Peg McDonnell Breslin (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

from 1977 until 1991.

Biography

Breslin was born July 11, 1946, in

Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the navigable Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The Illinois River is a conduit for river barges and connects Lake Michigan at Chicago, to the Mississippi Riv ...

. After graduating from a Catholic high school in the Ottawa area, Breslin moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to attend Loyola University. In 1967, she graduated from Loyola with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in political science. Three years later, she graduated from Loyola University School of Law and went into private practice. She was a legal advisor to the

Illinois State Board of Education The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) administers public education in the state of Illinois. The State Board consists of nine members who are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate. Board members serve four-year terms, wit ...

from 1974 to 1976. In 1976, she was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives as one of three members from the 38th district. Democratic incumbent James Riccolo, appointed to fill the vacancy created by Joseph Fennessey's resignation, finished fourth. At that time, the 38th encompassed all of Livingston County parts of

DeKalb DeKalb or De Kalb may refer to: People * Baron Johann de Kalb (1721–1780), major general in the American Revolutionary War Places Municipalities in the United States * DeKalb, Illinois, the largest city in the United States named DeKalb **DeKal ...

, Kane, Kendall and LaSalle counties.Illinois Blue Book 1977-1979
pages 58 and 143 As Breslin had voted in Chicago while a Loyola student, she did not meet the constitutionally mandated two-year residency requirement to serve as an Illinois State Representative. She was removed from the Illinois House by a 91–74 vote. The next day, the Democratic chairmen of the five county parties in the 38th district appointed Breslin to the seat from which she had been removed. A group of legislators led by

Edward Bluthardt Edward E. Bluthardt (December 16, 1916 – August 3, 1993) was an American politician and lawyer. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Bluthardt went to the Chicago Public Schools. He served in the United States Army during World War II and was commi ...

raised the residency question in a lawsuit. The judge ruled the House action ousting her was legal and that her reappointment by the county chairmen was unconstitutional. On appeal, the

Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...

declared the issue moot as the 80th General Assembly had ended. After the passage of the

Cutback Amendment The Cutback Amendment (formally named the "Size of State House of Representatives Amendment"; and also known as both "Amendment 1" and the "Legislative Article") is an amendment to the Illinois Constitution that abolished multi-member districts in ...

, Breslin was reelected to the House from the 75th district, which included all of Lasalle and Putnam counties, southeastern Bureau County, and a small portion of eastern Marshall County. She rose through the ranks of the Democratic Party serving as both an Assistant Democratic Leader in the house and the Committeewoman for

Illinois's 14th congressional district The 14th congressional district of Illinois is currently represented by Democrat Lauren Underwood. It is located in northern Illinois, surrounding the outer northern and western suburbs of Chicago. Geographic boundaries 2011 redistricting Afte ...

on the central committee of the

Democratic Party of Illinois The Democratic Party of Illinois is the affiliate of the Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic ...

. In 1990, she ran for the Democratic nomination for

Illinois Treasurer The Treasurer of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. The office was created by the Constitution of Illinois. Current Occupant The current Treasurer of Illinois is Democrat Mike Frerichs. He was first elected to head t ...

against future Governor Pat Quinn. Quinn, who had name recognition from his political activism including the Cutback Amendment and Citizens Utility Board, defeated Breslin with 450,217 to her 422,295. She was succeeded in the House by LaSalle County Clerk Tom Walsh. In 1992, she became the first woman elected an

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 ...

outside of

Cook County 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 20 ...

when she was elected in the Third District. It was speculated that she would be the Democratic candidate for a seat on the Illinois Supreme Court in the 2000 election, but she chose not to run. Democratic candidate Thomas Kilbride defeated Republican

Carl Hawkinson Carl E. Hawkinson (born October 7, 1947) is an American attorney and former Republican member of the Illinois General Assembly, serving in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1983 to 1987 and the Illinois Senate from 1987 to 2003. Early ...

for the seat. Judge Breslin chose to retire rather than run for retention in 2002. On January 23, 2006, her son John died at age 22.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breslin, Peg McDonnell 1946 births Living people 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians Illinois Democrats Illinois lawyers Judges of the Illinois Appellate Court Loyola University Chicago alumni Loyola University Chicago School of Law alumni People from Ottawa, Illinois Women state legislators in Illinois