Neil Hartigan

Cornelius Francis "Neil" Hartigan (born May 4, 1938) is an American politician, lawyer, and judge who served as the 38th Attorney General of Illinois and the 40th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

A protégé of Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, Hartigan started his political career working in the mayor's office and in local government. He was elected lieutenant governor alongside Dan Walker in the 1972 gubernatorial election. Although he won renomination for a second term, Hartigan and Secretary of State Micheal Howlett lost the 1976 general election. Hartigan was later elected attorney general in 1982. He went on to be reelected in 1986.

Hartigan was also the Democratic nominee for Governor of Illinois in 1990, but he lost the close race to Republican Jim Edgar. In 2002, Hartigan became a justice of the Illinois Appellate Court. He retired in 2004.

Early life and education
Hartigan grew up in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. Born into an Irish Catholic political family, his father, David L. Hartigan, worked for the city and was appointed City Treasurer of Chicago by Mayor Martin H. Kennelly, serving from 1954 until 1955. David Hartigan went onto be twice elected Alderman of the 49th Ward, later dying in office in 1959. His paternal uncle, Matthew, was a prominent longtime judge on Chicago's South Side.

The younger Hartigan graduated from Loyola Academy and attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. At Georgetown, he was a classmate of future Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Hartigan graduated from Georgetown with a bachelor's degree. He later received a juris doctor degree from Loyola University College of Law in 1966.

Early career
Upon the completion of law school, Hartigan worked for the City of Chicago as the administrative assistant to Mayor Richard J. Daley, a friend of his late father. Hartigan was eventually made liquor commissioner, becoming in charge of the city’s liquor licensing, and served as a deputy mayor. He also helped manage the Daley’s successful reelection campaigns in 1967 and 1971. Following Daley's health struggles and subsequent death in 1976, Hartigan was floated as a possible successor.

Hartigan also was the City of Chicago's legislative counsel in Springfield, the state's capital. In addition, he worked as the attorney for the Chicago Board of Health and the general counsel for the Chicago Park District.

In his first race for political office, Hartigan was elected the Democratic Committeeman for Chicago's 49th ward in 1968. He held the position for about 12 years, stepping down in 1980. During his work under Daley, Hartigan also assisted with Chicago's host duties for the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Lt. Governor & Attorney General
In 1971, then-lieutenant governor Paul Simon asked Hartigan to be his running mate in the next year's gubernatorial election. During the Democratic primary election, Hartigan won the lieutenant governor nomination, but Simon lost in an upset to political outsider Dan Walker. Hartigan and Walker were elected on the same ticket in the 1972 general election, defeating the incumbent Republican governor Richard B. Ogilvie and his running mate Jim Nowlan.

At the time of his inauguration, Hartigan was the youngest lieutenant governor in the nation. Time magazine also named Hartigan in 1973 as one of the future 200 leaders of the country. One of Hartigan's most notable accomplishments as lieutenant governor was establishing a statewide Department of Aging, which was made to run Illinois's government programs for the elderly. During their tenure, Hartigan and Walker didn’t have a amicable relationship as they represented opposite wings of the Illinois Democratic Party. Hartigan was seen as a figure of the Chicago political machine and Walker was a noted anti-machine candidate.

He ran for reelection as lieutenant governor in the 1976 Illinois gubernatorial election. Governor Walker lost the primary to Secretary of State Michael Howlett. Hartigan easily won renomination, but the Democratic team of Howlett and Hartigan lost handily in the general election.

Following his defeat, he left public life and worked in the private sector. During this time, he was an executive for the First Chicago Bank, running their operations in the Western Hemisphere. In his absence from public office, Hartigan was a noted opponent of Mayor Jane Byrne, supporting Richard M. Daley in the contested 1983 mayoral primary.

Hartigan returned to politics to run successfully for Attorney General of Illinois in the 1982 election. As attorney general, Hartigan focused on consumer protection and stricter controls on hazardous waste. While in office, he served as chairman of the National Association of Attorneys General's consumer protection committee. Hartigan was reelected in 1986. He had briefly sought the governorship in 1986, but dropped out when former U.S. Senator Adlai Stevenson III entered the Democratic primary.

Hartigan also was a speaker at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, addressing the convention on its third day.

Hartigan was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1990. He lost in a close contest against Secertary of State Jim Edgar. Some observers attributed his narrow loss to his slight underperformance in Chicago.

Political ambitions after 1990
In 1995, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Hartigan was planning on running the for the U.S. Senate in 1996. After mulling over a bid with his advisers, Hartigan eventually decided against running for the seat.

During the 1990s, he was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve on the board of directors of Fannie Mae. He helped oversee the government-backed financial services company alongside future Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Later, Hartigan announced his intent to run for governor again in the 1998 election. Despite having remained a popular and well-known figure in Illinois Democratic politics, Hartigan reversed his decision and chose not to run, signaling the end of his political career.

Post-politics career
After leaving public office, Hartigan served as Chairman of World Trade Center Illinois. He also worked for a Chicago-based law firm. In 2002, he won election to the Illinois Appellate Court from the First District, which covers Cook County. After two years, Hartigan chose to retire voluntarily from the bench. Retiring on June 1, 2004, he was succeeded by P. Scott Neville Jr.

During the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Hartigan endorsed Hillary Clinton over Illinois Senator Barack Obama. He served on Clinton’s “Rapid Response” team for the February 5 primary.

On March 22, 2013, Governor Pat Quinn appointed Hartigan to the Illinois Court of Claims. He served as a justice on the court from May 2, 2013 until March 21, 2019.