Neil F. Hartigan (born May 4, 1938) is an American lawyer and politician from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He served as the Attorney General of Illinois, the 40th Lieutenant Governor, and a justice of the

Illinois Appellate Court The Illinois Appellate Court is the court of first appeal for civil and criminal cases rising in the Illinois Circuit Courts. Three Illinois Appellate Court judges hear each case and the concurrence of two is necessary to render a decision. The ...

. Hartigan was also the Democratic nominee for governor in 1990, but lost the close race to Republican

Jim Edgar James Edgar (born July 22, 1946) is an American politician who was the 38th governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. Previously he served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1976 to 1979 and as Illinois Secretary of State ...

Background

Hartigan grew up in Chicago's

Rogers Park Rogers Park is the first of Chicago's 77 community areas. Located from the Loop, it is on the city's far north side on the shore of Lake Michigan. The neighborhood is commonly known for its cultural diversity, lush green public spaces, early ...

neighborhood, in an

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British ...

family. His father David was Alderman of the 49th Ward. Hartigan graduated from

Loyola Academy Loyola Academy is a private, Catholic, co-educational college preparatory high school run by the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, and in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago ...

. Upon graduation, He went on to attend and graduate from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in Washington, D.C. with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

. He received a

juris doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from Loyola University College of Law in 1966. Upon completion of law school Hartigan worked for a couple years for the city of Chicago. He served as the city's legislative counsel in Springfield, as attorney for the Chicago Board of Health and as general counsel for the

Chicago Park District The Chicago Park District is one of the oldest and the largest park districts in the United States. As of 2016, there are over 600 parks included in the Chicago Park District as well as 27 beaches, several boat harbors, two botanic conservatorie ...

. Hartigan was elected the Democratic Committeeman for the 49th ward in 1968 and served in the position until stepping down in 1980. Former state legislator Michael Brady defeated Hartigan's choice, Cook County Treasurer Edward J. Rosewell in the Democratic primary.

Court Positions

In 2002, Hartigan won election to the

from the First District, which is composed of

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 2 ...

to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Robert Chapman Buckley. 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. Hartigan was a member of Hillary Clinton's Illinois Steering Committee and February 5 Rapid Responders. 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. The Court rules on claims filed against state, except those under Workers' Compensation or Workers' Occupational DiseasesActs, or claims for expenses in civil litigation. Hartigan officially ended his term in July 2019.

External links

1973–1974 Illinois Blue Book

1975–1976 Illinois Blue Book p36

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartigan, Neil 1938 births Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Living people American people of Irish descent Georgetown University alumni Illinois Democrats Illinois Attorneys General Lieutenant Governors of Illinois Politicians from Chicago Judges of the Illinois Appellate Court Schools of the Sacred Heart alumni Loyola University Chicago School of Law alumni