Prior to becoming an attorney, she worked as a teacher and community organizer, developing after-school programs to help keep kids involved in education and away from drugs and gangs.

In 2004, Madigan became the first Illinois Attorney General in more than 25 years to personally argue a case before the United States Supreme Court.

She successfully argued Illinois v. Caballes, where the court reaffirmed the ability of police officers to use specially trained dogs without a search warrant or probable cause to detect the presence of illegal drugs during traffic stops.

Her father Michael Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives previously had a feud with Blagojevich, as highlighted by TIME magazine.

[4] On December 12, 2008, Madigan attracted national attention after filing a motion with the Supreme Court of Illinois to temporarily remove Governor Rod Blagojevich from office and install Lt. Gov.

[5] Although that court denied that motion without a hearing, Blagojevich was subsequently impeached and removed from office by the Illinois General Assembly, and Quinn was sworn in as governor.

Blagojevich was later convicted in Federal court on 18 counts and sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment, based on the blatancy of his attempts to use his office for personal gain.

[8] Although she was also considered a possible replacement for Barack Obama's Senate seat following his victory in the 2008 presidential election, Madigan described her chances of being appointed as "less than zero.