Hartigan was also the Democratic nominee for Governor of Illinois in 1990, but he lost the close race to Republican Jim Edgar.

[2] The younger Hartigan graduated from Loyola Academy and attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he befriended future Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

[5] Upon the completion of law school, Hartigan worked for the City of Chicago as an administrative assistant to Mayor Richard J. Daley.

[1] In 1971, then-lieutenant governor Paul Simon asked Hartigan to be his running mate in the next year's gubernatorial election.

[2] During the Democratic primary election, Hartigan won the lieutenant governor nomination, but Simon lost in an upset to political outsider Dan Walker.

[2] One of Hartigan's most notable accomplishments as lieutenant governor was establishing a statewide Department of Aging, which was made to run Illinois's government programs for the elderly.

Hartigan returned to politics to run successfully for Attorney General of Illinois in the 1982 election.

As attorney general, Hartigan focused on consumer protection and stricter controls on hazardous waste.

While in office, he served as chairman of the National Association of Attorneys General's consumer protection committee.

After mulling over a bid with his advisers, including David Axelrod, Hartigan eventually decided against running for the seat.

[13] After leaving public office, Hartigan served as Chairman of World Trade Center Illinois.

Retiring on June 1, 2004, he was succeeded by P. Scott Neville Jr.[17] During the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Hartigan endorsed Hillary Clinton over Illinois Senator Barack Obama.