Rosemary Mulligan (July 8, 1941 – December 30, 2014) served as a Republican Party 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 ...

for ten terms, representing the 55th District in the northwest suburbs of

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

from 1993 until 2013. A

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...

Republican, Mulligan was particularly known as a strong

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

advocate.

Background

Born in

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

, Mulligan went to

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

and then received her associate degree in legal technology from

Harper College William Rainey Harper College is a public community college in Palatine, Illinois. It was established by referendum in 1965 and opened in September 1967. It is named for William Rainey Harper, a pioneer in the junior college movement in the ...

. Mulligan's father was murdered in 1967 while picking up a shift for a friend as an insurance salesman. Her first husband was killed in a plane crash during a hunting trip in Canada, which left her as the single mother of two boys. Mulligan worked as a paralegal at a firm in the northwest suburbs before running for office.

Political career

Mulligan first ran for the

in 1990, eventually losing the Republican primary to conservative incumbent

Penny Pullen Penny Pullen (born March 2, 1947) is an American politician and conservative activist. Pullen spent eight terms in the Illinois General Assembly representing a district in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Pullen also served on various presiden ...

by six votes. After the first count, Mulligan was actually named the winner by 31 votes on election night. A recount was eventually ordered that left the vote tied, and so a coin toss was used to break the tie. Mulligan won the coin toss. Pullen then appealed to 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 ...

, which ordered a count of disputed ballots that left Pullen the winner by six votes. The case, Pullen v. Mulligan, was later cited by Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

's legal team as precedent for counting " dimpled chads" during the 2000 Florida recount. The race gained national attention for its focus on abortion and groups on both sides of the debate contributed heavily to the candidates. Mulligan ran again in 1992 against Pullen and won. On January 12, 2011, Rep. Mulligan was sworn in for her tenth (and ultimately final) term as state representative. During her 20-year tenure in the Illinois House, she became a leader on state budget issues (particularly human service appropriations), family issues,

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

, and early childhood

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

. She was recognized for her expertise in

prescription drugs A prescription drug (also prescription medication or prescription medicine) is a pharmaceutical drug that legally requires a medical prescription to be dispensed. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs can be obtained without a prescription. The rea ...

, problem and compulsive

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

coverage and reforms, welfare to work and victims' rights. She served as majority chair or minority spokesman of the Illinois House Human Services Appropriations Committee for 10 years. She received numerous awards and honors and was named "One of the Top 100 Women Making a Difference" by ''Today's Chicago Woman.'' Following redistricting, Mulligan opted to seek election in the 55th District, but failed to make the ballot after collecting below the minimum threshold required number of voter signatures. She died following a period of declining health on December 30, 2014, at the age of 73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulligan, Rosemary 1941 births 2014 deaths Politicians from Chicago Illinois State University alumni Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Women state legislators in Illinois 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians