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A Close Call in Illinois

By Joe Wlos
Scholastic Kids Press Corps

Peter Roskam, Republican candidate for Illinois' Sixth Congressional District, greets his supporters with wife Elizabeth, November 7, 2006. (Photo: Joseph Oliver/AP Images)

November 8, 2006

In Illinois' 6th District, Democrat Tammy Duckworth and Republican Peter Roskam were neck and neck throughout the campaign, making it hard to predict a winner. Tammy Duckworth is an Iraq war veteran and Roskam was an Illinois state Senator. In the end, Roskam took the race, with 51 percent of the vote.

The main issues in this race were illegal immigration, the war in Iraq, the minimum wage, and tax cuts. Both campaigns ran numerous commercials concerning these issues.

Governor

Incumbent candidate Rod Blagojevich will be back for a second term as Governor of Illinois.

In a hotly contested race, Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich defeated the Republican State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, receiving a reported 50 percent of the vote.

Rich Whitney, the Green Party candidate, received a surprisingly large 11 percent of the votes. Since Whitney received over five percent of the vote, his party will now be an officially recognized political party in Illinois. ItŐs a big victory for the party.