Election Day is November 3, 2026. This blog post is focusing on registering and voting in Illinois, including how to learn about candidates for Chicago school board and judicial elections. Our goal is to give you resources to research candidates and participate in the election process. The library does not endorse specific candidates or take a position on any issues on the ballot.
Voting in Illinois
If you are registered to vote in IL, check your registration, find your polling place, and learn which districts you’re in at the Chicago Board of Elections website. If you are registered to vote in Illinois, early voting is already open at the Supersite, 137 S. State St., and CBOE Offices on the 6th Floor of 69 W. Washington. On October 19 all early voting sites are open. You can vote at any early voting site in the city and the Chicago Board of Elections lists site addresses. The closest early voting sites to the law school are at the Near North Library and Historic Lawson House. WTTW published a comprehensive guide for voting in Chicago.
The Illinois State Board of Elections gives information about how to check your registration and how to register. You can look up your voter registration, polling place, and district information. Although the registration deadline has passed, Illinois allows “grace period voting.” You can also use grace period voting if you have moved but not re-registered at your new address or if you would be a new voter in Illinois. This document includes information about how to register within the grace period, and there’s also a general guide on registering to vote in Illinois.
What’s on the ballot?
There are several elections specific to Chicago and Cook County that are worth paying attention to.
WTTW published a voter guide that you can use for all candidates, from national to local. Look closely at some down-ballot races. In Chicago, offices like the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District are more important than they sound.
The most exciting local election is for Chicago Board of Education. The Board used to be entirely appointed by the mayor and has slowly been transitioning to elected office. This is the first election where we can vote for all members of the school board. Block Club published a voter guide where you can find your district and read about candidates.
Judges are elected in Illinois. This November, voters can choose whether to retain judges. Injustice Watch explains judicial retention this way: “Unlike other elected officials, judges seeking retention do not run against opposing candidates. In a retention election, voters have the option to vote “Yes” to keep judges on the bench or “No” to remove them. Retention elections are nonpartisan, so judges do not run as part of any political party.” Injustice Watch publishes the most detailed Judicial Election Guide. Their guide allows you to create a personal voting guide to take into the polls with you. Injustice watch does not endorse candidates. It conducts extensive research on the judges and allows each judge to answer questions about themselves and their experience. The Illinois State Bar Association rates judges based on information supplied by candidates, a background check by trained lawyers/investigators, and interviews of each candidate. The Chicago Council of Lawyers also interviews judicial candidates. Both organizations use a scale of Highly Qualified to Not Qualified.
Finally, there are a myriad of referenda and local measures. Most of them are advisory/non-binding (which means they’re a fancy way to take an opinion poll) and the ones you’ll see on your ballot depend on where you live – even down to the precinct. Block Club has an article that does a deep dive into some of the referenda, including a Millionaire’s Tax, reinstating ShotSpotter, and creating a public fairground for festivals.
Want to volunteer?
Cook County hires election judges to help voters with registration and answer questions during election day. If you’re interested in becoming an election judge, you can learn more from this article and apply through the Chicago Board of Elections.
Happy voting!
