Five things to know about Tuesday's election in Illinois:

1. EARLY VOTING PUSH PAID OFF

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. for those voters who didn't follow President Barack Obama's lead and vote early this year. Obama made a quick stop in Chicago late last month to cast his ballot, triggering laughs when a poll official asked him for a required photo ID and making him the first sitting president not to vote in-person on Election Day. The high-profile effort to encourage early voting apparently paid off. State officials said approximately 1.2 million Illinoisans voted early or requested absentee ballots this year — about 200,000 more than in 2008.