legislatively referred constitutional amendments required approval equal to a majority of voters voting in the entire general election.^[4][5]

Local elections

Local elections were held.