Illinois Attorney General

Attorney General for the U.S. state of Illinois

Attorney General of Illinois

Seal of the attorney general

Incumbent
Kwame Raoul

since January 14, 2019

Term length| 4 years
Inaugural holder| Daniel Pope Cook
Formation| December 3, 1818
Succession| Second
Website| www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov

The Illinois attorney general is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by statewide election. Based in Chicago and Springfield, the attorney general is responsible for providing legal counsel for the various state agencies including the governor of Illinois and Illinois General Assembly, as well as conducting all legal affairs pertaining to the state.

The office of Illinois Attorney General was established on December 3, 1818, based on guidelines adopted by a state constitutional convention. The attorney general is second (behind the lieutenant governor) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Illinois.[1][2] The first person to fulfill the duties of the office was Daniel Pope Cook who only served eleven days, and was later elected to the United States Congress. Cook County was named in his honor.

The current holder of the office is Kwame Raoul.

## Role

[edit]

Under the Constitution of Illinois, the attorney general is the state's chief legal officer, and has the powers and duties prescribed by law. The attorney general's duties include advocating for the people of Illinois, working with the General Assembly to push for new legislation, and litigating to ensure that state laws are followed.[3] The state's Attorney General Act specifies several duties, including:[4]

* Represent the people of Illinois before the Supreme Court where the state or the people of the state are interested parties
* Prosecute all proceedings and actions in favor of the state
* Defend state officers acting in their official capacities in any actions or proceedings against them
* Consult with and advise the state's attorneys
* Investigate violations of all statutes that the attorney general has a duty to enforce
* Advise the governor and other state officers, and give written opinions on legal or constitutional matters when requested
* Give written opinions to the General Assembly or any of its committees when requested
* Prepare drafts of contracts in which the state is interested
* Attend, present evidence to, and prosecute indictments by the statewide grand jury
* Ensure the proper allocation of funds appropriated to public institutions, and prosecute breaches of trust

The attorney general also oversees the Public Access Counselor, which is responsible for enforcing the state's Freedom of Information Act and Open Meetings Act.

## List of attorneys general

[edit]

Parties

Democratic (21) Republican (17) Democratic-Republican (4)

#  | Image  | Name[5][6] | Political party  | Term

|
|
|
|

1  |  | Daniel Pope Cook | Democratic-Republican  | 1819
2  |  | William Mears | Democratic-Republican  | 1819–1821
3  |  | Samuel D. Lockwood | Democratic-Republican  | 1821–1822
4  |  | James Turney  | Democratic-Republican  | 1822–1829
5  |  | George Forquer | Democratic  | 1829–1832
6  |  | James Semple | Democratic  | 1832–1834
7  |  | Ninian Wirt Edwards | Democratic  | 1834–1835
8  |  | Jesse B. Thomas Jr. | Democratic  | 1835–1836
9  |  | Walter B. Scates | Democratic  | 1836–1837
10  |  | Usher F. Linder | Democratic  | 1837–1838
11  |  | George W. Olney  | Democratic  | 1838–1839
12  |  | Wickliffe Kitchell | Democratic  | 1839–1840
13  |  | Josiah Lamborn | Democratic  | 1840–1843
14  |  | James A. McDougall | Democratic  | 1843–1846
15  |  | David B. Campbell  | Democratic  | 1846–1848
Office abolished 1848-1867
16  |  | Robert G. Ingersoll | Republican  | 1867–1869
17  |  | Washington Bushnell | Republican  | 1869–1873
18  |  | James K. Edsall | Republican  | 1873–1881
19  |  | James A. McCartney | Republican  | 1881–1885
20  |  | George Hunt | Republican  | 1885–1893
21  |  | Maurice T. Moloney | Democratic  | 1893–1897
22  |  | Edward C. Akin | Republican  | 1897–1901
23  |  | Howland J. Hamlin | Republican  | 1901–1905
24  |  | William H. Stead | Republican  | 1905–1913
25  |  | Patrick J. Lucey | Democratic  | 1913–1917
26  |  | Edward J. Brundage | Republican  | 1917–1925
27  |  | Oscar E. Carlstrom | Republican  | 1925–1933
28  |  | Otto Kerner Sr. | Democratic  | 1932–1938
29  |  | John Edward Cassidy | Democratic  | 1938–1941
30  |  | George F. Barrett | Republican  | 1941–1949
31  |  | Ivan A. Elliott | Democratic  | 1949–1953
32  |  | Latham Castle | Republican  | 1953–1959
33  |  | Grenville Beardsley | Republican  | 1959–1960
34  |  | William L. Guild | Republican  | 1960–1961
35  |  | William G. Clark | Democratic  | 1961–1969
36  |  | William J. Scott | Republican  | 1969–1980
37  |  | Tyrone C. Fahner | Republican  | 1980–1983
38  |  | Neil F. Hartigan | Democratic  | 1983–1991
39  |  | Roland W. Burris | Democratic  | 1991–1995
40  |  | Jim Ryan | Republican  | 1995–2003
41  |  | Lisa Madigan | Democratic  | 2003–2019
42  |  | Kwame Raoul | Democratic  | 2019–present

## See also

[edit]

* Illinois portal

* List of law enforcement agencies in Illinois

## References

[edit]

This article incorporates public domain material from the Illinois Compiled Statutes.

