Born in Buffalo,New York,Pullen was raised in Park Ridge,Illinois. She was part of the first graduating class of Maine South High School in 1965 where she was classmates with Hillary Clinton.[3] Pullen received her bachelor's degree in communications from University of Illinois at Chicago. Pullen worked as a television production technician,reporter,editorial assistant,and proof reader. She then worked as a staffer for State Representative Robert Juckett while in college and eventually ran to replace him following his death.[4]
Pullen passed numerous bills related to HIV/AIDS during her tenure including one that required mandatory AIDS testing for marriage-license applicants in Illinois.[12] The marriage testing bill was later repealed after only 18 positive cases were found from 65,500 tests.[13]
Pullen with President Reagan during the launch of the AIDS Commission at the National Institutes of Health on July 23,1987
On July 23,1987,Pullen was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the President's Commission on the HIV Epidemic.[14][15] Pullen would later be noted for her role in an Illinois law she sponsored which became the model for other states' criminalization-of-hiv-transmission laws.[16]
In 1990,Pullen ran for re-election in the Republican primary against Rosemary Mulligan,an abortion rights supporter.[18] After the first count,Mulligan was named the winner by 11 votes. The courts then ordered a recount that left the vote tied,and so a coin toss was used to break the tie. Mulligan won the coin toss. Pullen then appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court,which did their own recount that left Pullen the winner. The race gained national attention for its focus on abortion and groups on both sides of the debate contributed heavily to the candidates.[19][18] The recount case was later cited by Vice President Al Gore's legal team during the 2000 Florida recount as precedent for counting "dimpled chads".[20]
In 1992,Mulligan ran again and defeated Pullen in the Republican primary.[22] Following the loss,Pullen served as the first executive director of the Illinois Family Institute.[23] Pullen has also served as the President of the Illinois state chapter of the Eagle Forum.[24]
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