Colleen Callahan Burns is an

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit w ...

news reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and Director of the

Illinois Department of Natural Resources The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...

. She was the

Democratic 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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

nominee for

Illinois's 18th congressional district The 18th congressional district of Illinois covered central and western Illinois, including all of Jacksonville and Quincy and parts of Bloomington, Peoria, and Springfield. It was last represented by Republican Darin LaHood, who took ...

in 2008.

Family

Callahan grew up on a farm near

Milford, Illinois Milford is a village in Milford Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,306 at the 2010 census. The village's name comes from its location, where the Old Hubbard Trail forded Sugar Creek and where a gristmill stoo ...

and graduated as

salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in the United States, Armenia, and the Philippines to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is trad ...

from Milford Township High School in May 1969. Her family has long been active in politics in

downstate Illinois Downstate Illinois refers to the part of the U.S. state of Illinois south of the Chicago metropolitan area, which is in the northeast corner of the state and has been dominant in American history, politics, and culture. It is defined as the part ...

. Her father, Francis Callahan, was chair of the Iroquois County Democrats. Her grandfather,

Joseph R. Callahan Joseph Raymond Callahan (May 30, 1892 – July 31, 1977) was an American farmer, businessman, and politician. Biography Callahan was born on a farm near Milford, Illinois in Iroquois County, Illinois. He graduated from the Mitford Townsh ...

, was in 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 ...

. Her uncle, Gene Callahan, was the administrative assistant and

press secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Dut ...

for

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Paul Simon (before Simon became a

United States senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and p ...

) and chief of staff for U.S. Senator Alan Dixon; his daughter,

Cheri Bustos Cheryl Lea Bustos ( ; née Callahan; born October 17, 1961) is an American journalist, healthcare executive, and politician who is the U.S. representative from Illinois's 17th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, ...

is the U.S. representative for the neighboring

Illinois's 17th congressional district The 17th congressional district of Illinois is represented by Democrat Cheri Bustos. It includes most of the northwestern portion of the state, with most of its population living on the Illinois side of the Quad Cities, as well as parts of Pe ...

. Callahan and her husband Dick Burns live on a farm near Kickapoo, Illinois, between

Brimfield, Illinois Brimfield (formerly Charleston) is a village in Peoria County, Illinois, Peoria County, Illinois, United States. The population was 868 at the 2010 census. Brimfield is part of the Peoria, Illinois Peoria metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statist ...

and Peoria, where they raise

purebred Purebreds are " cultivated varieties" of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be " pedigreed". Purebreds breed true-to-type which means th ...

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * Angu ...

cattle. They have a grown daughter who became a practicing attorney in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Career

After graduating from the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

in 1973, she moved to Peoria to work for

WMBD (AM) WMBD (1470 kHz) is the oldest radio station in Peoria, Illinois. It broadcasts a talk radio format and is owned by Duke Wright with the license held by Midwest Communications, Inc. The radio studios and offices are on Fulton Street in Peoria. ...

until 2005. She was agribusiness reporter for WMBD-TV and

WCIA WCIA (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Champaign, Illinois, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Central Illinois region. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Springfield-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate WC ...

from 1974 to 1997. In 2003, she went on a study trip to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, paid for at her own expense, at the invitation of the

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organ ...

. She started her own business, Colleen Callahan Communications, in 2003. At the beginning of 2003, she changed employers from WMBD in Peoria to WGFA in

Watseka, Illinois Watseka is a city in and the county seat of Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. It is located approximately west of the Illinois-Indiana state line on U.S. Route 24. The population of Watseka was 5,255 according to the 2010 census, which ...

; she has been agribusiness director at both stations. In 2008, she ran for U.S. Representative for

, a seat open by the retirement of

Ray LaHood Raymond H. LaHood (born December 6, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 16th United States Secretary of Transportation from 2009 to 2013 under President Barack Obama. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Par ...

. She won the Democratic nomination, but lost the November 4 general election to Republican

Aaron Schock Aaron Jon Schock (born May 28, 1981) is an American former politician who was Republican U.S. Representative for from 2009 until 2015. The district is based in Peoria and includes part of Springfield. He was the first member of the U.S. Cong ...

, 59% to 38%, with 3% going to Sheldon Schafer. On 13 June 2009, Callahan began work as

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

Illinois State Director of

Rural Development Rural development is the process of improving the quality life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. Rural development has traditionally centered on the exploitation of ...

. In 2017, Colleen Callahan was named by J.B. Pritzker the co-chair of the latter's Agriculture Transition Committee. Once Pritzker had become governor, Callahan became Director of the

on March 1, 2019. Callahan stepped down as department director on January 16, 2023, and was succeeded by former state legislator and IDNR's deputy director

Natalie Phelps Finnie Natalie Phelps Finnie is the Director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. She was a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 118th District from September 2017 to January 2019. Early life and ca ...

Civic participation

Callahan has served on the

boards Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, ...

of many local organizations, including: * Peoria

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

Great Rivers Regional Board * Youth for a Cause * The Children's Home in Peoria * University of Illinois ACES Alumni Association (President) * Morton Community Bank She has also served as a member of the St. Francis Medical Center Women's Health Services Public Relations Committee, and is a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners. She has been heavily involved in the National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB), was its first female president, and was chairman of the NAFB Ethics Committee. She has also been active in local

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syst ...

s, serving on the education board at St. Mary's grade school in

Kickapoo Kickapoo may refer to: People * Kickapoo people, a Native American nation ** Kickapoo language, spoken by that people ** Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, a federally recognized tribe of Kickapoo people ** Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, a federally recog ...

and assisting Peoria Notre Dame High School.

References

External links

Colleen Callahan Consultancy
— official website * — official 2008 campaign website *
Colleen Callahan's blog
from 2008 political campaign *
Colleen Callahan 08
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

*
Campaign contributions
at OpenSecrets.org * {{DEFAULTSORT:Callahan, Colleen Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American motivational speakers Women motivational speakers American radio reporters and correspondents American television reporters and correspondents American women television journalists Candidates in the 2008 United States elections Catholics from Illinois Farmers from Illinois Illinois Democrats Journalists from Illinois Natural resources ministers People from Milford, Illinois People from Peoria County, Illinois Radio personalities from Illinois School board members in Illinois United States Department of Agriculture officials University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Women in Illinois politics American women radio journalists 21st-century American women

Family

Career

Civic participation

See also

References

External links