EMBASSY EVENTS 2009

Pat Quinn Becomes the 41st Governor of Illinois

30 January 2009

Governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn

Former Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn, was sworn in as the 41st Governor of the State of Illinois on Thursday, January 29, 2009.  The Oath of Office was administered by Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke in a brief ceremony in the Chamber of the Illinois House of Representatives. "I pledge an open and fair state government worthy of being called the Land of Lincoln," Quinn said. "The people of Illinois have the right to expect integrity and diligence from their elected officials.”  Quinn replaced Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was removed from office by an impeachment conviction on corruption charges. Governor Pat Quinn visited Poland in late November 2008.  He attended a ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw on November 19, where Dawid Pietrek, a Polish citizen and Elmhurst, Illinois resident, was posthumously honored for his service in the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan. During the ceremony, Quinn presented a hand-drawn portrait of Private Pietrek to his mother, sister, and grandmother, who traveled from Szczecin to attend the ceremony.