•
John Peter Altgeld, Governor of Illinois from 1893 to January 1897, best known for role in
Haymarket Affair pardons, the
Pullman Strike and
1896 Democratic National Convention •
Stanley P. V. Arnold, Illinois state representative and newspaper editor •
William W. Billson, Minnesota state senator and lawyer •
Nikki Budzinski, U.S. representative, former Chief of Staff to the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget and Senior Adviser to
JB Pritzker's exploratory committee •
Shelby M. Cullom, 17th
Governor of Illinois •
Stephen Arnold Douglas, Register of Federal Land Office, Springfield, 1837–1840; Illinois Secretary of State, 1840–41, associate justice of Illinois Supreme Court, 1841–1843; U.S. Representative, 1843; U.S. Senator, 1847 until death June 3, 1861; Democratic Presidential Candidate, 1860 •
Dick Durbin (born 1944), U.S. Senator from Illinois (1997 - pres) •
John Porter East (1931–1986), U.S. senator from North Carolina (1981–1986) •
D. Logan Giffin (1890–1980). Illinois state legislator and lawyer. •
Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), 18th President of the United States of America, stationed in Springfield at the outbreak of the American Civil War •
John Hay, statesman, diplomat, author, journalist, and private secretary and assistant to
Abraham Lincoln, grandfather of Ambassador
John Hay Whitney •
William H. Herndon, law partner and biographer of
Abraham Lincoln •
William Brown Ide (1796–1852), Vermont State Legislator, central figure in California's
Bear Flag Revolt of 1846, named President of the Republic of California •
William Jayne, first governor of the Dakota Territory, personal friend of
Abraham Lincoln •
Otto Kerner, Jr., Governor of Illinois (1961 to 1968). Son-in-law of
Anton Cermak, Kerner led the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, the
Kerner Commission. He was convicted of corruption. •
John L. Lewis, president of the
United Mine Workers of America (1920 to 1960) •
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America •
Mary Todd Lincoln, First Lady of the United States, wife of Abraham Lincoln, died in Springfield in 1882 •
Robert Todd Lincoln, U.S. Secretary of War and son of Abraham Lincoln, born in Springfield •
David T. Littler, Illinois state legislator and lawyer •
Tracey Meares, Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law at Yale Law School and was appointed by President Barack Obama for the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing •
Dana Perino, White House Press Secretary for the
George W. Bush administration, reporter for
WCIA and earned MA in Public Affairs Reporting from the
University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) •
Frank P. Sadler, Illinois state senator and lawyer, born in Springfield •
Paul Simon, U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate, served in the Illinois State legislature from 1955 to 1968, served as Illinois Lt. Governor from 1969 to 1973, taught at
Sangamon State University (now UIS) from 1973 to 1975 Father of Illinois Lt. Governor Sheila Simon. •
Adlai Stevenson, 31st
Governor of Illinois, Democratic Party's nominee for president in 1952 and 1956 •
Sharon Tyndale, Illinois Secretary of State •
Brand Whitlock, journalist, mayor of
Toledo, Ohio, ambassador to Belgium, and author. Lived in Springfield from 1892 to January 1897 while serving as reporter for Chicago Herald and then working for Secretary of State during Gov. Altgeld's administration. == Religion ==