Corinne Gieseke Wood (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Gieseke; May 28, 1954 – May 18, 2021) was an American politician who served as the 44th

lieutenant governor of Illinois The lieutenant governor of Illinois is the second highest executive of the State of Illinois. In Illinois, the lieutenant governor and governor run on a joint ticket and are directly elected by popular vote. Gubernatorial candidates select their ...

from 1999 to 2003. She previously served as a Republican 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 constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

from 1997 to 1999. She was the first woman to become Illinois' lieutenant governor.

Early life

Corinne Gieseke was born on May 28, 1954, in

Barrington, Illinois Barrington is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Lake County, Illinois, Lake counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 10,722 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A northwest suburb of Chicago, the area featu ...

. Gieseke graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from Loyola University. After graduation, Gieseke was named general counsel to the Illinois Commissioner of Banks and Trusts, later joining the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

law firm Hopkins & Sutter.

Illinois House of Representatives

Wood was elected as state representative to the 59th district in 1996. While in the House, Wood served on the Aging, Appropriations-Education, Financial Institutions, and Labor & Commerce committees, as well as the Legislative Research Unit.

1998 Illinois gubernatorial election

In March, Ryan and Wood won their Republican primary elections, with Wood unopposed for lieutenant governor. In November, the Ryan/Wood ticket won the general election with 51% of the vote. Wood was sworn in as lieutenant governor on January 11, 1999.

Lieutenant Governor of Illinois

As Lieutenant Governor, Wood was a frequent advocate across Illinois on several prominent issues, including rural affairs, economic development, and women's health. In December 1999, Wood gained national prominence for leading an internet campaign against

Abercrombie & Fitch Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (A&F) is an American lifestyle store, lifestyle retailer, founded in 1892 which focuses on contemporary clothing targeting customers in their early 20's to mid 40's. Headquartered in New Albany, Ohio, the company operate ...

for sexually provocative pictures in the catalog, pushing for a boycott and letter-writing campaign. She also launched a statewide campaign to increase funding for breast cancer research through the "A Check for a Cure" Illinois tax return check-off when she first entered office.

2002 gubernatorial campaign

In 2002, Wood sought the Republican nomination for

governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its we ...

. Her fellow GOP contenders were

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Jim Ryan and state senator Patrick O'Malley. She ultimately lost the primary, finishing third with around 27% of the vote.

Personal life

Corinne was married to Paul Wood. They had three children.

Death

Corinne battled breast cancer in the late 1990s and announced that she was resuming treatment in January 2006.''

The State Journal-Register ''The State Journal-Register'' is the only local daily newspaper for Springfield, Illinois, and its surrounding area. History The newspaper was founded in 1831 as the ''Sangamo Journal'' by William Bailhache and Edward Baker, and describes it ...

''. "Former state official to fight cancer again". January 18, 2006 She died after a 15-year battle with the disease on May 18, 2021, aged 66.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Corinne 1954 births 2021 deaths American people of German descent Lieutenant governors of Illinois Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Women state legislators in Illinois People from Barrington, Illinois People from Lake Forest, Illinois Loyola University Chicago School of Law alumni University of Illinois alumni Illinois lawyers Deaths from breast cancer 21st-century American women 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly