List of United States Senators from Illinois facts for kids

Illinois was admitted to the Union on December 3, 1818, and has been represented in the United States Senate by 48 senators in history.

Class 2

#	Senator	Party	Took office	Left office	Other offices/Notes	Term	Electoral history
1	Jesse B. Thomas	Democratic- Republican	December 3, 1818	March 4, 1829		1	Elected in 1818
		Crawford Democratic- Republican				2	Re-elected in 1823 Retired
2	John McLean	Democratic	March 4, 1829	October 14, 1830	Speaker of the Illinois House (1820–1822; 1826–1830) Previously served in Illinois's Class 3 seat (1824–1825)	3	Elected in 1829 Died
3	David J. Baker	Democratic	November 12, 1830	December 11, 1830			Appointed Retired
4	John M. Robinson	Jacksonian	December 11, 1830	March 4, 1841			Won special election
		Democratic				4	Re-elected in 1835 Retired
5	Samuel McRoberts	Democratic	March 4, 1841	March 27, 1843		5	Elected in 1841 Died
6	James Semple	Democratic	December 4, 1843	March 4, 1847	Speaker of the Illinois House (1834–1838)		Appointed Retired
7	Stephen A. Douglas	Democratic	March 4, 1847	June 3, 1861	Democratic presidential nominee (1860)	6	Elected in 1847
						7	Re-elected in 1853
						8	Re-elected in 1859 Died
8	Orville Browning	Republican	June 26, 1861	January 12, 1863	Secretary of the Interior (1866–1869)		Appointed Lost special election
9	William A. Richardson	Democratic	January 12, 1863	March 4, 1865	Governor of the Nebraska Territory		Won special election Retired
10	Richard Yates	Republican	March 4, 1865	March 4, 1871	Governor of Illinois (1861–1865)	9	Elected in 1864 Retired
11	John A. Logan	Republican	March 4, 1871	March 4, 1877	A House impeachment manager for the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson Later served in Illinois's Class 3 seat (1879–1886)	10	Elected in 1870 Lost re-election
12	David Davis	Independent	March 4, 1877	March 4, 1883	U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1862–1877) President pro tempore (1881–1883)	11	Elected in 1876 Retired
13	Shelby Moore Cullom	Republican	March 4, 1883	March 4, 1913	Governor of Illinois (1877–1883)	12	Elected in 1882
						13	Re-elected in 1888
						14	Re-elected in 1894
						15	Re-elected in 1900
						16	Re-elected in 1906
14	J. Hamilton Lewis	Democratic	March 26, 1913	March 4, 1919	Speaker of the Illinois House (1861–1863; 1873–1875) Senate Majority Whip (1913–1919; 1933–1939)	17	Elected in 1912 Lost re-election
15	Joseph M. McCormick	Republican	March 4, 1919	February 25, 1925		18	Elected in 1918 Died
16	Charles S. Deneen	Republican	February 26, 1925	March 4, 1931	Governor of Illinois (1905–1913)		Appointed
						19	Elected in 1924 Lost renomination
17	J. Hamilton Lewis	Democratic	March 4, 1931	April 9, 1939	Senate Majority Whip (1913–1919; 1933–1939)	20	Elected in 1930
						21	Re-elected in 1936 Died
18	James M. Slattery	Democratic	April 14, 1939	November 21, 1940			Appointed Lost special election
19	Charles W. Brooks	Republican	November 22, 1940	January 3, 1949			Won special election
						22	Re-elected in 1942 Lost re-election
20	Paul Douglas	Democratic	January 3, 1949	January 3, 1967		23	Elected in 1948
						24	Re-elected in 1954
						25	Re-elected in 1960 Lost re-election
21	Charles H. Percy	Republican	January 3, 1967	January 3, 1985		26	Elected in 1966
						27	Re-elected in 1972
						28	Re-elected in 1978 Lost re-election
22	Paul Simon	Democratic	January 3, 1985	January 3, 1997	Lieutenant Governor of Illinois	29	Elected in 1984
						30	Re-elected in 1990 Retired
23	Dick Durbin	Democratic	January 3, 1997	Incumbent	Senate Democratic Whip (2003–present) Senate Majority Whip (2007–present)	31	Elected in 1996
						32	Re-elected in 2002
						33	Re-elected in 2008
#	Senator	Party	Took office	Left office	Other offices/Notes	Term	Electoral history

