James Thompson/Definition

Member of 9-11 Commission; Illinois' longest-serving governor (1977-1991); chairman of the law firm of Winston & Strawn, in Chicago. From 1959 to 1964, he served in the Cook County state's attorney's office, where he argued criminal civil rights cases before the Illinois and US Supreme Courts. He then taught at the Northwestern Law School. In 1971, he became U.S. Attorney for the Northern District,