Judy Biggert
Judy Biggert (b. August 15, 1937, in Chicago, IL) was a 2012 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 11th Congressional District of Illinois. Biggert was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Biggert served the 13th Congressional district of Illinois from 1999 to 2013.
Biggert ran for re-election in 2012. She was defeated in the general election.
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Biggert was a "rank-and-file Republican."[1]
Biography
Biggert was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 15, 1937 and attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois.[2] Biggert began her legal career as clerk to the Honorable Luther M. Swygert, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.[2]
- Education[2]
- New Trier High School (1955)
- B.A. Stanford University (1959)
- J.D. Northwestern University School of Law (1963)
Career
- 1978-1985: Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Board of Education[2]
- 1983-1985: President, Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Board of Education
- 1989-1993: Chairman, Hinsdale Plan Commission[2]
- 1993-1999: Illinois House of Representatives, 81st District[2]
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2011-2012
- Committee on Education and the Workforce
- Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education
- Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training
- Committee on Financial Services
- Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises
- Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity (Chairwoman)
- Committee on Science, Space and Technology
- Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
- Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation
Issues
Presidential preference
2012
Judy Biggert endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[3]
Specific votes
Fiscal Cliff
Biggert voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. She was 1 of 85 Republicans that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.[4]
Elections
2012
Biggert lost to Democrat Bill Foster in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Illinois' 11th District. John Cunningham was removed from the ballot after a long court battle. Diane Harris was also removed from the ballot but ran as a write-in.[5]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Bill Foster |
58.6% | 148,928 | |
| Republican | Judy Biggert Incumbent | 41.4% | 105,348 | |
| Total Votes | 254,276 | |||
| Source: Illinois Board of Elections "2012 General Election Official Vote Totals" | ||||
Removal of challengers
On February 2, 2012, the Illinois State Board of Elections (ISBE) disqualified challengers John Cunningham and Diane Harris, removing them from the ballot. In order to qualify, candidates needed to submit 600 valid signatures. Harris, a notary public, was unanimously removed for not having enough signatures, while Cunningham was removed by a vote of 6-2.[6] Cunningham, who served as Kane County clerk, submitted 1,265 signatures, but only 526 were ruled to be valid. A state hearing officer threw out hundreds of signatures from Cunningham because they were collected by a paid petitioner who listed a non-existent address as his home.[7] Cunningham previously attempted to remove Biggert from the ballot, but the challenge was rejected 8-0.
Following the rulings, Harris ran as a write-in candidate.[8]
Cunningham initially said, "I’m an elected official and if we did it wrong, we don’t belong on the ballot."[9] According to Ken Menzel, deputy general counsel for the board of elections, Cunningham filed for judicial review of the decision on February 7.[10] In his dissent, board member Jesse Smart said the arguments in the case were confusing and should have seen a different outcome. He said, “If I’m going to err, I’m going to err on the side of the candidate."[6]
On February 21, 2012, a hearing was held regarding Cunningham's appeal of his removal. Judge Susan Fox-Gillis reversed the Illinois Board of Elections' decision, placing Cunningham back on the ballot. "To me it was the kind of error that did not merit disenfranchising voters," Cunningham said.[11]
Within days an appeal was filed with the Illinois First Appellate District in Cook County asking them to review the decision of the lower court. It was brought by two Aurora men who objected to Cunningham's candidacy. Their lawyer, John Fogarty, asked for an expedited decision.[12]
On March 7, 2012, the appellate court removed Cunningham from the ballot, sending the matter back to the state board of elections for reconsideration. While the earlier rulings had to do with a petition circulator who wrote his home address incorrectly on petitions, this court order said that two of Cunningham's petition circulators might not have personally appeared before a notary when certifying some of their petitions. The ISBE had until March 13 to decide which petitions were valid and if enough signatures remained.[13]
Cunningham's name was listed on ballots used when early voting began on February 27, and it was included on the second round of absentee and military ballots that were mailed out. Election officials said it was too late to change the ballot again and were trying to determine if they needed to hand out notices indicating that Cunningham was not a candidate.[14]
On March 12, 2012, the ISBE decided again that Cunningham's nominating petitions contained too many suspect or invalid signatures. As a result, Cunningham's name was once again ordered off the ballot. Specifically, the ISBE said two people who had circulated petitions for Cunningham failed to have them properly notarized. After the offending petitions were disqualified, Cunningham did not meet the filing requirements.[15]
On March 14, 2012, the court upheld the ISBE's recommendation.[16]
Endorsements
- National Education Association[17]
- Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois (AFFI)[18]
- Chicago Tribune[19]
- Daily Herald[20]
Targeted by super PAC
The Campaign for Primary Accountability, a Houston-based super PAC, has their sights set on defeating three Illinois incumbent members of Congress in 2012 - Biggert, Donald Manzullo (R) and Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D).[21]
The CPA, which is going after incumbents of both parties, states on their website "Our goal is to bring true competition to our electoral process, to give voters real information about their choices, and to restore fair, not fixed, elections."[22]
As of February 16, 2012, Biggert has been in office longer than 281 members of congress. Eighteen have been in office the same number of years as Biggert, while 136 have been in office longer than her. In the Illinois delegation, she has been in office longer than 10 of the 17 other members. One has the same number of years as Biggert, while six have served for a longer period of time.