1. ^ "Constitution of the State of Illinois". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
2. ^ "Illinois Compiled Statutes 15 ILCS 5 — Governor Succession Act". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
3. ^ "Illinois Attorney General - About Us". www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov. Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
4. ^ "The Office of the Illinois Attorney General". Better Government Association. 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2020-07-13.[permanent dead link]
5. ^ "Illinois Attorney General - History of the Illinois Attorney General". Archived from the original on 2023-03-04. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
6. ^ Illinois Blue Book. Springfield: Secretary of State. 1908. p. 159. Retrieved 13 August 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Illinois Attorney General official website
* Illinois Attorney General articles at ABA Journal
* News and Commentary at FindLaw
* Illinois Compiled Statutes at Law.Justia.com
* U.S. Supreme Court Opinions - "Cases with title containing: State of Illinois" at FindLaw
* Illinois State Bar Association
* Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan profile at National Association of Attorneys General
* Press releases at Illinois Attorney General

* v
* t
* e

Attorneys general of the United States

United States Attorney General: ▌Pam Bondi (R)

▌Steve Marshall (R)

▌Treg Taylor (R)

▌Kris Mayes (D)

▌Tim Griffin (R)

▌Rob Bonta (D)

▌Phil Weiser (D)

▌William Tong (D)

▌Kathy Jennings (D)

▌James Uthmeier (R)

▌Christopher M. Carr (R)

▌Anne E. Lopez (D)

▌Raúl Labrador (R)

▌Kwame Raoul (D)

▌Todd Rokita (R)

▌Brenna Bird (R)

▌Kris Kobach (R)

▌Russell Coleman (R)

▌Liz Murrill (R)

▌Aaron Frey (D)

▌Anthony Brown (D)

▌Andrea Campbell (D)

▌Dana Nessel (D)

▌Keith Ellison (DFL)

▌Lynn Fitch (R)

▌Andrew Bailey (R)

▌Austin Knudsen (R)

▌Mike Hilgers (R)

▌Aaron Ford (D)

▌John Formella (R)

▌Matt Platkin (D)

▌Raúl Torrez (D)

▌Letitia James (D)

▌Jeff Jackson (D)

▌Drew Wrigley (R)

▌Dave Yost (R)

▌Gentner Drummond (R)

▌Dan Rayfield (D)

▌Dave Sunday (R)

▌Peter Neronha (D)

▌Alan Wilson (R)

▌Marty Jackley (R)

▌Jonathan Skrmetti (R)

▌Ken Paxton (R)

▌Derek Brown (R)

▌Charity Clark (D)

▌Jason Miyares (R)

▌Nick Brown (D)

▌JB McCuskey (R)

▌Josh Kaul (D)

▌Keith G. Kautz (R)

Federal districts:

▌Brian Schwalb (D)

Territories:

▌Gwen Tauiliili-Langkilde

▌Doug Moylan (R)

▌Ed Manibusan (D)

▌Lourdes Gómez

▌Gordon Rhea

Political party affiliations

* ▌29 Republicans (28 states, 1 territory)
* ▌24 Democrats (22 states, 1 territory, 1 district)
* ▌1 New Progressive (1 territory)
* ▌2 Unknown (2 territories)
An asterisk (*) indicates that the officeholder is serving in an acting capacity.
State abbreviations link to position articles.

* v
* t
* e

Illinois statewide elected officials

* Governor
* Lieutenant Governor
* Secretary of State
* Attorney General
* Treasurer
* Comptroller

* v
* t
* e

Statewide political officials of Illinois

U.S. senators|

* Dick Durbin
* Tammy Duckworth

State government|

* J. B. Pritzker, Governor
* Juliana Stratton, Lieutenant Governor
* Alexi Giannoulias, Secretary of State
* Kwame Raoul, Attorney General
* Mike Frerichs, Treasurer
* Susana Mendoza, Comptroller

Senate|

* Don Harmon, President
* Bill Cunningham, President pro tempore
* Kimberly Lightford, Majority Leader
* John Curran, Minority Leader

House|

* Chris Welch, Speaker
* Kam Buckner, Speaker pro tempore
* Robyn Gabel, Majority Leader
* Tony McCombie, Minority Leader

Supreme Court|

* Mary Theis, Chief Justice
* P. Scott Neville Jr.
* David K. Overstreet
* Lisa Holder White
* Joy Cunningham
* Elizabeth Rochford
* Mary K. O'Brien

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template