American Politician from Illinois who was the first African American woman elected to the US Senate, the first Democratic African American U.S. Senator, the first woman to defeat an incumbent U.S. Senator in an election, and the first female Senator from Illinois.
She was a prosecutor in the United States Attorney's office in Chicago from 1973 to 1977
In 2011 she lost her bid to become the Mayor of Chicago.
She had one son with her ex-husband Michael Allen Braun.
President Bill Clinton appointed her US Ambassador to New Zealand.
