Governor of Illinois

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.

The current Governor of Illinois is Rod Blagojevich.

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-five years old,
*a United States citizen,
*a resident of Illinois for three years prior to election.

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 in the central part of the state. Governors have traditionally used this residence part of the year.

Lists

*Governors of Illinois

Resources

* [http://www.illinois.gov/mansiontour.cfm Illinois Executive Mansion]
* [http://www.illinois.gov/gov/ Illinois Office of the Governor]
* [http://www.graveyards.com/IL/governors.html Burial places of Illinois Governors]