Former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn

Keynote SPEAKER | LWVIL ISSUES BRIEFING 2025

Patrick Quinn Jr. served as the 41st governor of Illinois from 2009 to 2015. Among his achievements while in office was abolishing the death penalty in Illinois and signing the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, making Illinois the 16th state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage. He additionally won high praise for his leadership on environmental and gun control issues.

Governor Quinn was born in Chicago, and is a graduate of Georgetown University and Northwestern University School of Law. An activist early in his career, he worked as an aide to Governor Dan Walker, and later served as a Commissioner on the Cook County Board of Appeals, Revenue Director in the administration of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, and as Treasurer of Illinois before becoming elected as Lieutenant Governor.