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 nickname "Blago",is an American politician,political commentator,and convicted felon 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.
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.
Roland Wallace Burris is an American retired Democratic politician and attorney who served as Attorney General of Illinois from 1991 to 1995. In January 2009,he was appointed a United States Senator,succeeding Barack Obama,who resigned to become president of the United States. Burris held this position until November 2010,retiring from front-line politics shortly after.
John J. Cullerton is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate,representing the 6th district from his appointment in 1991 to 2020. He served as President of the Illinois Senate from 2009 to 2020.
Louis S. Viverito is a former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate,representing the 11th district from 1995 until his resignation in 2011.
Kwame Raoul is an American lawyer and politician who has been the 42nd Attorney General of Illinois since 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Alexander Giannoulias is an American financier and politician who is the Secretary of State of Illinois. He previously served as the 72nd Illinois Treasurer from 2007 to 2011.
The Health Care Justice Act (HCJA) was a law in Illinois that sought "to insure that all residents have access to quality health care at costs that are affordable". The Health Care Justice Campaign led public advocacy for the act,which was passed after a two-year fight and took effect on July 1,2004. In the state legislature,the act was spearheaded by the chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee,Barack Obama.
Mike Jacobs was a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate,who represented the 36th District from when he was appointed in 2005 until 2015. The 36th district,located in Western Illinois,includes all or parts of East Moline,Moline,Rock Island,Rock Falls and Sterling.
Don Harmon is an American attorney serving as a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate,representing the 39th District since 2003. His district includes Chicago's Austin neighborhood and the suburbs of Oak Park,Addison,Bensenville,Elmwood Park,Franklin Park,Melrose Park,Northlake,River Grove,Rosemont,Schiller Park,and Stone Park.
Barack Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004,when he was elected to the United States Senate. During this part of his career,Obama continued teaching constitutional law part time at the University of Chicago Law School as he had done as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996,and as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004.
The United States Senate career of Barack Obama began on January 3,2005,and ended on November 16,2008. A member of the Democratic Party from the state of Illinois,Obama previously served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2005. He resigned his seat in the U.S. Senate upon being elected President of the United States.
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.
The 2000 United States House of Representatives election for the 1st district in Illinois took place on November 7,2000 to elect a representative from Illinois's 1st congressional district for the 107th United States Congress. Incumbent Democratic Representative Bobby Rush faced a primary challenge from Illinois Senator and future President Barack Obama. Rush defeated Obama 61 percent to 30 percent,with other candidates combining for the remaining nine percent. Rush later defeated his Republican opponent,Raymond Wardingley,88 percent to 12 percent,ensuring his reelection. Subsequent to this election,Obama was elected to the Senate in 2004,and later elected President in 2008.
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.
Barack Obama won three Illinois Senate elections. The Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama began in 1997 after his first election in 1996 to a two-year term in the Illinois Senate representing Illinois' 13th Legislative District in Chicago. He was re-elected in 1998 to a four-year term and re-elected again in 2002 to another four-year term. He resigned from the Illinois Senate in 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate. He resigned from the U.S. Senate following his election in 2008 to become the 44th President of the United States in 2009.
Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday,November 2,2010. Primary elections were held on February 2,2010.
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.
