Secretary of State Jesse White speaks at a get-out-the-vote rally in Chicago in October alongside Secretary of State-elect Alexi Giannoulias. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]   

Much has changed in Illinois since Secretary of State Jesse White first took control of the office in 1999: Barack Obama rose from the state senate to the presidency; Rod Blagojevich served as governor and prisoner and has since been released; Mike Madigan no longer controls White’s Democratic Party, and the state even went without a budget for over two years.  

But despite shifting political winds and various triumphs and controversies in state politics, White remained the familiar face of Illinois government, but will step aside next month after decades in elected office.