Jesse Louis Jackson Jr. is an American politician. He served as the U.S. representative from Illinois's 2nd congressional district from 1995 until his resignation in 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the son of activist and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson and, prior to his career in elected office, worked for his father in both the elder Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign and his social justice, civil rights and political activism organization, Operation PUSH. Jackson's wife, Sandi Jackson, served on the Chicago City Council. He served as a national co-chairman of the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign. Jackson established a consistent liberal record on both social and fiscal issues, and he has co-authored books on civil rights and personal finance.
Rod Blagojevich, often referred to by his nicknames "Blago" or "B-Rod", is an American former politician, political commentator, and convicted felon who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009, when he was impeached following charges of public corruption for which he was later sentenced to federal prison. 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.
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 indicted politician Michael Madigan, who served as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1983 to 1995 and from 1997 to 2021.
James Gerard Roche is an American politician. He served as the 20th Secretary of the Air Force, serving from January 20, 2001 to January 20, 2005. Prior to serving as secretary, Roche served in the United States Navy for 23 years, and as an executive with Northrop Grumman.
Victoria "Torie" Clarke is an American communications consultant who has served in several private sector positions and in three Republican presidential administrations, most notably as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs under Donald Rumsfeld.
Roland Wallace Burris is an American politician and attorney who is a former United States Senator from the state of Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party.
Ladda Tammy Duckworth is an American politician and retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel serving as the junior United States senator from Illinois since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented Illinois's 8th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017.
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.
Deborah L. Halvorson is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 11th congressional district from 2009 until 2011. Previously, she served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 through 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party. In September 2011, she filed to run in the newly redistricted 2nd congressional district but was defeated in the Democratic primary by the incumbent, Jesse Jackson Jr.
Tim Bivins was a Republican member of the Illinois Senate representing the 45th district from 2008 to 2018.
Alice J. Palmer is an American educator and politician who served as a member of the Illinois Senate. Known as a longtime progressive activist, Palmer represented the state's 13th Senate District from June 6, 1991, until January 8, 1997. At the time, the district spanned an economically diverse area and included the Chicago communities of Hyde Park, South Shore and Englewood.
Valerie June Jarrett is an American businesswoman and former government official. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Obama Foundation. She previously served as the senior advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama and assistant to the president for public engagement and intergovernmental affairs from 2009 to 2017. Before that, she served as a co-chair of the Obama–Biden Transition Project.
The presidential transition of Barack Obama began when he won the United States presidential election on November 4, 2008, and became the president-elect. Obama was formally elected by the Electoral College on December 15, 2008. The results were certified by a joint session of Congress on January 8, 2009, and the transition ended when Obama was inaugurated at noon EST on January 20, 2009.
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 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.
Ertharin Cousin is an American lawyer who served as the twelfth executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme from 2012 to 2017. Following the completion of her term, Cousin became Payne Distinguished Professor at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, distinguished fellow at the Center on Food Security and the Environment and the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, accepted an appointment as a distinguished fellow with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and became a trustee on the UK based Power of Nutrition Board of Directors.
Sue Rezin is a Republican member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 38th district since her appointment in December 2010. The 38th district includes Bureau, Putnam, LaSalle, Grundy, and Kendall counties in north central Illinois.
Sheila Nix is an American attorney and political strategist who served as Chief of Staff to Jill Biden, the Second Lady of the United States from April 2013 to January 2017.
Nani A. Coloretti is an American policy advisor who is currently serving as the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. Coloretti served as United States Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2014 to 2017. Following her service as deputy secretary, she became senior vice president for financial and business strategy and treasurer at the Urban Institute.
Katherine Joan Bedingfield is an American political advisor who is the White House Communications Director in the Biden administration. She served as deputy campaign manager for the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign and former communications director for Biden when he was Vice President in the Obama administration.
