Jill Morgenthaler (born March 31, 1954) was the 2008 Democratic nominee for Illinois' 6th congressional district defeating Stan Jagla in the primary. Morgenthaler was defeated by Peter Roskam, a Wheaton, Illinois Republican, in the Nov 2008 general election, by a 16% margin (58% to 42%),[1]
Morgenthaler was retired Colonel in the United States Army, serving for nearly 30 years. She has served in Korea, Berlin, Bosnia, and Iraq; and she handled disaster recovery during the San Francisco earthquake of 1989. In 2004, she handled press duties for the Army, including addressing the Abu Ghraib scandal.[2][3][4] and the deputy chief of staff appointed by Rod Blagojevich for public safety in Illinois.[5] She was appointed by the Illinois Democratic Governor, Rod Blagojevich, to serve as a homeland security adviser in Illinois.
Morgenthaler ran, as a non-resident of the 6th congressional district after the district line was redrawn by the Republican Party when U.S. Congressman Henry Hyde was in office. Morgenthaler is now four blocks outside of the 6th Congressional District and has lived in Des Plaines, Illinois for 16 years with her husband and two teenage children.[6] The U.S. Constitution requires only that a member, when elected, be "an inhabitant of the state in which he shall be chosen." Illinois does not have a district residency requirement.[7]
United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois, 2008#District 6