Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Barack Obama
Member of the Illinois Senate from the 13th district
In office January 10, 1997 – November 4, 2004
Preceded by	Alice Palmer
Succeeded by	Kwame Raoul

Barack Obama was a state senator in Illinois from 1997 to 2004. During this time, he represented the 13th district. He also taught law at the University of Chicago Law School.

In 1994, the state senator for his district, Alice Palmer, decided to run for a different job. This opened up her seat. Obama decided to run for it in 1995. His opponents were later removed from the race. This meant he won the first election without anyone running against him. He was re-elected in 1998 and again in 2002.

While serving as a state senator, Obama worked on many different laws. He also tried to win a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2000, but he did not win that election. After the 2000 Census, the maps for voting districts were redrawn. This helped his political party, the Democrats, gain more power in the Illinois Senate. With this new power, Obama became even more active. He worked on laws about health care, workers' rights, law enforcement, and how political campaigns are funded.

How Obama Became a State Senator

First Election in 1996

In 1994, a U.S. Representative named Mel Reynolds was re-elected. Two people, Alice Palmer (who was a state senator) and Jesse Jackson, Jr. (son of Jesse Jackson Sr.), wanted to run against Reynolds in the next election.

Alice Palmer decided to run for Congress. She then supported Barack Obama to take her place as the state senator for the 13th district.

Obama officially entered the race in December 1995. He gathered over 3,000 signatures to get his name on the ballot. Other people also tried to run. However, Obama's campaign challenged the signatures of his opponents.

In January 1996, the election officials found that many of his opponents' signatures were not valid. This meant they did not have enough signatures to be on the ballot. Because of this, Obama became the only candidate from the Democratic Party.

On November 5, 1996, Obama won the election for the 13th Senate district. He received 82 percent of the votes.

Re-election in 1998

State senators in Illinois serve one two-year term and then two four-year terms. Obama was up for re-election in 1998.

He ran for re-election without anyone opposing him in the primary election. In the main election on November 3, Obama won again. He received 89% of the votes.

Re-election in 2002

Obama won his third state Senate election in 2002. He ran unopposed in both the primary and general elections for the 13th district.

Obama's Early Work as a Senator

Obama officially became a state senator on January 8, 1997. Early in his first term, a retired U.S. Senator named Paul Simon suggested Obama to Emil Jones, Jr.. Jones was a powerful Democratic leader in the state Senate.

With Jones' help, Obama worked to pass an important law. This law stopped lobbyists from giving most gifts to lawmakers. It also prevented state legislators from using campaign money for their own personal use.

During his first years, Obama also helped with other laws. These laws changed the welfare program in Illinois. He also helped pass laws that:

• Gave tax credits to working families.
• Increased help for low-income families to pay for child care.
• Required companies to give notice before large layoffs or plant closings.

Running for Congress in 2000

In September 1999, Obama decided to run for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. He wanted to challenge the person who held the seat, Bobby Rush. Rush had been in Congress for four terms.

Many people thought Rush might be easy to beat. This was because he had recently lost a big election for mayor of Chicago. Obama was able to raise a lot of money for his campaign.

During the campaign, Rush said that Obama was not connected enough to Chicago's black neighborhoods. Obama said Rush was part of "old politics." He believed he could work with both white and black communities to get things done.

However, Obama did not get enough support from the black neighborhoods. Even though he won among white voters, he lost the election by a lot. He received only 31 percent of the votes.

Obama's Later Work as a Senator

After losing the election to Bobby Rush, Obama worked to improve his relationships with other black politicians and religious leaders. He showed them he had no hard feelings about the loss. He also became more active in getting state money for churches and community groups in his district.

In September 2001, Democrats won a chance to redraw the legislative districts. This helped them gain control of the Illinois Senate in the November 2002 election. They also increased their majority in the Illinois House. This meant they could work with the first Democratic governor in 26 years.

In January 2003, Obama became the chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee. This new Democratic majority allowed Obama to write and pass more laws. He led successful efforts to:

• Expand health care for children.
• Create a plan for equal health care access for all Illinois residents.
• Start a "Hospital Report Card" system.
• Pass worker's rights laws that protected people who reported wrongdoing.
• Protect victims of domestic violence.
• Ensure equal pay for women and overtime pay.

One of his most important achievements was a law requiring police to videotape interrogations. This was for cases where the death penalty might be used. Obama worked with Republicans and police groups to get this law passed. This showed he could work with different sides to find solutions. Obama also helped pass a law to track racial profiling. This law required police to record the race of drivers they stopped.

Obama left the Illinois Senate in November 2004. This was after he was elected to the U.S. Senate.