A GUIDE TO THE CONGRESSIONAL RACES: ILLINOIS

ILLINOIS

Population (1994): 11,752,000 (up 2.8% from 1990), 4.5% of U.S. total

Voting-age population: 8,712,000; 1994 turnout, 35%

Median age: 32.8 years

Median household income: $35,081 ($2,817 above U.S.median)

Unemployment: 5.1% (0.5% below U.S. average, March 1996)

Last presidential election: Clinton (D): 49% Bush (R): 34% Perot (I): 17%

Congressional delegation: 12 Democrats, 10 Republicans

A good mix of Democratic and Republican representatives testifies to the state's moderate place in American politics--except for Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Woodrow Wilson in 1916, Illinoisians have voted for every presidential winner for 100 years. But two open House seats and a hotly contested...