Debate
In a debate held against Bill Foster on Saturday October 13, candidates went back and forth on careers, voting histories and choices made in office. While both sides made accusations that the other did not support the district in certain ways or made bad choices, both agreed on certain areas which need continued help. Budget concerns and Medicare were the main topics of debate between the two candidates.[23]
2010
On November 2, 2010, Judy Biggert won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Scott Harper (D) in the general election.[24]
| U.S. House, Illinois District 13 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Judy Biggert incumbent |
64% | 149,857 | |
| Democratic | Scott Harper | 36% | 84,290 | |
| Total Votes | 234,147 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Judy Biggert won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Scott Harper (D), Steve Alesch (G) and Theodore Knapp (Write-in) in the general election.[25]
| U.S. House, Illinois District 13 General Election, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Judy Biggert incumbent |
53.6% | 180,888 | |
| Democratic | Scott Harper | 43.6% | 147,430 | |
| Green | Steve Alesch | 2.8% | 9,402 | |
| Write-in | Theodore Knapp | 0% | 51 | |
| Total Votes | 337,771 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Judy Biggert won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Joseph Shannon (D) in the general election.[26]
| U.S. House, Illinois District 13 General Election, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Judy Biggert incumbent |
58.3% | 119,720 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Shannon | 41.7% | 85,507 | |
| Write-in | Write-in | 0% | 7 | |
| Total Votes | 205,234 | |||
2004
On November 2, 2004, Judy Biggert won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Gloria Schor Andersen (D) in the general election.[27]
| U.S. House, Illinois District 13 General Election, 2004 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Judy Biggert incumbent |
65% | 200,472 | |
| Democratic | Gloria Schor Andersen | 35% | 107,836 | |
| Write-in | Write-in | 0% | 4 | |
| Total Votes | 308,312 | |||
2002
On November 5, 2002, Judy Biggert won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Tom Mason (D) in the general election.[28]
| U.S. House, Illinois District 13 General Election, 2002 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Judy Biggert incumbent |
70.3% | 139,546 | |
| Democratic | Tom Mason | 29.7% | 59,069 | |
| Total Votes | 198,615 | |||
2000
On November 7, 2000, Judy Biggert won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Thomas Mason (D) in the general election.[29]
| U.S. House, Illinois District 13 General Election, 2000 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Judy Biggert incumbent |
66.2% | 193,250 | |
| Democratic | Thomas Mason | 33.8% | 98,768 | |
| Total Votes | 292,018 | |||
1998
On November 3, 1998, Biggert won election to the United States House of Representatives. She defeated Susan W. Hynes (D) in the general election.[30]
| U.S. House, Illinois District 13 General Election, 1998 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Judy Biggert |
61% | 121,889 | |
| Democratic | Susan W. Hynes | 39% | 77,878 | |
| Total Votes | 199,767 | |||
Campaign themes
2012
Biggerts' main campaign themes include:[31]
- Economy and Jobs
- Excerpt: "With millions unemployed and small businesses struggling, I strongly believe we must enact common-sense policies that encourage job creation and retention. I’ve also always believed that Americans are taxed too much, not too little. That’s why we must lower taxes and implement a fiscally-responsible budget to get our economy back on track."
- Government Reform
- Excerpt: "Americans have lost faith in their government, and I don’t blame them. Numerous elected officials, especially here in Illinois, have been indicted for corruption. And special federal appropriations, or earmarks, are being requested for the Alaskan ‘Bridge to Nowhere,’ a Woodstock Hippie Museum, and many other irresponsible government spending projects."
