Kimberly A. Lightford

Kimberly Ann Lightford (born May 10, 1968) is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 4th district since 1998. She is Senate Majority Leader and also serves on Labor, Education, Executive, Financial Institutions and Redistricting committees. She is also chair of the Senate Black Caucus and co-chair of the Illinois Commission of Intergovernmental Cooperation.

Kimberly Lightford
Majority Leader of Illinois Senate
Assumed office
January 9, 2019
Preceded byJames Clayborne Jr.
Member of the Illinois Senate
from the 4th district
Assumed office
November 20, 1998
Preceded byEarlean Collins
Personal details
Born (1968-05-10) May 10, 1968
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationWestern Illinois University (BA)
University of Illinois, Springfield (MPA)

Biography

Lightford attended Proviso East High School before going on to Western Illinois University, where she was initiated as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. After college, she attended graduate school at the University of Illinois at Springfield where she earned a master's degree in Public Administration (MPA) and completed an internship with the Illinois Department of Corrections. After graduation, she accepted a position with the Department of Corrections in Chicago. She successfully ran for Maywood Village Trustee after encouragement from her state representative. When State Senator Earlean Collins announced plans to retire, Lightford was elected in March 1998 and began serving in November, two months before the traditional inauguration, when Collins retired.

In July 2016, the Illinois Senate passed a stop-gap temporary budget bill. Within a few minutes, Lightford addressed the Senate. In her remarks, she said that legislators needed to get paid for their work. Although the only body in Illinois responsible for the state budget is the state legislature, Lightford said, "And I think it’s wrong for our income to be held for months, and months, and months, which is another game that’s being played."[1]

In 2018, Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker appointed Lightford to the Educational Success transition committee, which is responsible for state education policy.[2]

After Illinois Senate President John Cullerton announced his retirement, Lightford became a candidate to replace him. If she had been selected, she would have been the first woman to hold the position. She was ultimately beaten out for the position by Don Harmon.[3] After losing to Harmon in closed-door Democratic Party negotiations, Lightford herself placed Harmon's name into nomination at the formal vote for Senate President.[4]

References
  1. "Sen. Kimberly Lightford's Questionable Campaign Spending". Retrieved 2016-09-01.
  2. Miller, Rich (November 27, 2018). "Pritzker transition announces Educational Success Committee". Capitol Fax. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  3. "Harmon wins top Senate post". www.oakpark.com. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  4. Sfondeles, Tina (19 January 2020). "Illinois Senate president race: Accusations of personal betrayal and payback fly furiously". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
Illinois Senate
Preceded by
James Clayborne Jr.		 Majority Leader of the Illinois Senate
2019–present		 Incumbent
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.