Incumbent Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who had been Senate Minority Whip since 2015, won reelection to a fifth term in office, defeating Republican nominee Mark Curran.

Key to Durbin's landslide victory was the heavily populated and very Democratic Cook County home of Chicago, which he won by around 560,000 votes.

[1] The primaries and general elections coincide with those for federal (president and House) and those for state offices.

Attorneys General Illinois legislators Newspapers Organizations Individuals [30] A legal ruling, taking note of the COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois, allowed the Libertarian and Green Parties to have their selected candidate on the ballot without the normal signature requirements, as they each ran a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2016.

Durbin won 12 of the 18 congressional districts, with the remaining 6 going to Curran, including one that elected a Democrat.