Kelly, Robin L. (Robin Lynne), 1956-

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Robin Lynne Kelly (born April 30, 1956) is an American politician from Illinois who has served as the U.S. Representative from Illinois's 2nd congressional district since 2013. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Born in Harlem, Kelly attended Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, earning a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and a Master of Arts in counseling. From 1992 through 2006 she served as a Director of Community Affairs in Matteson, Illinois. She earned her Ph.D. in political science from Northern Illinois University in 2004. In 2002, Kelly successfully challenged a ten-year incumbent Illinois state representative in the Democratic primary and in November, she defeated her Republican opponent to win the first of her three consecutive terms in the Illinois House. In January 2007, she resigned her house seat to become Chief of Staff to Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. She was the first African-American woman to serve as chief of staff to an elected constitutional statewide officeholder. After falling short in her bid to become Treasurer of Illinois, Kelly was appointed to become chief administrative officer for Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle in 2011.

Kelly entered the field for Illinois's 2nd congressional district after Democrat Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned just three weeks after being elected to a tenth term. After winning the Democratic primary, Kelly won the 2013 special election to succeed Jackson in the U.S. House of Representatives. Kelly has been reelected four times.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Bradley University corporateBody
memberOf Illinois. General Assembly. House of Representatives corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Northern Illinois University corporateBody
memberOf United States. Congress. House person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Peoria IL US
New York City NY US
DeKalb IL US
Matteson IL US
Subject
Occupation
Chief of Staff
City Government Employee
Representatives, U.S. Congress
State Representative
Activity

Person

Birth 1956-04-30

Female

Americans

English

Information

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