Lisa Madigan | |
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41st Attorney General of Illinois | |
Assumed office January 13, 2003 |
|
Governor |
Rod Blagojevich Pat Quinn Bruce Rauner |
Preceded by | Jim Ryan |
Member of the Illinois Senate from the 17th district |
|
In office January 13, 1999 – January 7, 2003 |
|
Preceded by | Bruce Farley |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Personal details | |
Born |
Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
July 30, 1966
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Pat Byrnes |
Alma mater |
Georgetown University (BA) Loyola University, Chicago (JD) |
Lisa Murray Madigan (born July 30, 1966) has been the 41st Attorney General of the US state of Illinois since 2003. She is the first female attorney general for Illinois. She is a Democrat and the stepdaughter of Michael Madigan, who has been Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives for most of the last quarter century.
On December 12, 2008, Madigan attracted national attention after filing a motion with the Supreme Court of Illinois to temporarily remove Governor Rod Blagojevich from office. The motion was subsequently denied by the court without a hearing, and Blagojevich was subsequently impeached and removed from office by the Illinois General Assembly.
Madigan attended The Latin School of Chicago for her secondary education. In 1988 she received her bachelor's degree from Georgetown University. She received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Prior to becoming an attorney, she worked as a teacher and community organizer, developing after-school programs to help keep kids involved in education and away from drugs and gangs. Madigan also volunteered as a high school teacher in South Africa during apartheid. Madigan later worked as a litigator for the Chicago law firm of Sachnoff & Weaver.
Madigan was elected and served as an Illinois state senator from 1998 through 2002, during which time she worked down the hall from Barack Obama. In 2002 she ran for Attorney General of Illinois and narrowly defeated Joe Birkett with 50.4% of the vote. In 2006 she was re-elected with 72.4% of the vote against Tazewell County State's Attorney Stewart "Stu" Umholtz.