For almost seven years now, as the Attorney General of Illinois, I have worked to champion consumer rights and be a tough and unwavering advocate for working families.

In 2007, I recognized early the threat posed by fraudulent sub-prime lending and started investigating the matter. In 2008, I successfully led a national effort to get Countrywide’s new parent company, Bank of America, to agree to an $8.7 billion settlement. This settlement will keep 21,000 Illinoisans in their homes, and, unlike the federal bailout, the lender pays to fix its mistakes, not the taxpayers.

In 2008, my office drafted and successfully pushed for the passage of the Clean Coal Portfolio Standard Law. This initiative makes way for new energy plants that will create approximately 4,000 jobs in Illinois. These facilities will be the first of their kind, creating a model that other states will use for their own “green energy” efforts. And the cutting-edge renewable energy provisions in the bill are expected to create well over 6,000 jobs in the construction and “green economy” industries.

Fighting crime has been a top priority for me as Attorney General. I have battled the scourge of methamphetamine in Illinois by successfully prosecuting drug kingpins and passing pro-active legislation that makes it difficult to buy key ingredients. Also, I have worked to protect our kids from sexual predators by increasing compliance with Illinois' sex offender registration laws and, as a result, compliance with the sex offender registry is at its highest point since the registry's creation in 1986. And, I created a high-tech task force that is responsible for the arrest and prosecution of over 400 online sex predators, achieving a remarkable 100 percent conviction rate.

As Attorney General, I take consumer rights very seriously. In 2007, I was at the center of a high-profile battle against electric utilities and won numerous concessions, including $1 billion in rebates for residential customers. My office is also responsible for ending the cable TV monopoly in Illinois. And, as a mother of two small children, I am acutely aware of how important it is to make sure that toys and other children’s products are safe. That’s why I pulled lead-laden toys off store shelves when no other state or attorney general in the nation would: we knew federal standards weren’t good enough.

Finally, I am committed to rooting corruption out of Illinois politics. I launched the state investigation into illegal activity by former Governor Rod Blagojevich that, at the request of federal prosecutors, was turned over to the US Attorney and I fought hard to have the Illinois Supreme Court remove Rod Blagojevich from office after he was caught trying to sell off President Obama’s Senate Seat. I also said “no!” to the commutation of former Governor George Ryan’s federal corruption sentence. And, my office is currently working on widening public access to government records and stopping the pension payments to former Governor Ryan and other state officials convicted of bribery and other such crimes.

In sum, I am truly honored to serve as Illinois Attorney General and I continue to be committed to using my role as the People's Lawyer to fight for the people of Illinois, regardless of the opponent – big utilities, sex offenders, mortgage predators or corrupt public officials. If re-elected, I will continue to use the power of my office to protect the ordinary working families of Illinois.

Party: Democratic

Website: http://www.lisamadigan.org

Planned Parenthood Illinois Action

Citizen Action Illinois Progressive Action Project

Illinois AFL-CIO

UAW Illinois State Community Action Program Council

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