West Central Reporter

Rep. Norine Hammond started Women’s History Month by exemplifying Corrine Wood.

In a speech in the chamber, Hammond highlighted the life of former Lt. Gov. Corrine Wood, who was the first woman in Illinois history elected to the lieutenant governor seat.

"Corinne Wood was the first woman to serve as lieutenant governor for Illinois, but she was much more than that. She was a mother, a wife, a lawmaker, a lawyer, a health care advocate and an ethics champion. Corrine graduated from Loyola University Law School in 1979 and practiced law in Chicago for more than 20 years. Corrine often referred to herself as a 'recovering attorney,'" Hammond said in her speech. "Then in 1996 she was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives where she sponsored more bills that were signed into law than any other freshman state representative. She was considered one of the hardest working legislators in the Illinois General Assembly and her hard work did not go unnoticed. While serving in her first term, Corrine was chosen to run for lieutenant governor on the Republican ticket, winning the election in the fall of 1998. On Jan. 11 of 1999, Corrine Wood made history as she was sworn in as the first female lieutenant governor of the state of Illinois."

Wood was 66 when she died in 2021. She was lieutenant governor under George Ryan between 1999 and 2003. She sought the governor's position in 2002 and finished third in that year's primary election.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Wood's experience with breast cancer fueled some of her work as a state representative and as lieutenant governor. As she ran for the position and underwent treatments for breast cancer at the same time, Wood continued to campaign, hiding treatment-related hair loss with a wig. She also championed the breast cancer research income tax check off.

She may have left the political arena in the early 2000s, but Wood's work wasn't done. Following her work in the governor's office, Wood joined the board of CHANGE Illinois and the Cancer Treatment Research Foundation.