Whether you’ve paid any attention to the 2014 election or not, you’ve most likely heard something about it from someone at home, school, or even work.

The gubernatorial election was the most prevalent and known, so you have probably heard the most about that.

Pat Quinn, the democratic incumbent who was running for a second full term as governor ran against Bruce Rauner, a Republican businessman from Illinois.

Quinn had plans to create a blueprint that would secure Illinois’ finances and fund for things like education, public safety, and critical human services.

Quinn was beat in the governor’s race by Bruce Rauner, who won 50.8 percent of the vote. Rauner plans to continue growing the economy in Illinois and increase jobs as well as eliminating the tax hike.

“I think that Rauner being a Republican will really affect Chicago specifically, especially in the south side of Chicago, where there’s a lot of poverty and violence,” said Gabriela Palomino, sophomore. “People there want a Democratic governor that can enforce government aid, and I don’t think that Rauner, being a Republican, will help.”

We won’t know if Rauner’s new plans for Illinois will positively or negatively affect the state until later, but for now Rauner is working hard to generally improve Illinois.

For the first time since 2007, the republicans gained power in the U.S Senate. Illinois’s candidate, Dick Durbin, was re-elected for his seat in the Senate against Jim Oberweis by a 53 percent vote. Durbin plans to continue the Affordable Care Act – a new health reform law that will ultimately reduce health care costs – and help get the economy on track again by creating new jobs.

Jim Oberweis has been a Republican member of the Illinois Senate for the 25th district since 2013. In general, his goal as a U.S Senate member was to continue to encourage job growth and produce a government with less regulation and lower taxes. Although Oberweis did not win a seat in the U.S Senate, he will most likely run again in the next election.

The main goals of the U.S. Senate is to provide affordable health care, and an accountable government overalll.

While some York students had very strong opinions on the election, others barely knew who the candidates were and what they stand for.

“I didn’t really pay attention to the election at all,” said Blythe Dolby, sophomore. “I wish that we had talked about it more in class, then I probably would have known what was going on.”