Mike Quigley
Michael Bruce Quigley has served since April 7, 2009, as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 5th congressional district, a seat he won through a special election and has continued to hold as a member of the Democratic Party. The district encompasses most of Chicago's North Side as well as several of Chicago's western suburbs, making it one of the more geographically varied constituencies in the state.
Quigley was born on October 17, 1958, in Indianapolis. His education took him through several institutions: Glenbard North High School, Loyola University Chicago, Roosevelt University, the University of Chicago, and Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He went on to work as a legislative assistant and a lawyer before entering electoral politics. Prior to his congressional service, he served as a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, where he represented the Lakeview, Uptown, and Rogers Park neighborhoods. During that period, he also taught environmental policy and Chicago politics as an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago, drawing on both his legal training and his firsthand experience in local government.
His time on the Cook County Board gave him a grounding in municipal and regional policy that preceded his transition to federal office following the 2009 special election. In Congress, Quigley has continued to represent a district that stretches across Chicago's North Side neighborhoods and into the western suburbs, maintaining his affiliation with the Democratic Party throughout his tenure.
Beyond his legislative work, Quigley has received recognition from the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame and was awarded Ukraine's Order of Merit, 2nd class. As of the time of writing, he is also a candidate in the 2027 Chicago mayoral election, a race that would mark a significant shift from federal representation to the executive leadership of the city whose neighborhoods — Lakeview, Uptown, Rogers Park, and beyond — first defined his political career at the county level.
Quotes by Mike Quigley
I do believe that the majority of elected officials worked very hard and their heart is in the right place.
Everyone without extraordinary research skills ought to be able to know what is happening inside the government, how it operates, where their tax dollars are going. Then they can make better decisions in the electoral process.
It should not take award-winning investigators to find out how this government operates.
We've seen it again and again. From civil rights to women's rights to marriage rights, this country has reinvented itself in the quest to make real the transcendent values that Lincoln proclaimed in his historic address - that all men are created equal in a nation conceived in liberty.
One hundred and fifty years after Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, equality for many Americans remains elusive.
Anytime a member of Congress wants to travel abroad - which we do from time to time as part of our official duties - we are required to check with the House Committee on Ethics as to whether the trip follows the ethics rules by which federally elected officials are bound. Not so with Supreme Court justices.
While everyone is entitled to a little vacation now and then, America's top legal officers should adhere to basic measures to increase accountability and restore the public's trust in government.
The policies we debate and enact in Congress have a real impact on people across the country. Climate change, immigration, economic inequality - each of these issues have become hot button, partisan topics, but support or opposition on these pressing issues shouldn't come down to party.
Immigration is not about visa numbers or building a fence. It is about reclaiming our roots as a nation of immigrants and a refuge for those who have been cast aside.
We must not let politicians who believe they are above the Constitution interfere with the personal health decisions of women. It is the job of a woman, not a politician, to make informed decisions about her own pregnancy.