A native of Chicagoland, State Senator John J. Cullerton earned a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Loyola University Chicago, as well as a Juris Doctorate from Loyola University's prestigious School of Law. While a student, he served as President of the Loyola University Chicago Student Bar Association.

Cullerton began his career in law by serving as a Chicago Assistant Public Defender for five years before he started with Chicago's law firm of Thompson Coburn Fagel Haber, where he continues working as a partner.

In 1976, Cullerton's service in public office began after being elected to the Illinois Delegation to the Democratic National Convention. In 1979, he was elected to the Illinois General Assembly and served as a member of the House of Representatives for 12 years. Throughout Cullerton's 6-term career in the Illinois House, he served as the Speaker Pro Tempore and Democratic Floor Leader.

In 1991, he was appointed to fill Dawn Clark Netsch Senate seat. The following year Cullerton was elected to the Illinois Senate, representing the state's 6th Legislative District. Because of his knowledge of the law, Cullerton served as the Democratic Co-Chairman on the Senate's Judiciary Civil Law Committee. He also served as Vice-Chairman on the Insurance Committee, as well as a member of the Judiciary Criminal Law Committee and the Revenue Committee. Senator Cullerton served as the Senate Majority Caucus Whip from January 2007-January 2009.

Cullerton's contribution to the Illinois State Senate has been dedicated to issues such as traffic safety, public health, gun control, and the reform to the criminal justice system. At the conclusion of both the 93rd and 94th General Assembly, Cullerton was recognized for sponsoring more bills than any other legislator as well as having the most bills signed by the Governor.

On January 14, 2009, Cullerton was inaugurated to his first two-year term as President of the Illinois Senate. In this capacity, Cullerton lead the Senate during the impeachment trial and removal of former Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Since his inauguration, President Cullerton has labored to change the political tone of Springfield by encouraging bipartisanship and cooperation among leaders. An unfortunate byproduct of this dysfunction was General Assembly's failure to pass a capital construction plan. Fulfilling a promise made in his inaugural speech, in 2009 President Cullerton successfully led the charge to pass the first capital jobs plan in ten years.