Illinois Republican Judy Biggert dedicated her career in the
House to advocating for education reform and childcare
programs, earning a reputation for crossing the aisle for
issues she believed in. Reflecting on her ability to negotiate
with her colleagues, Biggert noted, “What I will do is
change their minds…. If I can’t change them, then I will
have to work with them.”1
Judy Biggert was born Judith Borg in Chicago, Illinois,
on August 15, 1937, the daughter of Alvin Andrew
and Marjorie Virginia (Mailler) Borg. She graduated
from Stanford University in 1959 with a degree in
international relations and earned a JD in 1963 from
Northwestern University Law School. After graduating from
Northwestern, she clerked for Judge Luther M. Swygert in
the U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit. She married Rody
Biggert and the couple raised four children: Courtney,
Alison, Rody, and Adrienne. From 1975 to 1998, Biggert
operated a home-based private law practice specializing in
real estate, estate planning, and probate law.
Biggert eventually became active in local politics, serving
as school board president of Hinsdale Township High
School District 86. She later chaired the Visiting Nurses
Association of Chicago and served as president of the
Junior League of Chicago. In 1992 Biggert won election to
the Illinois state house of representatives and served three
consecutive terms (1993–1999). In the state legislature, she
authored strict anti-crime laws and worked to balance the
state budget without raising taxes.2
In 1998 Biggert ran for a House seat representing the
southwest Chicago suburbs which was vacated by retiring
Republican Harris W. Fawell. In the Republican primary,
Biggert topped a more conservative challenger, taking
45 percent of the vote. She later remarked that women
politicians “are held to an awfully high standard. We have
to work three times as hard.”3 In the general election,
Biggert defeated Democrat Susan W. Hynes, a business
executive, with 61 percent of the vote.4 In each of her six
re-elections, Biggert won by wide margins averaging more
than 60 percent.5
As a freshman Member, in the 106th Congress (1999–
2001), Biggert served on three committees: Government
Reform; Banking and Financial Services (later named the
Financial Services Committee); and Science (later Science
and Technology, and then Science, Space, and Technology).
In the 107th Congress (2001–2003), she left Government
Reform for assignments on the Education and Workforce
Committee (later Education and Labor) and the Committee
on Standards of Official Conduct (later named the Ethics
Committee). In the 108th and 109th Congresses (2003–
2007), Biggert served as chair of the Science Committee’s
Subcommittee on Energy. When Democrats gained the
House majority in the 110th Congress (2007–2009), Biggert
left her position on Standards of Official Conduct. In the
112th Congress (2011–2013), when Republicans recaptured
the majority, Biggert served as chair of the Financial Services
Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community
Opportunity. Beyond her committee work, Biggert co-chaired
the Women’s Caucus in the 107th Congress.
She also cofounded four issues caucuses dealing with the
judicial branch, literacy policy, research and development,
and homelessness in America.6 Biggert ran for Republican
Conference Secretary in 2001 and 2002 but lost both races.
Biggert made her mark in the House as an advocate for
education reform, childcare for low income families, and
expanded legal assistance for victims of domestic violence.
In 1999 Biggert introduced the Stewart B. McKinney
Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act, which
built on legislation from the 1980s to extend educational
opportunities to homeless children. According to Biggert’s
research, at the time, 45 percent of the approximately
1 million children without homes nationwide did not
attend school on a regular basis. Her bill sought to ensure
their enrollment and reduced bureaucratic roadblocks that
might prevent children who were forced to move frequently
from attending class. The bill also expanded federal
funding to help states better track and aid these students.
“Being without a home should not mean being without an
education,” Biggert said in a floor speech in 1999. “Yet that
is what homelessness has meant for far too many of our
children and youth today; red tape, lack of information, and
bureaucratic delays that result in their missing school and
missing the chance at a better life.” Much of her bill passed
the House as part of the 1999 Students Results Act, but it
died in the Senate. When she submitted another version
in 2001, the bill moved quickly through the Congress and
was signed into law by President George W. Bush as part
of the No Child Left Behind Act on January 8, 2002.7 For
the remainder of her career, Biggert introduced legislation
to provide greater educational assistance to children
experiencing homelessness. “Whether they are in a motel
or jumping from couch to couch, these kids need help,”
Biggert said.8
She also introduced the Building, Renovating,
Improving, and Constructing Kids’ Schools (BRICKS)
Act in 2001 to address the “deplorable conditions” and
“crumbling infrastructure” of elementary and secondary
schools nationwide. With an estimated $112 billion in
repairs required for existing school facilities, her legislation
provided for interest-free and low-interest loans for
construction and repairs at the state and local level.9
After the 2010 Census, Biggert’s Republican district
was redrawn by the Illinois legislature to favor Democrats.
Biggert lost the 2012 general election to her Democratic
opponent, former Congressman Bill Foster by 17 percent.10
Reflecting on her career, she remarked, “Representing the
people of this area has been the great honor of my lifetime.
I can never thank them enough for their kindnesses towards
me, their generosity with their ideas, their patience when
we don’t see eye-to-eye, and their deep love of community
and country.”11
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