The Illinois Green Party is a statewide political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

.

The party is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States. Its stated mission

Mission statement

A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making...

 and purpose are to advance the Ten Key Values of the Green Party in Illinois through political

Politics

Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

 means and to support individual members and the formation of Green Party locals.

In 2006, the party ran its first statewide candidates led by Rich Whitney

Rich Whitney

Rich Whitney is an Illinois politician and civil rights attorney who was the Illinois Green Party's nominee for Governor of Illinois in the elections of 2006 and 2010. During the 2006 campaign Whitney received endorsements from several newspapers, including the Rockford Register Star, Southwest...

, candidate for Illinois Governor, who received 361,336 votes for 10% of the total vote, making the Green Party one of only three legally established, statewide political parties in Illinois, in addition to the Democratic

Democratic Party of Illinois

The Democratic Party of Illinois is a political party and affiliate of the United States Democratic Party in Illinois. It is the oldest still-existing state party in Illinois and, along with the Green and Republican Parties, one of just three legally established parties in the state.-History:The...

 and Republican

Illinois Republican Party

The Illinois Republican Party is the state-level affiliate of the Republican Party in Illinois. Since August 20, 2009, it has been chaired by Pat Brady...

 parties. Though after the 2010 election the Illinois Green Party will have probably lost their established party status, because none of their candidates for statewide office broke the 5% threshold, which determines established parties in Illinois.

As of September 1, 2009 there were six Illinois Green Party members holding elected office.

At the 2007 Green National Meeting the Illinois Green Party submitted a Proposal to host the 2008 Green Party National Convention. http://www.greenconvention2008.com/ Greens from four cities had submitted proposals for the 2008 convention but in the end The National Committee chose Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

.

As an established party it is entitled to a presidential primary, if at least two candidates qualify for that primary. Illinois law requires all candidates in a presidential primary to submit 3,000 signatures which are due in November 2007. On November 5, 2007 the deadline for candidate petitions to run in the Green presidential primary, four Greens filed Cynthia McKinney

Cynthia McKinney

Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...

, Kent Mesplay

Kent Mesplay

Kent Mesplay is the California delegate to the Green National Committee and unsuccessfully sought the 2004 Green Party Presidential nomination which he lost again in 2008.-Personal:...

, Jared Ball and Howie Hawkins

Howie Hawkins

Howie Hawkins is an American politician and activist with the Green Party of the United States and Socialist Party USA. He co-founded the anti-nuclear Clamshell Alliance in 1976 and the Green Party in the United States in 1984. He was New York's Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in the...

. (Hawkins was believed to be a stand-in for Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....

). Only eight state affiliates of the Green Party held presidential primaries in 2008 (other states nominated by caucus or convention).

The Ten Key Values

Key values of the Green Party platform include the following:

1. Ecological wisdom
2. Social justice
3. Grassroots democracy
4. Nonviolence
5. Decentralization
6. Community-based economics
7. Feminism
8. Respect for diversity
9. Personal and global responsibility
10. Future focus

Local chapters

There are currently 24 local chapters affiliated with the Party with a 25th forming in DeKalb County. It will be breaking away from a bigger local, the Northwestern Illinois Greens, comprising Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago counties.

2008 elections

In 2008 32 Green Party candidates filed petitions to run in the Illinois Green Party primary by the filing deadline. The party also had the power to fill ballot vacancies in races where nobody is picked in the Feb. 5 primary. Following the primary and state party convention the party has fielded sixty candidates for the November general election.

Elected Illinois Greens

As of September 1, 2009

• Robert Braam - Library Board Trustee (Manhattan Public Library, Will County)
• Kris Campbell - Village Trustee (Poplar Grove, Boone County)
• Val Densmore - School Board Trustee (Country Club Hills, SD #160, Cook County)
• Jon Murray - Trustee (Village of Mount Morris, Ogle County)
• Scott Summers - Trustee (McHenry County College, McHenry County)
• Bruce Samuels - Library Board (Oak Park Village, Cook County)

See also

• Illinois gubernatorial election, 2006
  Illinois gubernatorial election, 2006
  The Illinois gubernatorial election of 2006 occurred on November 7, 2006. The Governor of Illinois, Democrat Rod Blagojevich, won re-election for a four-year term scheduled to have ended on January 10, 2011. However, Blagojevich was impeached in 2009...
  
  
• 2006 Election for statewide offices in the State of Illinois
• Government of Illinois
  Government of Illinois
  The state government of Illinois is modeled after the federal government with adaptations originating from traditions cultivated during the state's frontier era. The capital city of Illinois is Springfield. Under the Constitution of 1970, there are three branches of government: executive,...
  
  

External links

• Illinois Green Party (Official site)
• ILGP on Facebook
• ILGP MySpace page