Nominees

George Ryan (R)
As Illinois secretary of state, Ryan has friends in both parties. He opposes the Equal Rights Amendment and abortion rights, but picked a moderate woman, state Rep. Corinne Wood, as his running mate. Wood, undoubtedly chosen to balance the ticket and reach out to women voters, is a breast cancer survivor and supports abortion rights.
Campaign Web site
E-mail: ghryan@georgeryan.org

Rep. Glenn Poshard (D)
A conservative Democrat from the downstate 19th Congressional District, Poshard supports term limits and does not accept PAC money. Formerly a history and government teacher, he served in the Illinois state Senate from 1984 to 1988. Poshard has served in the U.S. House since 1988, and promised to limit his tenure there to five terms, ending in 1998. In Congress, he supported the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill. He opposes abortion, gun control and extending medical benefits to homosexual domestic partners. Poshard picked up a primary endorsement from the police union in January.
Campaign Web site
E-mail: poshard@inforel.com

Primary Contenders

John Schmidt (D)
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley endorsed Schmidt, a former Justice Department official who actively courted liberal Democrats. Dawn Clark Netsch, the 1994 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, endorsed Schmidt's candidacy in October, and the Illinois chapter of the National Organization for Women lent their support in January.
Campaign Web site
E-mail: schmidtbob@aol.com

Roland Burris (D)
Burris, who won election as state attorney general in 1978, was the first African American from Illinois to be elected to a constitutional office. He ran an unsuccessful Democratic gubernatorial primary bid in 1994 and an independent campaign for Chicago mayor in 1995.

Jim Burns (D)
A former U.S. attorney, Burns resigned his post last August to run for governor. The former Chicago Bull ran an unsuccessful 1990 campaign for lieutenant governor.
Campaign Web site
E-mail: burns98@aol.com

Chad Koppie (R)
A conservative retired airline pilot, Koppie ran third-party campaigns for U.S. Senate from the basement of his home in 1992 and 1996. Those campaigns won notice for their vivid anti-abortion television ads.