Why would he need to cheat in Illinois?
Standard operating procedure in Illinois. I grew up outside Chicago, but in Cook County, and from a VERY early age it was common knowledge that the Daley Machine controlled EVERYTHING in Chicago/Cook County. The Dems maintain firm control of the political landscape in Illinois. The Southern Illinois Dems (farmers and such) still think the Dems are like the Dems of the “old days” (like pre-1960s). And in Northern Illinois as I said, it was a given that Dems controlled everything from the candidates chosen to the votes cast. Just FYI - Chicago is where the “dead voter” jokes all originated...
Cheating in Illinois is just extending their web of evil for practice “just in case”. Can’t be too careful, you know. /s