ABSTRACT
The 1988 presidential election revealed all of the opportunities and constraints available to Latinos in Illinois. Latinos make up a small percentage of the voting electorate. Latinos have been residents of Illinois for generations. Their presence in the Midwest has been apparent since the 1700s, when the Spanish Empire included most of the midwestern states. The position of Latinos in illinois state politics features a set of opportunities and constraints that may serve as a prototype of Latino politics in other states, and especially as a prototype of Latino national politics. R. Santillan posits that the deportation of many Mexicans and Mexican Americans had the effect of inhibiting the political development of the midwestern Latino community more than in the Southwest. A Midwest Voter Registration and Education Project exit poll in 1984 of 624 Latino voters found that 72.5 percent supported Mondale and 27.5 percent supported Ronald Reagan.
