Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama
Barack Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, when he was elected to the United States Senate. During this part of his career, Obama continued teaching constitutional law part time at the University of Chicago Law School as he had done as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004.
Barack Obama | |
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| 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 |
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Pre-presidency
44th President of the United States
Policies Appointments
First term
Second term
Post-presidency
Publications
Personal
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In 1994, Senator Alice Palmer decided to run for the United States House of Representatives, leaving the Senate's 13th district seat open. When filing opened in 1995 for her seat, Obama entered the race. Eventually, his challengers were disqualified and he won the Democratic primary unopposed in 1996. He won re-election in 1998 and 2002. During his Senate tenure, Obama was involved with a wide range of legislation.
While serving, he ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in the 2000 elections. In the redistricting following the 2000 Census, the Democrats gained control of the Illinois Senate, and Obama became more active in his legislation, which included work in areas such as health care, labor, law enforcement, campaign finance reform, welfare, and community reinvestment.