Attorney General, State of Illinois, 2002-2019

Senator, Illinois State Senate, 1998-2002

Co-Chair, Conference of Women Legislators

Member, Governor's Education Funding Advisory Board

Member, Governor's Task Force on Universal Access to Preschool

Missionary

Assistant Dean, Adult and Continuing Education, Wright College

Staff, Office of Senator Paul Simon, Paul Simon

Litigator, Sachnoff & Weaver, Limited

Teacher, South Africa

Founder, Positive Alternatives Project

Awards:

Aspen Institute Rodel Fellowship
John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award

Favorite Book:

Nelson Mandela's 'Long Walk to Freedom'

Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mocking Bird'

David Bornstein's 'The Price of a Dream'

Ben Okri's 'The Famished Road'

Also, pretty much anything by:
Dave Eggers, Oliver Sacks, Michael Lewis, David Sedaris, P.G.Wodehouse; Ann Patchett; Atul Gawande; Anne LaMott, Jeffery Toobin; Christopher Buckley

Favorite Movie:

With young kids, we never have time to see movies these days other than Finding Nemo, Cars, Monsters, Inc., Ratatouille, and so on. Thankfully, Pixar movies are great at every age.

Favorite Musician:

Aaron Neville/the Neville Brothers, Aretha Franklin, The Beatles, Cassandra Wilson, Chaka Khan, the Clash, Dinah Washington, Earth, Wind & Fire, Ella Fitzgerald, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte, John Hiatt, King Sunny Ade, Kirk Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Paul Simon, Prince, Sergio Mendes, Stevie Wonder, Stimela, Tito Puente, Talking Heads, Tom Waits

Favorite TV Shows:

30 Rock

Hobbies or Special Talents:

Cooking, canoeing, reading, crossword puzzles, walking, and birdwatching.
My kids, gardening, cooking, music, and photography.