Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (born April 1969) is a Democrat who is currently serving as the Will County Executive, having been elected in 2020. She was a 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 ...

for the 49th district. The 49th district includes all or part of

Bolingbrook Bolingbrook is a village in Will and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwest suburb of Chicago on I-55 and Historic Route 66 (Frontage Road). The village was a new town built on the Gateway Wetlands west of the Des Plai ...

, Crest Hill, Joliet, Oswego, Plainfield,

Romeoville Romeoville is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The village is located southwest of Chicago on the Gateway Wetlands, directly west of the Des Plaines River. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,863. It is located in the s ...

and Shorewood. Prior to her service as an Illinois State Senator, she served as the Will County Superintendent of Schools and as both and educator and administrator in public and private schools.

Early life, education and career

She attended the

University of St. Francis The University of St. Francis (USF) is a private Franciscan university with its main campus in Joliet, Illinois. It enrolls nearly 3,200 students at locations throughout the country with about 1,300 students at its main campus. History Early h ...

and received a masters in Curriculum and Instruction with a secondary teaching certificate in History/Social Sciences. She later earned a doctorate in education with Superintendent's Endorsement from

Loyola University Loyola University is one of several Jesuit Universities named for St. Ignatius of Loyola. Loyola University may refer to: Democratic Republic of the Congo *Loyola University of Congo, Kinshasa, Congo Spain * Loyola University Andalusia, Sevilla ...

. She has worked as a teacher and administrator in both public and private schools in Will County. Bertino-Tarrant is a lifelong resident of Will County and is the owner-operator of a family business operating in Joliet. She is also involved in the Joliet Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and the Troy Educational Foundation Board. She is a parishioner at St. Paul the Apostle Church.

Will County Superintendent of Schools

In 2007, Bertino-Tarrant unseated the incumbent to become the Will County Regional Superintendent of Schools. The Will County Regional Superintendent heads the Regional Office of Education (ROE) for Will County. The office acts as an intermediate between the State Board of Education and local school districts. The office administers truancy prevention, GED testing, life safety inspections of school buildings, bus driver training, continuing education for educators and assisting school districts in complying with various state laws. In her capacity as Superintendent, she also serves as the ex-oficio Secretary of the Will County Regional Board of School Trustees. As Regional Superintendent, she established Lincoln School as an alternative program for at-risk students. The program is a hybrid of computer-based classes with direct teacher instruction.

Illinois State Senator

2012 election

Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant was the Democratic nominee for the 49th State Senate district facing Garrett Peck in the general election. In the general election she was endorsed by the

AFL-CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

, Associated Firefighters of Illinois, Illinois Education Association and

Illinois Farm Bureau The Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) is a nonprofit U.S. organization controlled by farmers who join the IFB through one of the 96 county Farm Bureaus in Illinois. The organization's legal name is the Illinois Agricultural Association. The IFB was foun ...

. On election night, Bertino-Tarrant defeated Peck to become the State Senator elect from the 49th district.

Tenure

Bertino-Tarrant's associated representatives will be District 97 Representative Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) and District 98 Representative

Natalie Manley Natalie A. Manley (born December 25, 1961) is a member of the Illinois House of Representatives representing the 98th district since 2013. She is a member of the Democratic party. The 98th district includes all or parts of Bolingbrook, Crest ...

(D-Joliet). In 2018, Governor-elect

J. B. Pritzker Jay Robert Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2019 as the 43rd governor of Illinois. A member of the wealthy Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain, Pritzker has started several vent ...

appointed Bertino-Tarrant to the Educational Success transition committee, which is responsible for state education policy. In 2020, Bertino-Tarrant opted to run for Will County Executive and was succeeded in the Illinois Senate by fellow Democrat Meg Loughran Cappel. Loughran Cappel was sworn in early, on December 10, 2020, to fill the vacancy left by Bertino-Tarrant's assumption of her County Executive position.

References

External links

Biography, bills and committees
at the 99th Illinois General Assembly **By session
99th98th Bertino-Tarrant for Senate
campaign website *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertino-Tarrant, Jennifer 1969 births 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly American women educators County officials in Illinois Democratic Party Illinois state senators Educators from Illinois Illinois State University alumni Living people Loyola University Chicago alumni People from Shorewood, Illinois University of St. Francis alumni Women state legislators in Illinois