Usually, depending on the election year, roughly one-third or two-thirds of Senate seats are contested.

In contrast, the Illinois House of Representatives is made up of 118 members with its entire membership elected to two-year terms.

Its primary duties are to pass bills into law, approve the state budget, confirm appointments to state departments and agencies, act on federal constitutional amendments and propose constitutional amendments for Illinois.

Barack Obama began his political career in the Illinois Senate before going on to become President of the United States.

[13] Barack Obama, later the first African-American President of the United States, served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.