Pat Quinn (politician)
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Patrick Quinn | |
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Incumbent | |
Assumed office January 16, 2003 |
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Governor(s) | Rod Blagojevich |
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Preceded by | Corrine Wood |
Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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Born | September 01 1948 (age 58) |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Mary Quinn |
Profession | Tax Attorney |
Patrick J. Quinn (born December 16, 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
- 2002 Race for Governor / Lieutenant Governor
- Rod Blagojevich / Pat Quinn (D) 52%
- Jim Ryan / Carl Hawkinson (R) 45%
[edit] External links
- Lt. Governor Pat Quinn official state site
- Follow the Money - Pat Quinn 2006 campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart - Pat Quinn (IL) profile
- Pat Quinn for Lt. Governor official campaign site
Preceded by Corrine Wood |
Lieutenant Governor of Illinois 2003 – present |
Incumbent |