Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama
| Barack Obama | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Member of the Illinois Senate from the 13th district |
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In office January 9, 1997 – November 4, 2004 |
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| Preceded by | Alice J. Palmer |
| Succeeded by | Kwame Raoul |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 4, 1961 Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Michelle Obama (m. 1992) |
| Children | Malia Ann (b. 1998), Natasha ("Sasha") (b. 2001) |
| Residence | (Kenwood), Chicago, Illinois |
| Alma mater |
Harvard Law School Columbia University Occidental College |
| Profession | Attorney / Politician |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Barack Obama—U.S. Senator for Illinois |
The Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama began in with the 1997 swearing in of Obama to his first term in the Illinois Senate and ended with his 2004 election to the United States Senate. During this part of his career, Obama continued teaching constitutional law part time at the University of Chicago Law School as he had done as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2008.
In 1994, Senator Alice Palmer announced her desire to run for the United States House of Representatives, leaving the Senate's 13th district seat open. When filing opened in 1995 for her seat, Obama entered the race. Eventually, his challengers were disqualified and he won the Democratic primary unopposed in 1996. He won re election in 1998 and 2002. During his Senate tenure, Obama was involved with a wide range of legislation.
While serving, he ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in the 2000 elections. In the redistricting following 2000 Census, the Democrats gained control of the Illinois Senate, and Obama became more active in his legislation, which included work in areas such as health care, labor, law enforcement, campaign finance reform, welfare, and community reinvestment.
On November 21, 1994, Senator Alice Palmer, a Democrat of Chicago's South Shore neighborhood announced she was launching a campaign committee to raise funds to run in 1996 for the 2nd congressional district seat of indicted U.S. Representative Mel Reynolds, and suggested that 29-year-old Jesse Jackson, Jr. run for her 13th district Illinois Senate seat in 1996 instead of running against her for Congress.
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