| Raja Krishnamoorthi | |
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| Born | New Delhi, India |
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| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Hoffman Estates, Illinois[1] |
| Alma mater | Harvard Law School (J.D.) Princeton University (B.S.E.) |
| Website | www.rajaforillinois.com |
Raja Krishnamoorthi was a Democratic candidate for Illinois Comptroller in the 2010 primary.[1]. During his bid to be the first Asian-American to be elected to statewide office, his campaign broke fundraising records for the primary election for the Comptroller's race [2], garnered endorsements from more than 100 elected and community leaders from Illinois [3], launched a statewide television advertisement[4], and earned the endorsement of both major Chicago newspapers, the Chicago Tribune[5], [6] and the Chicago Sun-Times [7]. In the election, Krishnamoorthi won over 380,000 votes, coming within 1 percent of winning the Democractic nomination for Comptroller (unofficial results)[8]. As a result, he was among a list of candidates considered for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, after the primary winner Scott Lee Cohen stepped down from the nomination due to scandal. [9]
Krishnamoorthi was the policy director and a senior advisor for Barack Obama in the 2004 U.S. Senate campaign and an advisor for Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign. In April 2009, he resigned from his position as Deputy Treasurer of Illinois and opened a campaign exploratory committee;[10]. He formally announced his candidacy for Comptroller on 24 August 2009.[1]
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Subramanian Raja Krishnamoorthi was born in 1973 in New Delhi and was 3 months old when his parents immigrated to the United States, bringing him to Buffalo, New York. There his father completed a graduate degree in engineering. In 1980, the family moved to Peoria, Illinois, after his father was appointed a faculty member at Bradley University.[10]
Krishnamoorthi graduated a Valedictorian from Richwoods High School in Peoria, Illinois and then attended Princeton University, where he graduated summa cum laude in mechanical engineering and with a minor in public policy from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. After two years in management consulting, he attended Harvard Law School, graduating with honors.[10] After his 2000 graduation, he clerked for Judge Joan B. Gottschall at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois[11]. He then joined the Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis in 2002, where he practiced commercial litigation and became a partner in the firm.[11] He left Kirkland & Ellis in 2007 to become Illinois's Deputy State Treasurer.[10]
A long-time friend of Barack Obama, Krishnamoorthi served in several positions in Obama's campaigns, first in Obama's failed primary run in the 1st congressional district election in 2000. In Obama's successful 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, Krishnamoorthi was issues director during the primary and a senior advisor during the general election. He also advised Obama in the 2008 presidential election.[10] On July 31st 2009, Krishnamoorthi visited the White House and had a personal meeting with President Obama in the Oval Office.
During the non-presidential year of 2006, Krishnamoorthi made two contributions to gubernatorial candidates in other states: to Chet Culver in the 2006 Iowa race, and to Ted Strickland in the 2006 Ohio race.[12]
While at the private law firm Kirkland & Ellis, Krishnamoorthi was appointed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan as a Special Assistant Attorney General to help start the anti-corruption Public Integrity Unit.[10][11] He also served on the board of the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), becoming chair of its Audit Committee.[11] The IHDA is charged with helping low- and moderate-income Illinoisans find affordable housing.
On September 12th 2007, Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias appointed Krishnamoorthi his Deputy Treasurer for Policy and Programs, making Krishnamoorthi one of the highest-ranking Indian Americans to serve the State of Illinois.[11] As Deputy Treasurer, Krishnamoorthi was responsible for overseeing programs in the Illinois Treasurer's Office involving the custody and administration of billions of dollars in state funds. He also helped the Illinois Treasurer's Office administer ethics and transparency rules. For instance, the office posts its investments as well as its returns and comparable benchmarks on the Web on a regular basis.[citation needed]
In April 2009, Krishnamoorthi resigned from his position as Deputy Treasurer of Illinois and opened a campaign exploratory committee for Illinois Comptroller.[10]. He secured key support early on, including former FCC Chairman Newton Minow as the chairman of his campaign and the endorsement of Sheila Simon, the daughter of the late Senator Paul Simon[3]. As he mentioned to the Peoria Journal Star, his campaign also secured the help of several key members of Barack Obama's presidential campaign [13]. By June 30th, he had already raised over $385,000 from mostly individual donors, breaking a record for the most money raised for the Comptroller's race by that point. He formally announced his candidacy for Comptroller on 24 August 2009.[1]. He went on to earn endorsements from numerous elected and community leaders from Illinois, including State Senators, local Democratic party chairpersons, Chicago Wards, downstate state senators, and local chapters of key Illinois unions.[3]. By the end of the campaign, he had raised over $1.1 million, mostly from individual donors, a record for a non-incumbent for the Illinois Comptroller's race.[2] With this funding, his campaign launched a statewide television advertisement[4]. Two weeks before the primary election, Krishnamoorthi earned the endorsement of the Chicago Tribune, who called him a "game-changer" with innovative ideas for using the office to bring transparency and efficiency to Illinois government, which was wrought with budget deficits that were among the worst in the country and which was plagued by ethics crisis, having suffered another Governor's scandal in the previous year with the impeachment of indicted former governor Rod Blagojevich[5], [6]. Later that week, the Chicago Sun-Times followed suit, also citing Krishnamoorthi's fresh ideas to put government contracts online for taxpayer scrutiny.[7] On February 2, 2010, Krishnamoorthi faced State Representative David E. Miller in the Democratic primary for Illinois Comptroller. On election night, the lead changed sides back and forth and results were too close to call. Counting continued into the next day, but by the following evening, trailing by 8,000 votes, Krishnamoorthi called Miller to concede the election.[14] Krishnamoorthi won roughly 385,000 votes, coming within 1 percent of winning the Democractic nomination for Comptroller[8].
As a result, Krishnamoorthi was among a list of candidates considered for the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, after the primary winner Scott Lee Cohen stepped down from the nomination due to scandal. [9]
  | Raja for Illinois - Raja for Illinois Comptroller 2010 |
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