Carol Ronen

Carol Ronen served in the Illinois State Senate from 2000 until she retired in February 2008. Carol was honored to represent one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse areas in the country. Prior to her service in the Senate, she served seven years in the Illinois House of Representatives. She was best known for her fierce advocacy of Nurses, her commitment to human rights and equality and her advocacy on behalf of children and child safety. Legislation she passed focused upon early childhood development; health care; violence prevention; and protecting human rights. Carol is an active player in Democratic politics at the local, state and federal level. She was elected to a four-year term as the 48th Ward Democratic Committeeman in February 2008. In February, 2010 she won a four-year term (her fourth) as Democratic State Central Committeewoman for the 9th Congressional District where she helps to shape the Illinois Democratic Party Platform and slate statewide candidates. At the national level Carol was elected as a delegate to the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Democratic Conventions. In 2004 she was appointed to represent Illinois on the Democratic National Committee. In 2008 Carol was a super delegate at the Democratic convention that nominated her friend and former Senate colleague Barack Obama. Helping women get elected to office is a driving interest. To further this goal Carol helped found Women's Voices, Women's Votes, an Illinois state political action committee that supports the election of progressive Democratic women in the Illinois General Assembly and she is on the Advisory Board of Illinois Women in Leadership, a group which mentors young women who seek to run for office. Most recently, Carol has founded a strategic consulting group, working with clients such as the Shedd Aquarium. Carol holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Roosevelt University and a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Bradley University. She resides in Chicago's Edgewater Neighborhood.