The Libertarian Party of Illinois is the Illinois affiliate of the Libertarian Party. The state chair is Jim Humay. There are thirteen Libertarian officeholders in Illinois.
Mission statement
Libertarian Party of Illinois mission is: To elect Libertarians to office and move public policy in a libertarian direction.
Key tenets
Key tenets of the Libertarian Party platform include the following:
- Adoption of laissez-faire principles to reduce the state's role in economic government. This would include, among other things, markedly reduced taxation, privatization of Social Security and welfare (for individuals, as well as elimination of "corporate welfare"), markedly reduced regulation of business, rollbacks of labor regulations, and reduction of government interference in foreign trade.
- Protection of property rights.
- Minimal government bureaucracy. The Libertarian Party states that the government's responsibilities should be limited to the protection of individual rights from the initiation of force and fraud.
- Civil libertarianism: Support for the protection of civil liberties, including the right to privacy, freedom of speech, freedom of association, and sexual freedom.
- Opposition to laws such as affirmative action and some non-discrimination laws in the private sector.
- Support for the unrestricted right to the means of self-defense (such as gun rights, the right to carry mace, pepper spray, or tasers etc.).
- Abolition of laws against "victimless crimes" (such as prostitution, seat belt laws, use of controlled substances, fraternization, etc.).
- Opposition to regulations on how businesses should run themselves (e.g. smoking bans)
- A foreign policy of free trade and non-interventionism.
- Support for a fiscally responsible government including a hard currency (commodity-based money supply as opposed to fiat currency).
- Abolition of all forms of taxpayer-funded assistance (welfare, food stamps, public housing, Health care, etc.)
- A pro-choice belief that abortion is a personal issue, and should not be part of government.
Established party status
As of January 17, 2024, the party has established party status in Cook, McLean, and Tazewell counties.
After the 1994 general election, the Libertarian Party achieved established party status for statewide offices in Illinois. This occurred after its candidates for the then-elected University of Illinois Board of Trustees cumulatively received 5.5% of all votes cast. After the party's success in the 1998 election for Ford County Sheriff and other countywide offices, it achieved established party status. Due to its second place showing over the then-dormant Democratic Party in that election, the Libertarians received the minority party's seat on the Board of Review and one of the five seats on the Sheriff's Merit Commission. This status was lost by 2002 after the Libertarian Party failed to field any candidates in the 2002 general election.
Other chapters
Other than its established party chapters, the Libertarian Party of Illinois also includes:
- Bond County Libertarians
- Champaign County Libertarian Party
- Clinton County Libertarian Party
- DeWitt County Libertarian Party
- DuPage Libertarians
- Fox Valley Libertarian Party, now defunct
- Illinois Valley Libertarians
- Kankakee County Libertarian Party
- Macoupin County Libertarian Party
- McHenry County Libertarians
- McLean County Libertarian Party
- Metro-East Libertarian Party
- Libertarian Party of Chicago
- Libertarian Party of DeKalb County
- Libertarian Party of Greater Peoria
- Libertarian Party of Lake County
- Libertarian Party of Macon County
- Libertarian Party of Northwestern Illinois
- Libertarian Party of Will County
- Libertarian Party of Whiteside County
- Southern Illinois Libertarian Party
- Warren County Libertarian Party
- Western Illinois Libertarian Party
Elected officeholders
As of January 10, 2024, the United States Libertarian Party lists four incumbent officeholders in Illinois on its website.
- Brody Anderson, trustee of the River Valley Library District Board of Trustees (Port Byron)
- Patrick Liapes, trustee of the Poplar Creek Library Board (Streamwood)
- Kelly Liebmann, township trustee of Greenwood Township
- Jonathan Russell, member of the Harrisburg Community Unit School District #3 Board of Education (Harrisburg)
Due to technical issues with the CiviCRM platform the national and state parties utilize, several elected officials were omitted but were mentioned in a media release published in Independent Political Report on February 21, 2025:
- Aisha Pickett, city treasurer of the City of Harvey (Harvey)
- Christopher Laurent, council member of the Chicago Police Council's 14th District (Chicago)
- Justin Gerstner, village president of the Village of Hamel (Hamel)
- Brandon Wisenburg, trustee of the Village of Peoria Heights (Peoria Heights)
- Justin Tucker, Libertarian ward committeeperson, Chicago 1st Ward
- Nico Tsatsoulis, Libertarian ward committeeperson, Chicago 5th Ward
- Jim Humay, Libertarian ward committeeperson, Chicago 36th Ward
- Dan Lewis, Libertarian ward committeeperson, Chicago 38th Ward
- Jason Decker, Libertarian township committeeperson, Bremen Township (Midlothian)
Electoral history 1998âÂÂ2020
2020 campaigns
2018 campaigns
2016 campaigns
2014 campaigns
2012 campaigns
2010 campaigns
2008 campaigns
2006 campaigns
2004 campaigns
2002 campaigns
2000 campaigns
1998 campaigns
See also
Notes
References
External links