Rod R. Blagojevich,often referred to by his nickname "Blago",is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. He was impeached,removed from office,convicted,and incarcerated for eight years on federal charges of public corruption. A member of the Democratic Party,Blagojevich previously worked in both the state and federal legislatures. He served as an Illinois state representative from 1993 to 1997,and the U.S. representative from Illinois's 5th district from 1997 to 2003.
Judy Baar Topinka was an American politician and member of the Republican Party from the U.S. State of Illinois.
Lisa Murray Madigan is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party,she served as Attorney General of the U.S. state of Illinois from 2003 to 2019,being the first woman to hold that position. She is the adopted daughter of Michael Madigan,who served as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1983 to 1995 and from 1997 to 2021.
Michael Joseph Madigan is an American politician who is the former speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. He was the longest-serving leader of any state or federal legislative body in the history of the United States,having held the position for all but two years from 1983 to 2021. He served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021. He represented the 27th District from 1971 to 1983,the 30th district from 1983 to 1993,and the 22nd district from 1993 to 2021. This made him the body's longest-serving member and the last legislator elected before the Cutback Amendment.
Emil Jones Jr. is an American politician who was the President of the Illinois Senate from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat,Jones served in the Illinois Senate from 1983 to 2009,where he served as President of the Illinois Senate from 2003 to the end of his term. Previously,he was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1973 until 1983.
Iris Y. Martinez is an American politician and administrator. In 2020,she was elected clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County. She previously served as a member of the Illinois Senate,representing the 20th district from 2003 until becoming clerk. A member of the Democratic Party,she rose to Assistant Majority Leader in the State Senate. As court clerk and as a state senator,she is the first Latina to have held either of those offices.
Susana A. Mendoza is an American politician. She is the 10th comptroller of Illinois,serving since December 2016. A member of the Democratic Party,she formerly served as Chicago city clerk and as an Illinois State Representative,representing the 1st District of Illinois.
Tom Cross is an American lawyer and former Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives where he served from 1993 to 2015. He served as House Minority Leader from January 2002 to August 2013,when he resigned to run for Illinois Treasurer.
In December 2008,then-Democratic Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff John Harris were charged with corruption by federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. As a result,Blagojevich was impeached by the Illinois General Assembly and removed from office by the Illinois Senate in January 2009. The federal investigation continued after his removal from office,and he was indicted on corruption charges in April of that year. The jury found Blagojevich guilty in August 2010 of one charge of making false statements with a mistrial being declared on the other 23 counts due to a hung jury after 14 days of jury deliberation. On June 27,2011,after a retrial,Blagojevich was found guilty of 17 charges,not guilty on one charge and the jury deadlocked after 10 days of deliberation on the two remaining charges. On December 7,2011,Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
A number of controversies related to Rod Blagojevich,formerly the Governor of Illinois,were covered in the press during and after his administration. In addition to a reputation for secrecy that was noted by the Associated Press,Blagojevich was the subject of political,legal,and personal controversies similar to those of his predecessor,Republican Governor George Ryan. To the surprise of many,Blagojevich said in 2008 that he agreed with the idea of commuting Ryan's federal prison sentence.
The University of Illinois clout scandal resulted from a series of articles in the Chicago Tribune that reported that some applicants to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC) "received special consideration" for acceptance between 2005 and 2009,despite having sub-par qualifications. The series began on May 29,2009. An investigatory committee appointed by Illinois governor Pat Quinn was formed a few weeks later. The controversy led to the resignation of B. Joseph White,president of the University of Illinois,who oversaw the three campuses in the university system,and Richard Herman,chancellor of UIUC. The scandal eventually spread to include evidence of graft by members of the Board of Trustees,resulting in the resignation of seven of the nine members.
Jay Robert Pritzker is an American businessman and politician serving since 2019 as the 43rd governor of Illinois. Pritzker,a member of the wealthy Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain,has started several venture capital and investment startups,including the Pritzker Group,where he is managing partner.
The 95th Illinois General Assembly,consisting of the Illinois Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives,existed from January 10,2007 to January 13,2009 during the final two years of Rod Blagojevich's governorship. The General Assembly met at Illinois State Capitol.
Ann M. Williams is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who has represented the 11th District since 2011. The district includes the Chicago neighborhoods of West Lakeview,Roscoe Village and North Center,as well as parts of Lincoln Park and Lincoln Square.
Emanuel Christopher Welch,known as Chris Welch,is a lawyer and politician who is the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. A Democrat,he represents the 7th district in Cook County,which includes all or parts of River Forest,Forest Park,Maywood,Broadview,Bellwood,Hillside,Westchester,La Grange Park and Berkeley.
Will Guzzardi is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who represents the 39th District. The 39th District includes parts of the Avondale,Belmont Cragin,Hermosa,Old Irving Park,Portage Park and Logan Square. Guzzardi is a co-chair of the Illinois House's Progressive Caucus.
The 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 6,2018,to elect the governor of Illinois,concurrently with the 2018 Illinois general election and other midterm elections. Incumbent Republican governor Bruce Rauner ran for re-election to a second term in office,but was defeated by Democratic nominee J. B. Pritzker. This was one of eight Republican-held governorships up for election in a state that Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election.
Juliana Stratton is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 48th lieutenant governor of Illinois since 2019. She previously served as a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019. She is the first African-American woman to become Illinois' lieutenant governor,and the state's fourth woman lieutenant governor overall,after Corinne Wood,Sheila Simon,and Evelyn Sanguinetti.
The 2018 elections for the Illinois House of Representatives took place on Tuesday,November 6,2018,to elect representatives from all 118 districts. The winners of this election served in the 101st General Assembly,with seats apportioned among the states based on the 2010 United States census. The Democratic Party has held a House majority since 1997. The inauguration of the 101st General Assembly occurred on Wednesday January 9,2019. The Democrats flipped 8 seats while Republicans flipped 1 seat,resulting in a net gain of 7 seats for the Democratic caucus.
On November 4,2014,Illinois voters approved the Illinois Right to Vote Amendment,a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the Constitution of Illinois. The amendment was designed to provide that no person shall be denied the right to register to vote or cast a ballot in an election based on race,color,ethnicity,language,national origin,religion,sex,sexual orientation or income.
