Christine Radogno (born December 21, 1952) is an American politician and former Republican member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

, representing the 41st Legislative District in

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * C ...

, DuPage, and

Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

Counties from 1997 to 2017. Radogno served as the Minority Leader, the first female leader of a political party in the Illinois Legislature. She resigned from the Illinois State Senate on July 1, 2017 amid the Illinois budget crisis.

Early life, education and career

Radogno was educated in the Chicago area. She graduated from Lyons Township High School. She received both her Bachelor's and Master's degree in Social Work from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

. Before entering politics, she worked as a social worker at Mercy Center for Health Care Services. Her interest in politics began when she decided to prevent the opening of a fire station on her street, and Radogno ran successfully for Village of LaGrange Trustee (1989–1996). In 1996, she ran for the Illinois State Senate and narrowly defeated incumbent Robert Raica in the Republican primary. In 2006, she was the Republican nominee for

Illinois State Treasurer The Treasurer of Illinois is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Illinois. Seventy-four individuals have occupied the office of Treasurer since statehood. The incumbent is Mike Frerichs, a Democra ...

and was defeated by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Alexi Giannoulias Alexander Giannoulias ( ; born March 16, 1976) is an American financier and politician who is the Secretary of State of Illinois. He previously served as the 72nd Illinois Treasurer from 2007 to 2011. A Democrat, Giannoulias defeated Republica ...

. On October 12, 2015, she was named as Illinois state chair of

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

. On July 1, 2017, Rodagno resigned from the state Senate.

Illinois Senate

Her committee memberships includes: *Committee on Rules (Minority Spokesperson) *Human Services (Minority Spokesperson) *Appropriations I *Appropriations II *Appropriations III *Executive *Public Health *Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability

Personal life

Radogno lives with her husband, Nunzio, in

Lemont, Illinois Lemont is a village located in Cook, DuPage, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The population was 17,629 as of the 2020 census. The village is situated on a hillside along the south banks ...

. They have three adult daughters, one of whom, Lisa, was struck by a car on May 8, 2014 in

Washington, D. C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and died on June 18.

References

External links

Biography, bills and committees
at the 98th Illinois General Assembly **By session
98th97th96th95th94th93rdChristine Radogno
legislative website
Christine Radogno, Senate Republican Leader
at Illinois Senate Republicans * {{DEFAULTSORT:Radogno, Christine 1952 births Republican Party Illinois state senators Lemont, Illinois Living people Loyola University Chicago alumni People from Oak Park, Illinois Women state legislators in Illinois 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly