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Neil Hartigan

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Neil Hartigan
Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District
In office
December 2, 2002 – June 1, 2004
Preceded byRobert Chapman Buckley
Succeeded byP. Scott Neville Jr.
38th Attorney General of Illinois
In office
January 12, 1983 – January 14, 1991
GovernorJames R. Thompson
Preceded byTyrone Fahner
Succeeded byRoland Burris
40th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
In office
January 8, 1973 – January 10, 1977
GovernorDaniel Walker
Preceded byPaul Simon
Succeeded byDave O'Neal
Personal details
Born (1938-05-04) May 4, 1938 (age 86)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Marge Dunne
​
​
(m. 1966; died 2003)​
EducationGeorgetown University (B.S.)
Loyola University (J.D.)

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

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Hartigan was elected Lieutenant Governor alongside Dan Walker in the 1972 gubernatorial election. Although he won renomination for a second term, Hartigan and Micheal Howlett lost the 1976 general election. Hartigan was later elected attorney general in 1982. He went on to be reelected in 1987.

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, in an Irish Catholic family. His father, David L. Hartigan, was involved in local Democratic politics. He worked for the city and went on to be appointed City Treasurer of Chicago by Mayor Martin H. Kennelly.[1] David Hartigan served from 1954 until 1955, not choosing to run for election to the office. However, he went on to be twice elected Alderman of the 49th Ward, later dying in office.[2]

The younger Hartigan graduated from Loyola Academy and attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he befriended future Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.[3] Hartigan graduated from Georgetown with a bachelor's degree.[4] He later received a juris doctor degree from Loyola University College of Law in 1966.[5]

Early political career

Upon completion of law school, Hartigan worked for the City of Chicago as the assistant to Mayor Richard J. Daley. He eventually became deputy mayor to Daley. In addition to his work in the mayor's office, Hartigan managed Daley's successful reelection campaigns in 1967 and 1971.[1] Following Mayor Richard J. Daley's health struggles and subsequent death in 1976, Hartigan was named as a possible successor to the mayoralty.[6]

He also served as the city's legislative counsel in Springfield, the state's capitol. Working within local government, Hartigan was 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 the 49th ward in 1968. He served in this position until stepping down in 1980. Hartigan was also a delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.[1] As one of the delegates from Illinois, his vote went to Hubert Humphrey, who won the party's presidential nomination.

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.[2] During the Democratic primary election, Hartigan won the lieutenant governor nomination, but Simon lost in an upset to political outsider Dan Walker.[2] 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. His first official state duty was attending the Second Inauguration of Richard Nixon.[2] Hartigan's most notable accomplishment as lieutenant governor was establishing a statewide Department of Aging, which was made to run Illinois's government programs for the elderly.[2]

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 for the business world. After working as a banker for 5 years, Hartigan returned to politics to run for Attorney General of Illinois in the 1982 election. He won the election and was inaugurated in 1983, becoming in charge of all the state's legal prosecution. As attorney general, Hartigan focused on consumer protection and stricter controls on hazardous waste. While in office, he served as chairman of the consumer protection committee of the National Association of Attorneys General.[7] Hartigan was reelected in 1987 by a wide margin.

Hartigan briefly sought the governorship in 1986, but dropped out when former U.S. Senator Adlai Stevenson III entered the Democratic primary.

During both the 1984 and 1988 presidential elections, he endorsed and campaigned alongside the Democratic nominees (Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis respectively).[8][9] Hartigan also was a speaker at the 1984 Democratic National Convention.

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.[10]

Court Positions

After leaving office, Hartigan served as Chairman of World Trade Center Illinois.[11]

In 2002, he won election to the Illinois Appellate Court from the First District, which is composed of Cook County, Illinois, to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Robert Chapman Buckley.[12][13]

After two years, Hartigan chose to retire voluntarily from the bench. Hartigan's retirement date was June 1, 2004. He was succeeded by P. Scott Neville Jr.[14]

Hartigan endorsed Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries, serving on her Illinois Steering Committee.

On March 22, 2013, Governor Pat Quinn appointed Hartigan to the Illinois Court of Claims for a term starting March 18, 2013 and ending January 21, 2019. Hartigan was confirmed by the Illinois Senate on May 2, 2013. He succeed Norma F. Jann.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Oral History Interview with Neil Hartigan" (PDF). Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.
  2. ^ a b c d e Chicago reader: "What's the Deal With Neal Hartigan?" By Florence Hamlish Levinsohn October 25, 1990
  3. ^ Kapos, Shia. "New docs show what Madigan knew". POLITICO. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  4. ^ "John Carroll Award". Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
  5. ^ "President's Medal Award Winner". Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2008.
  6. ^ Times, William E. Farrell Special to The New York (August 18, 1974). "Daley's Long Absence Stirs Chicago Speculation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  7. ^ "Page 27 Bio". www.idaillinois.org. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  8. ^ "DUKAKIS IN MIDWEST ON DUAL VOTE SEARCH". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  9. ^ "Former Vice President Walter Mondale today compared President Reagan's..." UPI. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  10. ^ "Vote analysis of Edgar victory:". www.lib.niu.edu. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  11. ^ "Neil F Hartigan, Illinois Court of Claims: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  12. ^ Baim, Tracy (October 30, 2002). "Judging the Judges" (PDF). Windy City Times. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  13. ^ "Chief Justice McMorrow to Give Judicial Oath to Neil Hartigan" (PDF) (Press release). Illinois Supreme Court. December 2, 2002. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  14. ^ "Appellate Court gets Hartigan replacement". Chicago Tribune. June 11, 2004. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  15. ^ Quinn, Pat (May 2, 2013). "98th General Assembly Appointment Message 0148". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
1972, 1976 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Richard J. Troy
 Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Illinois
1982, 1986 		Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Adlai Stevenson III 		Democratic nominee for Governor of Illinois
1990 		Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Attorney General of Illinois
1983–1991 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
1973 – 1977 		Succeeded by
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