Take me back to the Oral History landing page.

Larry Bomke - Obama in Illinois

Larry Bomke served Sangamon County and central Illinois in a political career that began in the early 1970s and ended with his retirement from the Illinois Senate in 2013. He began his career as a Republican at the grass roots level, and in 1976 was elected to serve on the Sangamon County Board. In 1992 he became the Chairman of the County Board, and in 1995 he was appointed by the Sangamon County Republican Party to fill an Illinois Senate seat vacated by Karen Hasara, who was running for mayor of Springfield. He served in the Senate for the next 18 years, during a time that coincided with Barack Obama's years in the IL Senate.