Conservative Wins GOP Primary for Senate Seat
March 18, 1998
Peter Fitzgerald, a conservative Republican who tapped into a family fortune to finance his maverick congressional campaign, defeated the GOP's handpicked candidate, a moderate whom party officials across the nation were counting on to retake the U.S. Senate seat from Democrat Carol Moseley-Braun.

Ill. Conservatives Win GOP Senate, Democratic Governor Nominations
March 17, 1998
A millionaire who many Republicans fear is too conservative to win in November defeated an abortion-rights supporter in a GOP primary for the right to challenge embattled Democratic Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun.

Illinois Democrats' Racial Divide Claims Practical Side
March 17, 1998
Illinois has elected more African Americans to statewide office than any other state. But the primary election presents a unique and polarizing question for Democrats here: Can the party choose four black candidates to top posts in November's general election, and still win?

Illinois Republican Gov. Edgar to Retire
August 21, 1997
Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar (R) announced that he will leave public office at the end of his term in January 1999, setting up what likely is to be a wild scramble to succeed him and a spirited Republican primary for the right to challenge Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.) in the 1998 general election.