Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says she’s not running for re-election.
The surprise announcement comes midway through her fourth term.
Madigan has been attorney general since 2003, and has focused much of her energy on consumer protection. The Democrat has filed lawsuits over student debt, worker abuse, and drug prices.
That’s led some Republicans to say she ought to have spent more time fighting public corruption.
Still, Madigan has been popular with voters, winning re-election three times with anywhere from 60 to 70 percent of the vote.
Madigan isn’t saying what’s next — just that she’ll continue to work on “helping people."
She's long been talked about as a potential candidate for governor, but said she would never run for the office as long as her father, Michael Madigan, remains speaker of the Illinois House.
The Illinois Republican Party says Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan's decision not to seek re-election is a sign the Madigan family brand is "toxic.''
The Republican party-backed candidate for attorney general is Erika Harold, a lawyer and former Miss America.