Jill Billings (born January 19, 1962) is a former teacher, former member of the

La Crosse County La Crosse County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 120,784. Its county seat is La Crosse. La Crosse County is included in the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area wi ...

board of supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agen ...

, and Democratic member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, e ...

, first elected to represent the 95th district in a 2011

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. She represents the City of

La Crosse La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census ...

and portions of the Towns of Shelby and Campbell.

Background

Billings was born in

Stewartville, Minnesota Stewartville is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,916 at the 2010 census, and was estimated to have grown to a population of 6,125 as of 2018. Stewartville has experienced growth as a result of its locati ...

; both of her grandfathers had been candidates for mayor. She studied

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Augsburg College Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminarium. Today, the u ...

, before moving to La Crosse in 1990. She spent seven years as a teacher of

and

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

to Hmong immigrants. She worked on La Crosse County's land use plan, helped established a special

rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...

court for persons convicted of driving while intoxicated, and worked on the county’s

Economic Development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

Fund. Between 2004 and 2012, she was a member of the

, becoming vice chair of the County Health and Human Services Board and head of the Family Policy Board Executive Committee.

Legislative race

On November 8, 2011, Billings was elected to the

in a special election in the 95th Assembly District (the city of La Crosse and portions of the towns of Campbell and Shelby), succeeding fellow Democrat

Jennifer Shilling Jennifer Shilling (''née'' Ehlenfeldt; born July 4, 1969) is an American Democratic politician, lobbyist, and former state legislator. She was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate for nine years and was senate minority leader from 2015 to 20 ...

, who replaced Senator

Dan Kapanke Daniel E. Kapanke is a former Republican member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 32nd District from 2005 until losing his seat to Jennifer Shilling in the 2011 Wisconsin Senate recall elections. Early life, education and career Kapan ...

in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

following a successful recall election against him. Billings took 72.6% of the vote against

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

David Drewes, a

small government Libertarian conservatism, also referred to as conservative libertarianism and conservatarianism, is a political and social philosophy that combines conservatism and libertarianism, representing the libertarian wing of conservatism and vice ver ...

advocate and supporter of Governor Scott Walker. The district has elected Democrats to the Assembly consistently since 1974.

Personal life

As of her election, she was 49, and separated. She has two children, Josh and Zoe, ages 18 and 16.

References

External links

Wisconsin Assembly - Representative Jill Billings
''official government website''
Billings for Assembly
''official campaign website'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Billings, Jill 1962 births County supervisors in Wisconsin Teachers of English as a second or foreign language Living people Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Augsburg University alumni People from Stewartville, Minnesota Politicians from La Crosse, Wisconsin Educators from Wisconsin American women educators Women state legislators in Wisconsin 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Educators from Minnesota