At the time of his retirement, Clayborne was the second highest-ranking member of the Illinois Senate as the Senate Majority Leader.[3] On September 21, 2017, Clayborne announced he would not run for reelection in 2018.[4] He was succeeded by Christopher Belt.[5]
Early life and career
Senator Clayborne was born and raised in East St. Louis.[6] After graduating from East St. Louis High School,[7] he earned a Bachelor of Science from Tennessee State University and later a law degree from the University of Miami.[1] While at the University of Miami, he met his future wife Staci, with whom he now has four sons.[6][7]
He went on to serve as an assistant state’s attorney in St. Clair County as well as a child support prosecutor, a supervisor in the St. Clair County Juvenile Abuse and Neglect Division, a supervisor in Felony Probation Revocations and a felony prosecutor.[8] He also was one of 50 attorneys selected nationwide to participate in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Law Institute in Quantico, Virginia.[8] He later chose to enter private practice[6]
Illinois Senate
In 1995, Clayborne was appointed to complete the term of longtime Senator Kenneth Hall and was later elected in his own right in 1996.[7] In 2009, he became the Senate Majority Leader after finishing second to John Cullerton in the race for Senate President.[9]
Clayborne is the current chair of the Assignments Committee as well as the committees on Energy, Executive Appointments, Insurance, Public Pensions & State Investments and the subcommittees on Governmental Operations and Constitutional Amendments.[1]
^Barlow, Sarah E., ed. (November 15, 2018). "Biographies of New House Members"(PDF). First Reading. Illinois Legislative Research Unit. pp. 2–8. Retrieved December 12, 2018.