- Healthcare Reform
- Excerpt: "The job-killing taxes, cuts to Medicare for our seniors, and government intrusion into doctor-patient decisions will hurt all Americans. We need a targeted approach to address the problems of cost, quality, and access."
Polls
| District 11 Representative Election | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Judy Biggert | Bill Foster | Undecided | Sample Size | |||||||||||||||
| "District 11 Poll" | 43% | 42% | 15% | 401 | |||||||||||||||
| Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org | |||||||||||||||||||
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.
Analysis
Congressional staff salaries
The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Biggert paid her congressional staff a total of $942,579 in 2011. She ranked 150th on the list of the lowest paid Republican representative staff salaries and ranked 195th overall of the lowest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Illinois ranked 46th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[32]
Net worth
Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Biggert's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $2,147,063 and $9,129,999. That averages to $5,638,531, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[33]
National Journal vote ratings
2011
- See also: National Journal vote ratings
Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Biggert ranked 211th in the conservative rankings in 2011.[34]
Political positions
Voting with party
Judy Biggert voted with the Republican Party 88 of the time, which ranked 211 among the 242 House Republican members as of November 2011.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Biggert and her husband Rody are the parents of four children and the grandparents of nine grandchildren.[35]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Judy + Biggert + Illinois + House
See also
- United States Congress
- United States Senate
- United States House of Representatives
- Illinois' 11th Congressional District elections, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois, 2012
External links
- Social media:
- Biographies:
- Political profiles:
- Financial (federal level):
- Financial (state level):
- Interest group ratings:
- Issue positions:
- Public statements:
- Voting record:
- Media appearances:
- Media coverage:
Footnotes
- ↑ GovTrack, "Biggert" accessed May 22, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Congresswoman Judy Biggert, "About Judy" accessed November 3, 2011
- ↑ The Hill, "2012 GOP Lawmaker Endorsements for President," accessed November 23, 2011
- ↑ U.S. House, "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff," accessed January 4, 2013
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate List," accessed December 27, 2011
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Daily Herald, "Biggert to be unopposed in primary," February 2, 2012
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Biggert now unopposed in GOP race," February 2, 2012
- ↑ Diane M. Harris campaign website, "Statement," accessed February 8, 2012
- ↑ Herald-News, "Biggert’s GOP challengers removed from primary race," February 2, 2012
- ↑ Phone communication with Ken Menzel on February 2012
- ↑ Daily Herald, "Cunningham to face Biggert in 11th District," February 21, 2012
- ↑ Kane County Chronicle, "Cunningham foes appeal to keep him off ballot in 11th Congressional District," February 24, 2012
- ↑ Beacon-News, "Cunningham’s ballot status back ‘in limbo’," March 7, 2012
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Cunningham again off 11th Congressional District ballot — for now," March 8, 2012
- ↑ Kane County Chronicle, "State Elections Board: Cunningham can't run for Congress" accessed March 13, 2012
- ↑ Chicago Sun-Times, "Biggert challenger Cunningham’s congressional bid voided by court," March 15, 2012
- ↑ Beacon News, "Durbin, NEA endorsements highlight 11th District’s national importance," February 21, 2012
- ↑ Judy Biggert, "Fire Fighters of Illinois Endorse Biggert for Congress," February 9, 2012
- ↑ Judy Biggert, "Chicago Tribune Endorses Judy Biggert in 2012 Primary," February 24, 2012
- ↑ Judy Biggert, "Daily Herald Endorses Biggert," March 5, 2012
- ↑ Chicago Business, "Ricketts-backed super PAC targets three Illinois incumbents in Congress," February 13, 2012
- ↑ Campaign for Primary Accountability, "About," accessed February 2, 2012
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Suburban congressional candidates square off in debate," October 13, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2000," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998"
- ↑ Biggert for Congress, "Issues" accessed December 30, 2011
- ↑ LegiStorm, "Judy Biggert"
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "Biggert, (R-Illinois), 2010"
- ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," accessed February 23, 2012
- ↑ Judy Biggert: Fighting for Us, "About Judy" accessed November 3, 2011
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Harris W. Fawell |
U.S. House of Representatives - Illinois, 13th District 1999-Present |
Succeeded by - |
