Neil Hartigan | |
---|---|
38th Attorney General of Illinois | |
In office January 12, 1983 – January 14, 1991 |
|
Governor | James R. Thompson |
Preceded by | Tyrone C. Fahner |
Succeeded by | Roland Burris |
40th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois | |
In office January 8, 1973 – January 10, 1977 |
|
Governor | Daniel Walker |
Preceded by | Paul Simon |
Succeeded by | Dave O'Neal |
Personal details | |
Born |
Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
May 4, 1938
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Marge Dunne |
Profession | Attorney and Politician |
Neil F. Hartigan (born May 4, 1938) is an Illinois Democrat who has served as Illinois Attorney General, the 40th Lieutenant Governor, and a justice of the Illinois Appellate Court. Hartigan also was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1990 but lost the race to Republican Jim Edgar.
Hartigan grew up in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, in an Irish Catholic family. His father David was Alderman of the 49th Ward. Hartigan graduated from Loyola Academy. He graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. with a bachelor's degree in 1959. He received a juris doctor degree from Loyola University College of Law in 1962.
Upon completion of law school Hartigan worked for 10 years for the city of Chicago. He served in various roles: as the city's legislative counsel in Springfield, as attorney for the Chicago Board of Health and as general counsel for the Chicago Park District.
In 1972, Hartigan was selected as the running mate to the party's endorsed candidate, then-lieutenant governor Paul Simon. Simon lost the Democratic gubernatorial nomination to Dan Walker, while Hartigan beat Walker's hand-picked running mate, Carbondale mayor Neal Eckert. Walker and Hartigan won the general election, making Hartigan, at age 34, the youngest lieutenant governor in the nation. Following his election Time magazine named him as one of 200 future leaders of the country.