- Debbie Halvorson
-
Debbie Halvorson 
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 11th districtIn office
January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011Preceded by Jerry Weller Succeeded by Adam Kinzinger Member of the Illinois Senate
from the 40th districtIn office
January 8, 1997 – January 3, 2009Preceded by Aldo DeAngelis Succeeded by Toi Hutchinson Personal details Born March 1, 1958
Chicago Heights, IllinoisPolitical party Democratic Spouse(s) Jim Bush Residence Crete, Illinois Alma mater Robert Morris College,
Prairie State College,
Governors State UniversityProfession sales representative Religion Lutheran - LCMS Deborah L. "Debbie" Halvorson (born March 1, 1958) is the former U.S. Representative for Illinois's 11th congressional district, serving from 2009 until 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party. In September 2011, she filed to run in the newly redistricted 2nd congressional district and will likely face a competitive primary with incumbent Democrat Jesse Jackson, Jr.[1]
Contents
Early life, education, and early career
Halvorson grew up in Steger, Illinois and graduated from Bloom High School. She and her husband Jim Bush live in Crete and have four children and four grandchildren.[2] She worked 13 years as a cosmetics saleswoman for Mary Kay before entering public service.[3] She has degrees from Robert Morris College, Prairie State College and Governors State University (Bachelor of Arts and Master's in Communication). She became a sales representative before running for public office until 1996.
Illinois State Senate
Halvorson was first elected to the Illinois State Senate in November 1996, beating the incumbent, Aldo DeAngelis.[4] In 2005, Halvorson became the first female Majority Leader of the Illinois State Senate. She has degrees from Robert Morris College, Prairie State College and Governors State University (Bachelor of Arts and Master's in Communication), all of which she attained while serving in the Senate.
After being diagnosed as a high risk for cervical cancer due to HPV, Halvorson gained special notoriety and controversy for her bid to create a program broaden access to HPV testing and vaccination.[5] She did this to help others so that they wouldn't have to go through the pain and struggle of cervical cancer if it was possible to eradicate.
Halvorson had a public dispute with Jesse Jackson, Jr., over the proposed Peotone airport, which led Jackson to attempt to tie Halvorson to Tony Rezko.The airport has never been in Jackson's district.[6][7]
Following Halvorson's election to the House, there was an ongoing process, narrowed to three possible candidates, for Halvorson's successor in the Illinois Senate; she was eventually replaced by Toi Hutchinson. Just before Halvorson was set to officially resign from her seat, Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested. Halvorson said, "As frustrated and disappointed as I was, I was not surprised."[8] She also called for Blagojevich to resign.[9]
U.S. Congress
Elections
- 2008
In September 2007, incumbent Republican U.S. Congressman Jerry Weller announced that he would not seek another term, citing the need to spend more time with his family. Halvorson won the open seat defeating Republican Marty Ozinga with 58% of the vote.
- 2010
See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois, 2010#District 11*Halvorson was defeated by Republican Adam Kinzinger, who won with 58% of the vote.
- 2012
See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois, 2012#District 2In September 2011, Halvorson filed a candidacy with the FEC to run in the newly redistricted Illinois' 2nd congressional district, against incumbent Democrat Jesse Jackson, Jr.. “He (Jackson) lives in D.C. He doesn’t come home on weekends. His kids go to school in D.C."[10] She also said that “They should be fearing me becoming a congresswoman. I represent the people who live in the (current) 11th district. He’s just nervous that I’m going to become a congresswoman because then his control is over.”[11] The newly drawn district is just 54% African American.[12]
Tenure
On October 2, 2007, Halvorson announced her decision to run for Illinois's 11th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, after current incumbent Jerry Weller announced in September that he would not be running for re-election. EMILY's List endorsed Halvorson in November. In February 2008, Republican nominee, New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann, withdrew from the race, citing other obligations.[13] He was replaced by Marty Ozinga, whom Halvorson easily defeated in the general election.
Halvorson was appointed to the powerful Steering and Policy Committee as well as a member of Veterans, Small Business and Agriculture. One of her true loves is Economic Development and Transportation. During her time in office she said that one of her main focuses were constituent services.[14] She has agreed with the 2009 Economic Stimulus Act, Cap and Trade of Emissions, and the Federal Health Care Bill.
Committee assignments
Electoral history
Illinois's 11th congressional district: Results[15] 2008 Debbie Halvorson 185,652 58.4% Marty Ozinga 109,608 34.5% Jason Wallace 22,635 7.1% 2010 Debbie Halvorson 94,939 42.5% Adam Kinzinger 128,250 57.5% References
- ^ http://www.rollcall.com/news/Debbie-Halvorson-Jesse-Jackson-Jr-Illinois-2012-208437-1.html?pos=htmbtxt
- ^ Illinois General Assembly - Senator Biography
- ^ Conrad, Dennis (2008-12-05). "Halvorson: From cosmetics sales to Congress". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-debbiehalvorson,0,2521611.story. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ Vadala, Greg (2008-11-08). "111th House Freshmen: Debbie Halvorson, D-Ill. (11)". Yahoo News. http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20081108/pl_cq_politics/politics2984000. Retrieved 2008-11-16.[dead link]
- ^ "HealthiNation joins forces with Illinois State Senator Debbie Halvorson to Raise HPV and Cervical Cancer Awareness" (Press release). HealthiNation. 2007-09-17. http://www.healthination.com/Who-We-Are/Press-Releases/2007/HEALTHINATION-JOINS-FORCES-WITH-ILLINOIS-STATE-SENATOR-DEBBIE-HALVORSON-TO-RAISE-HPV-AND-CERVICAL-CANCER-AWARENESS. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ Slife, Erika (2008-06-21). "Halvorson, Jackson clash on airport". Chicago Tribune. http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2008/06/halvorson-jacks.html#more. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ "Halvorson's Legislation is 'Airport Killer'" (Press release). Jackson, Jesse, Jr.. 2006-03-01. http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/il02_jackson/060301HalvorsonBillAirportKiller.html. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ Zimmer, Nathaniel (2008-12-21). "Halvorson finds herself being a freshman again". SouthtownStar. http://www.southtownstar.com/news/1339495,122108halvorson.article. Retrieved 2009-01-04.[dead link]
- ^ Reeder, Scott; Andrea Zelinski (2008-12-10). "Lawmakers calling for removal". My Web Times. http://www.mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=371752. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/7423387-522/halvorson-to-challenge-jackson-in-2nd.html
- ^ http://capitolfax.com/2011/09/02/halvorson-would-face-uphill-climb-in-race-against-jackson-but-it-would-be-something-to-see/
- ^ http://www.ilsenateredistricting.com/phocadownload/releases/SB1178-CongressionalComparison.pdf
- ^ Darnick, Hal (2008-02-23). "Republican drops out of hotly contested 11th District race". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-11thcongdropout_23feb23,1,2632063.story. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
- ^ Ferrell, Patrick (2008-12-25). "Halvorson wins fight for Weller seat". Southtown Star. http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/1348969,top-story-jo122508.article. Retrieved 2009-01-04.[dead link]
- ^ "2008 General Election" (Excel). Illinois State Board of Elections. http://www.elections.il.gov/Downloads/ElectionInformation/VoteTotals/GE2008Tot.xls. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
External links
- Halvorson for Congress official campaign site
- Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Congressional profile at GovTrack
- Congressional profile at OpenCongress
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
- Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
- Collected news and commentary from the Chicago Tribune
- Senator Debbie Halvorson (D) 40th District at the Illinois General Assembly, 95th session
United States House of Representatives Preceded by
Jerry WellerMember of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 11th congressional district
2009–2011Succeeded by
Adam KinzingerCategories:- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois
- Illinois State Senators
- 1958 births
- Living people
- Robert Morris University (Illinois) alumni
- Prairie State College alumni
- Governors State University alumni
- Harvard University alumni
- University of Virginia alumni
- People from Chicago Heights, Illinois
- Female members of the United States House of Representatives
- Women state legislators in Illinois
- American Lutherans
- Illinois Democrats
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