Yates graduated from Illinois College in Jacksonville in 1880 and from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1884.

He began his campaign as a "dark horse" under the cloak of neutrality, which won him support from Senator Shelby Moore Cullom's "federal crowd".

The subsequent, decisive election sent Yates to the governor's chair by 61,233 votes over Democrat Samuel Alschuler of Aurora.

The keynote legislation signed during the governorship of Richard Yates was a new child labor law, the first of its kind in any state, restricting the work week of children to no more than 48 hours.

Yates restricted prison industries, but vetoed a bill calling for a centralized audit of all state agencies.

Highly critical of the stylish governor, who retained the parade pomp of John Tanner and his "sunburst colonels", Chicago newspapers alleged that Yates Jr. was compelling state employees to contribute to a slush fund.

[3] In the 1906–07 United States Senate election, Yates challenged incumbent Shelby Moore Cullom for the Republican nomination.