The Socialist Party of Illinois (SPIL) is a political party in the state of Illinois. It was affiliated with the Socialist Party of America. It was founded in September 1901, though the grouping met in 1900 at a convention in Chicago and supported Eugene V. Debs for president in 1900. It was the successor to the Social Democratic Party of America.[1]
In 1915, the party had 6,004 members. 44 party members held public office in that year, including one mayor, 18 aldermen and 2 members of the Illinois House of Representatives among others. The Chicago Socialist was the newspaper of the Socialist Party of Illinois.[1]
The Chicago Socialist Party was the most active local in the SPIL and one of the most active in the United States.[2] It is now an affiliate of the Socialist Party USA.
From 1904 to 1948, the SPIL placed its nominee for president on the Illinois ballot. In 1952 and 1956, the party's nominee was not on the ballot, nor has the party placed the SPUSA nominee on the ballot since it began running candidates again in 1976.
| Year | Presidential Nominee | Vice-Presidential Nominee | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eugene V. Debs | Benjamin Hanford | 69,225 (6.43%) | |
| Eugene V. Debs | Benjamin Hanford | 34,711 (3.00%) | |
| Eugene V. Debs | 81,278 (7.09%) | ||
| 61,394 (2.80%) | |||
| 74,747 (3.57%) | |||
| Robert M. La Follette[3] | 432,027 (17.49%) | ||
| 19,138 (0.62%) | |||
| 67,258 (1.97%) | |||
| 7,530 (0.19%) | |||
| 10,914 (0.26%) | |||
| 180 (0.00%) | |||
| 11,522 (0.29%) | |||