Netsch

Black text on a pink and white illustration of an American flag

1994 marked the beginning of Dawn Netsch’s campaign for the governorship of the state of Illinois. Originally a professor of law at Northwestern University, Netsch had been elected to the State Senate in 1972, and in 1990 became comptroller of Illnois. In 1994, Netsch ran to be governor, being the first woman to be nominated by a major political party in an Illinois gubernatorial race, and quickly rose to popularity for her straightforward television commercials. Her platform of raising the income tax rate to pay for education was attacked by her opponent, Republican Jim Edgar, causing her to lose the election. After the campaign, Netsch continued both in politics and as a professor, and was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1995 for her support of the LGBT community.

Dawn Clark Netsch. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawn_Clark_Netsch.