Illinois Certifies 20 Votes For Joe Biden In Electoral College

ILLINOIS — Illinois' 20 Electoral College votes have gone to Joe Biden, who will take office Jan. 20 as the 46th president of the United States, despite failed legal challenges and continuing protests from outgoing President Donald Trump.

The state's electors, a group of government officials and Democratic Party representatives, met for about an hour Monday at the State House in Springfield before sending their votes to Washington, where they will be officially counted on Jan. 6 during a joint session of Congress.

"Today, all over the country, electors just like us are fulfilling a constitutional duty to affirm the will of the people. Ladies and gentlemen, you have fulfilled a solemn and important responsibility for our democracy here today," said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who served as an elector. "The election is affirmed and it is now time for us as a country to move forward, transition in full and embrace the promise of a new administration led by President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Their success is our success, and we need desperately to unite as a people."

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker praised the meeting of electors Monday morning as "democracy in action."

Biden carried Illinois 57.5 to 40.6 percent — with 3,471,915 votes to Trump's 2,446,891.