James Clayborne Jr.

James Clayborne
Majority Leader of Illinois Senate
In office
January 3, 2009 – January 9, 2019
Preceded byDebbie Halvorson
Succeeded byKimberly A. Lightford
Member of the Illinois Senate
from the 57th district
In office
April 1995 – January 9, 2019
Preceded byKenneth Hall
Succeeded byChristopher Belt
Personal details
Born (1963-12-29) December 29, 1963 (age 60)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseStaci Clayborne
Children4
EducationTennessee State University (BA)
University of Miami (JD)

James Clayborne Jr. (born December 29, 1963) was a member of the Illinois Senate representing the 57th District from his appointment in 1995 until 2019.[1] The 57th District, located in the Metro East region includes all or parts of Freeburg, Belleville, East St. Louis, O'Fallon, Madison, Fairview Heights, Shiloh and Scott Air Force Base.[2]

At the time of his retirement, Clayborne was the second highest-ranking member of the Illinois Senate as the Senate Majority Leader.[3] On September 21, 2017, Clayborne announced he would not run for reelection in 2018.[4] He was succeeded by Christopher Belt.[5]

Early life and career

Senator Clayborne was born and raised in East St. Louis.[6] After graduating from East St. Louis High School,[7] he earned a Bachelor of Science from Tennessee State University and later a law degree from the University of Miami.[1] While at the University of Miami, he met his future wife Staci, with whom he now has four sons.[6][7]

He went on to serve as an assistant state’s attorney in St. Clair County as well as a child support prosecutor, a supervisor in the St. Clair County Juvenile Abuse and Neglect Division, a supervisor in Felony Probation Revocations and a felony prosecutor.[8] He also was one of 50 attorneys selected nationwide to participate in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Law Institute in Quantico, Virginia.[8] He later chose to enter private practice[6]

Illinois Senate

In 1995, Clayborne was appointed to complete the term of longtime Senator Kenneth Hall and was later elected in his own right in 1996.[7] In 2009, he became the Senate Majority Leader after finishing second to John Cullerton in the race for Senate President.[9]

Clayborne is the current chair of the Assignments Committee as well as the committees on Energy, Executive Appointments, Insurance, Public Pensions & State Investments and the subcommittees on Governmental Operations and Constitutional Amendments.[1]

Clayborne also served as a delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention.[10]

Clayborne was succeed in the Illinois Senate by Christopher Belt and as Majority Leader by Kimberly A. Lightford.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Senator James F. Clayborne Jr. (D) – 57th District". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  2. ^ "PA 97-0006 Legislative District 57" (PDF). 2011-05-18. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  3. ^ "Senate Leadership of the 98th General Assembly" (PDF). Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  4. ^ Miller, Rich (September 21, 2017). "Senate Majority Leader Clayborne to retire". Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  5. ^ Barlow, Sarah E., ed. (November 15, 2018). "Biographies of New House Members" (PDF). First Reading. Illinois Legislative Research Unit. pp. 2–8. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c McDermott, Kevin. "Beyond Black: Race is just one factor that shapes the sensibilities of this trio of lawmakers". University of Illinois at Springfield. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  7. ^ a b c Clayborne, James. "Finding Aid to The HistoryMakers ® Video Oral History with Hon. James Clayborne" (PDF). The History Makers. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  8. ^ a b "Biography". Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  9. ^ Willis, Christopher (2008-11-20). "John Cullerton Picked As Illinois Senate President". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  10. ^ Newman, Craig (2012-09-02). "Who are the Illinois delegates to the Democratic National Convention?". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2013-05-02. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  11. ^ Kapos, Shia; Hurst, Adrienne (January 10, 2019). "Some takeaways from the day". Politico Playbook. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
Illinois Senate
Preceded by Majority Leader of the Illinois Senate
2009–2019 		Succeeded by