Pat Quinn (politician)

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Patrick "Pat" Quinn (born 1948) is an American politician from Illinois.

A career Democrat, he currently serves as the 45th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. He was elected in 2002 and took office in 2003. The Governor is Rod Blagojevich. Quinn served as the elected State Treasurer of Illinois from 1991 to 1995. Prior to state service, Pat Quinn worked in Cook County government.

In 1980, Quinn successfully led the statewide campaign for the Cutback amendment to the Illinois Constitution, which reduced the size of the Illinois House of Representatives from 177 to 118 members. Before the Cutback amendment, three state representatives had been elected from each of 59 districts, yielding a total of 177 members. After the Amendment, representatives were elected from 118 single member districts.

Before becoming lieutenant governor, Quinn was a tax attorney. He earned an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from Northwestern University. He gained some early fame in the late 1970s by leading an ultimately unsuccessful drive to amend, via a petition drive, the 1970 Illinois Constitution with the "Illinois Initiative". This amendment would have provided people from Illinois with the same power to enact statutes through the process of referenda that is used in other states, notably California. Though Quinn's petition drive was successful, his efforts were blocked by the Illinois Supreme Court that ruled that the Illinois Initiative was an "unconstitutional constitutional amendment", and it was never allowed to be placed before the voters.

Quinn received a second term as lieutenant governor of Illinois. In the Illinois primary election in March 2006, he ran unopposed as a Democrat. In November 2006, he and Governor Rod Blagojevich won re-election to their respective offices.

[edit] Electoral history

  • 2006 Race for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
Main article: 2006 Election for statewide offices in the State of Illinois#Race for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
Preceded by
Corrine Wood		 Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
2003 – present		 Incumbent
Current lieutenant governors (and first in lines of succession) of states of the United States

AL: Jim Folsom, Jr. (D)
AK: Sean Parnell (R)
AZ: Jan Brewer (SS) (R)
AR: Bill Halter (D)
CA: John Garamendi (D)
CO: Barbara O'Brien (D)
CT: Michael Fedele (R)
DE: John C. Carney, Jr. (D)
FL: Jeffrey Kottkamp (R)
GA: Casey Cagle (R)
HI: James Aiona (R)
ID: Mark Ricks (R)
IL: Pat Quinn (D)

IN: Becky Skillman (D)
IA: Patty Judge (D)
KS: Mark Parkinson (D)
KY: Steve Pence (R)
LA: Mitch Landrieu (D)
ME: Beth Edmonds (SP) (D)
MD: Michael S. Steele (R)
MA: Kerry Healey (R)
MI: John D. Cherry (D)
MN: Carol Molnau (R)
MS: Amy Tuck (R)
MO: Peter Kinder (R)
MT: John Bohlinger (R)

NE: Rick Sheehy (R)
NV: Brian Krolicki (R)
NH: TBD (D)
NJ: Richard Codey (SP) (D)
NM: Diane Denish (D)
NY: Mary Donohue (R)
NC: Beverly Perdue (D)
ND: Jack Dalrymple (R)
OH: Lee Fisher (D)
OK: Jari Askins (D)
OR: Bill Bradbury (SS) (D)
PA: Catherine Baker Knoll (D)
RI: Elizabeth H. Roberts (D)

SC: André Bauer (R)
SD: Dennis Daugaard (R)
TN: John S. Wilder (D)
TX: David Dewhurst (R)
UT: Gary R. Herbert (R)
VA: Bill Bolling (R)
VT: Brian Dubie (R)
WA: Brad Owen (D)
WI: Barbara Lawton (D)
WV: Earl Ray Tomblin (SP) (D)

WY: Max Maxfield (SS) (R)

SP=Senate President
SS=Secretary of State
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