Lisa Madigan

In November 2002, Lisa Madigan became the first female elected to serve as the Illinois Attorney General, and one of only a handful of female Attorneys General in the country. She was elected to a second term in November 2006, earning the largest vote total of any statewide candidate in that election.

Often recognized for her leadership and integrity, Attorney General Madigan has brought a high level of activism to the Office of Illinois Attorney General. From her first days in office, she has demonstrated principled leadership, putting policy before politics and focusing her work as the state’s top legal advocate on protecting the people and communities of Illinois.

Before her election as Attorney General, Madigan served in the Illinois Senate and worked as a litigator for a Chicago law firm. Prior to becoming an attorney, she was a teacher and community advocate, 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 earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She and her husband, Pat Byrnes, have two daughters.