Governor of Illinois
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This article is related to a current event: Rod Blagojevich federal fraud cases. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. |
| Governor of Illinois | |
 Official seal |
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| Residence | Illinois Executive Mansion |
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| Term length | Four years |
| Inaugural holder | Shadrach Bond |
| Formation | October 2, 1818 |
| Website | illinois.gov/gov/ |
The Governor of Illinois is the chief executive of the State of Illinois and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state. The governor is responsible for enacting laws passed by the Illinois General Assembly. Illinois is one of 16 states which does not place term limits on its Governor.
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[edit] Qualifications
The term of office of Governor of Illinois is four years, and there is no limit on the number of terms a governor may serve. Inauguration takes place on the second Monday in January following a gubernatorial election. A single term ends four years later. A Governor is required to be:
- at least twenty-two years old,
- a United States citizen,
- a resident of Illinois for three years prior to election.
[edit] Residences
The Governor of Illinois resides in the Illinois Executive Mansion at 410 East Jackson in Springfield. Its first occupant was Governor Joel Aldrich Matteson. He took residence at the mansion in 1855. It is one of three oldest governor's residences in continuous use in the United States.
The governor is also given the use of an official residence on the state fair grounds, also located in Springfield. Governors have traditionally used this residence part of the year.
However, some governors, such as Rod Blagojevich, have chosen to not to use the governor's homes as their primary residence, instead commuting either by car or plane to Springfield from their home cities [1]. Many Chicago-based governors also have done much of their business out of the governor's office in Chicago's James R. Thompson Center, an office building owned by the state named for the governor who served through the 1980's.
[edit] Corruption
Six Illinois governors have been charged with crimes, either during their administrations or after. The first, Lennington Small, was acquitted. Otto Kerner, Jr., Daniel Walker, and George Ryan all served time in prison. William G. Stratton was acquitted of tax evasion charges. Current governor Rod Blagojevich was charged by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald with several offenses, including mail fraud and wire fraud, and attempting to sell Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat for personal financial and influencial gain. Further details and charges can be found in the article about the case and fallout.
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[edit] Resources
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