Class 3

#	Senator	Party	Took office	Left office	Other offices/Notes	Term	Electoral history
1	Ninian Edwards	Democratic- Republican	December 3, 1818	March 3, 1824	Chief Justice of Kentucky (1808) Governor of the Illinois Territory (1809–1818) Governor of Illinois (1826–1830)	1	Elected in 1818
						2	Re-elected in 1819 Resigned
2	John McLean	Democratic	November 24, 1824	March 3, 1825	Speaker of the Illinois House (1820–1822; 1826–1830)		Won special election Retired
3	Elias Kane	Democratic	March 4, 1825	December 12, 1835		3	Elected in 1825
						4	Re-elected in 1831 Died
4	William Lee D. Ewing	Democratic	December 30, 1835	March 3, 1837	Speaker of the Illinois House (1830–1832) Governor of Illinois (1834)		Appointed Lost election
5	Richard M. Young	Democratic	March 4, 1837	March 3, 1843		5	Elected in 1837 Retired
6	Sidney Breese	Democratic	March 4, 1843	March 3, 1849	Speaker of the Illinois House (1851–1853) Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court (1867–1870; 1873–1874)	6	Elected in 1843 Lost renomination
7	James Shields	Democratic	October 27, 1849	March 3, 1855	Later a senator from Minnesota and Missouri	7	Elected in 1849 Not seated Won special election Lost re-election
8	Lyman Trumbull	Democratic	March 4, 1855	March 3, 1873		8	Elected in 1855
		Republican
						9	Re-elected in 1861
						10	Re-elected in 1867
		Liberal Republican
9	Richard J. Oglesby	Republican	March 4, 1873	March 3, 1879	Governor of Illinois (1865–1869; 1873)	11	Elected in 1873 Retired
10	John A. Logan	Republican	March 4, 1879	December 26, 1886	A House impeachment manager for the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson Also served in Illinois's Class 1 seat 1871–1877	12	Elected in 1879
						13	Re-elected in 1885 Died
11	Charles B. Farwell	Republican	January 19, 1887	March 3, 1891			Won special election Retired
12	John M. Palmer	Democratic	March 4, 1891	March 3, 1897		14	Elected in 1890 Retired
13	William E. Mason	Republican	March 4, 1897	March 3, 1903		15	Elected in 1896 Retired
14	Albert J. Hopkins	Republican	March 4, 1903	March 3, 1909		16	Elected in 1902 Lost re-election
15	William Lorimer	Republican	June 18, 1909	July 13, 1912		17	Elected late in 1909 Election voided
16	Lawrence Y. Sherman	Republican	March 26, 1913	March 3, 1921	Speaker of the Illinois House (1899–1903) Lieutenant Governor of Illinois (1905–1909)		Won special election
						18	Re-elected in 1914 Retired
17	William B. McKinley	Republican	March 4, 1921	December 7, 1926	Speaker of the Illinois House (1913–1915)	19	Elected in 1920 Died
18	Frank L. Smith	Republican	December 7, 1926	February 9, 1928			Appointed Not seated/resigned
						20
19	Otis F. Glenn	Republican	December 3, 1928	March 3, 1933			Won special election Lost re-election
20	William H. Dieterich	Democratic	March 4, 1933	January 3, 1939		21	Elected in 1932 Retired
21	Scott W. Lucas	Democratic	January 3, 1939	January 3, 1951	Senate Minority Whip (1947–1949) Senate Majority Leader (1949–1951)	22	Elected in 1938
						23	Re-elected in 1944 Lost re-election
22	Everett Dirksen	Republican	January 3, 1951	September 7, 1969	Senate Minority Leader (1959–1969)	24	Elected in 1950
						25	Re-elected in 1956
						26	Re-elected in 1962
						27	Re-elected in 1968 Died
23	Ralph Tyler Smith	Republican	September 17, 1969	November 3, 1970	Speaker of the Illinois House (1967–1969)		Appointed Lost special election
24	Adlai Stevenson III	Democratic	November 17, 1970	January 3, 1981			Won special election
						28	Re-elected in 1974 Retired
25	Alan J. Dixon	Democratic	January 3, 1981	January 3, 1993		29	Elected in 1980
						30	Re-elected in 1986 Lost renomination
26	Carol Moseley Braun	Democratic	January 3, 1993	January 3, 1999	First Black woman in the Senate First Black Senator from Illinois	31	Elected in 1992 Lost re-election
27	Peter Fitzgerald	Republican	January 3, 1999	January 3, 2005		32	Elected in 1998 Retired
28	Barack Obama	Democratic	January 3, 2005	November 16, 2008	President of the United States (2009–2017)	33	Elected in 2004 Resigned
29	Roland Burris	Democratic		November 29, 2010	Illinois Comptroller (1979–1991) Illinois Attorney General (1991–1995)		Appointed Retired
30	Mark Kirk	Republican	November 29, 2010	January 3, 2017	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives		Won special election
						34	Re-elected in 2010 Lost re-election
31	Tammy Duckworth	Democratic	January 3, 2017	Incumbent	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
						35	Elected in 2016
#	Senator	Party	Took office	Left office	Other offices/Notes	Term	Electoral history

Living former Illinois senators

As of January 2017^[update], six former senators are alive: