Illinois, United States - Obama Presidency Oral History Back Illinois, United States Index / Locations Transcripts John Rogers ...Kwame is now the attorney general of Illinois , and actually was the state senato... ...with other progressive politicians in Illinois and Chicago. So it was natural for hi... ...family. Jim Crown was cochair of the Illinois Finance Committee with me. But hi... Leif Elsmo ...did that for years while he was even an Illinois state senator. He taught the allies... ...right around us, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois , Indiana, and my kids, nine-year-ol... Craig Robinson ...game happen, Craig? It happened at Illinois Tech, which used to be called th... ...Tech, which used to be called the Illinois Institute of Technology, probably bac... James Crown ...thinking about running for office in Illinois . You should meet him. Can I pu... ...running for the [US] Senate. He was an Illinois state senator and he had been ... ...to talk to you next March after the Illinois primary.” And we're walking out of m... ...know what the biggest margins are in Illinois , but you could look that up. It wa... ...campaign. You were serving as Illinois cochair of the Finance Committee. I'... ...John Rogers and I were cochair of the Illinois Finance Committee, which was obviousl... ...a three- or four-term senator from Illinois . Therefore, I'm thinking of runnin... ...and some other folks. And would I be Illinois finance chair with John Rogers, and ... ...the team, of the anchor in Chicago and Illinois , to that larger effort? I think i... Show more... Bruce Orenstein ...issues of a newsletter/magazine called Illinois Issues, one of the very firs... ...that point that he was raising in that Illinois Issues article—and he wrote it—wa... ...for him to write what he wrote in that Illinois Issues newsletter about the limits o... ...though the particulars of that Illinois Issues article are not coming back t... ...of being a state senator in the Illinois Assembly to something like a statewid... ...timing. The essay that he writes for Illinois Issues that you were speaking about ... ...are revealed—that's published in Illinois Issues in August and September of 1988... Show more... Dick Durbin ...is currently the senior senator from Illinois , having served there since 1996. H... ...Party, and state government of Illinois , Mr. Durbin has worked closely wit... ...closely with several key leaders from Illinois over the course of his career—includin... ...an African American state senator in Illinois with the name Barack Obama who ha... ...I was glad he ended up in Chicago—in Illinois . He could've been in several othe... ...American state senator from Illinois —to give the keynote. At almost th... ...particularly to a state senator from Illinois . He gave not just a good speech, but ... ...first stop that I went to was Freeport, Illinois . This is not a Democratic stronghold... ...Wisconsin, and Indiana, and all over Illinois . And I said, “Well, what brings yo... ...On a Sunday morning in DeKalb, Illinois , four or five hundred people showed u... ...of them had no connection whatsoever to Illinois . Then, I started noticin... ...to both the country—but I think also Illinois and Chicago—since that time? ... ...tell you a story. I'm from Springfield, Illinois . And it looks an awful lot like Iowa... ...to the legacy of progressive reform in Illinois , because it seems important in term... ...placing President Obama in relation to Illinois 's tradition, to talk about that legac... ...to be the progressive tradition in Illinois ? What are some of the things that ar... ...are particular to progressive reform in Illinois , and what is uniquely Illinois abou... ...in Illinois, and what is uniquely Illinois about progressive politics? Well, ... ...the '60s when these men served in the Illinois house of representatives. It became ... ...a statewide effort, at least based in Illinois , and teamed up with progressives lik... ...they were the embodiment of it in the Illinois General Assembly. They had been allie... ...consequential within the politics of Illinois , and probably other states as well... ...reform as it pertains to a state like Illinois ? What were some of the issues tha... ...for heart surgery in Springfield, Illinois , I went to dinner with him on a Frida... ...State Senator Obama was campaigning in Illinois for the Senate, but particularly whe... ...in Iowa, audiences in various areas of Illinois . It's one of the reasons why I wante... ...When I look at the state of politics in Illinois today, it's hard to believe an... ...his campaign, how ordinary people in Illinois —and again, maybe less people i... ...in Boston and then came home to Illinois to watch as he was campaigning and sa... ...even among conservatives, in downstate Illinois . I used that message as I went int... ...as to whether this appeal that I see in Illinois is going to reach out beyond Boston an... ...experience as someone who comes from Illinois , and from downstate Illinois, and see... ...comes from Illinois, and from downstate Illinois , and sees regular people and the way... Show more... Newton Minow ...wants to spend the summer in Chicago [ Illinois ]. And you at least ought to intervie... ...F.] Kennedy administration and in the Illinois administration with Governor Adlai [E.... ...the mayor of Chicago or the governor of Illinois or the senator from Illinois. I did no... ...of Illinois or the senator from Illinois . I did not say president, but I di... ...a senator.” He said, “I don't mean an Illinois state senator. I mean an Illinois... ...an Illinois state senator. I mean an Illinois , United States senator.” I said, “Yo... ...candidate can win statewide office in Illinois is if it's one Black against at leas... ...support me.” He was the leader of the Illinois Senate, Black leader. I said, “You'r... ...brought in a candidate from outside Illinois . Alan [L.] Keyes. Alan Keyes, wh... ...nation, but it also introduced him to Illinois . And Illinois was very proud of hi... ...it also introduced him to Illinois. And Illinois was very proud of him and he was abl... ...of law school and he was already in the Illinois Senate. He was in some group at Harvar... ...I think down at Daley Plaza [Chicago, Illinois ] but afterwards during the 200... Show more... Toni Preckwinkle ...would you say characterizes Chicago [ Illinois ] municipal politics, in a broad sense... ...was called the Independent Voters of Illinois , IVI. And we worked for progressiv... ...the City of Chicago and Cook County [ Illinois ] and I don't know who else, arguin... ...in IVI-IPO [The Independent Voters of Illinois –Independent Precinct Organization]... ...Jones [Jr.] was president of the [ Illinois State] Senate. And you shoul... ...who was majority leader of the [ Illinois ] House [of Representatives] whe... ...for Needy Families]—less painful for Illinois folks. He also worked on legislation... ...there working with him in Springfield [ Illinois ], and I wasn't. So, I'm going to tak... ...it was for the Senate, for the state of Illinois , or president of the Unite... ...behavior is much higher than it is in Illinois . My argument is that we have so muc... ...is that we have so much corruption in Illinois because the people of Illinois ar... ...in Illinois because the people of Illinois are willing to tolerate it. So whe... ...talk to me about how bad politics is in Illinois , I'd say, “And what are you doin... ...for bad [laughs] political behavior in Illinois . [Laughs] That's true. I'm hones... ...[Laughs] That's true. I'm honest by Illinois standards. I'm not sure how I'd do i... ...political behavior. And unfortunately Illinois is one of them. I would just say it'... Show more... John Cullerton ...decades and remains so. The state of Illinois , on the other hand, over the time o... ...that's kind of flipped, and obviously Illinois has become more Democratic because th... ...just wondering, given the ways in which Illinois was configured, the thumbnail sketc... ...safety for citizens and residents of Illinois . So, I have down here a few example... ...and interventions around this in Illinois , but it was, as I understand it, on... ...the child health insurance program in Illinois ? The reason why I'm not the bes... ...was the last person ever executed in Illinois . We started finding thes... ...the first child-passenger-safety law in Illinois , then, a couple years later, passe... ...law. This was a huge deal in Illinois . There's fifteen million stops b... ...fifteen million stops by police in Illinois , at this time. And now, for the firs... ...down on some interstate in southern Illinois , and some Mexican cartels are comin... ...belt law, his bill still is the law in Illinois , and it has been used by the ACL... ...to Ohio. Iris Martinez, who just left Illinois Senate, she went all over the Unite... ...guy named Ryan. He was a big star in Illinois , but you know, still new, had th... ...just Black. We had had examples in our Illinois Senate. A guy named Peter Fitzgeral... ...I said, “Hey, I'm a state senator from Illinois .” He goes, “Oh, you're Obama? Th... ...got a red button and green button. In Illinois , we've got a yellow button.” He goes... ...that was something that was unique to Illinois , or almost unique to Illinois, an... ...unique to Illinois, or almost unique to Illinois , and that's why I thought I'd mentio... ...had experienced over eight years in the Illinois legislature was something that ha... ...from being an inexperienced, unknown Illinois state senator. They would write tha... ...only two years removed from being an Illinois state senator.” I would read that an... ...can identify with that. I'm an unknown Illinois state senator. I can't imagine goin... ...career in relation to the interests of Illinois , and you have an appreciation of tha... ...Obama, as somebody who came up in Illinois , to those that live in Illinois, an... ...up in Illinois, to those that live in Illinois , and to those that will live i... ...and to those that will live in Illinois in the future? I'm just so proud o... ...in the presidency. I just think that Illinois folks, even those who—very few enemie... ...You know what? Obama came back to the Illinois Senate to give a speech. It was in ... ...Obamacare. But when Obama came back to Illinois , they wanted to get in and see him an... ...Obama's career and experience in the Illinois legislature was important to hi... ...it. But when he chose to come back to Illinois to announce his candidacy fo... ...of that is phenomenal. And here is an Illinois guy trying to become the president, th... Show more... Load more Transcripts Related Topics go to the East Wing East Wing go to the LGBTQ Policy LGBTQ Policy go to the Public Health Public Health go to the Arts and Humanities Arts and Humanities go to the Atlantic Relations Atlantic Relations