Illinois pulled off its Feb. 2 primary without any major problems from the weather — which was practically balmy compared to some early February days gone by.

Imagine if had been today with winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings in effect throughout much of the state.

Thanks to the abundance — some might say overabundance — of political ads, most people probably realized there was an election, even if they didn’t start paying attention until near the end.

But, really, voting in February in Illinois?

The early date is just asking for trouble. It puts campaign season too close to the Christmas season. It forces some politicians to start circulating petitions and running for re-election barely 18 months after being sworn in. It doesn’t give voters enough time to become adequately informed about the candidates.

Furthermore, it lengthens the “lame duck” period for incumbents who lost to primary challengers.

Moving the primary to later in the year isn’t just a matter of convenience or a hedge against snow or ice storms. The Illinois Reform Commission is among those recommending a later primary for “good government” reasons.

The commission’s report stated that the nine-month gap between the primary and general election “unnecessarily increases the need for campaign fundraising and favors incumbents.” The commission also said its “research suggests that holding primaries in February, in the middle of the coldest months of the year, creates an inhospitable environment for challengers to mount credible campaigns.”

The Illinois primary had traditionally taken place in mid-March, which can have its share of nasty weather, too, though not as frequently as February.

The 2008 primary was moved to the first Tuesday in February to give Illinois a bigger voice in the early stages of the presidential primary and, some argued, to give a boost to a certain Illinoisan who is now president.

Voters can hope that by the next presidential election an agreement will be reached to curb the race to be among the first with a presidential primary or caucus — which led to some ridiculously early voting in states other than Illinois.

But rather than waiting for those states to come to their senses, Illinois should take steps now to return some sanity to the timing of the primary.

The Illinois Reform Commission recommended having primary elections no earlier than June.

House Bill 4448 calls for moving the primary to the third Tuesday in June. Its cosponsors include state Reps. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington; Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, and Keith Sommer, R-Morton.

Even a return to March would be better than what we have now.