This son of Chicago Democratic royalty has been elected to three terms as Illinois Comptroller. In that job, he's the state's chief fiscal officer and is responsible for paying the bills. His father, Tom Hynes, served as the Cook County assessor and Illinois Senate president and on the Democratic National Committee. Dan Hynes was first elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2002 and 2006. In between, he unsuccessfully sought the 2004 Democratic nomination for United States Senate. Hynes finished second to a then-little known Barack Obama. In an interview during that contest, Hynes told the Chicago Tribune that he's never carried over a credit card balance from month to month. Hynes briefly considered running for governor in the 2002 election. Before becoming comptroller at age 30, Dan Hynes was a health care attorney at a Chicago law firm. He went to the University of Notre Dame and Loyola University School of Law. He and his wife, Dr. Christina Kerger, have three boys, including twins. Hynes also has worked to promote stem cell research in Illinois.

--Pulled from Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/politics/local-authority/dan-hynes-PEPLT007423.topic