Toi Hutchinson, State Senator, Illinois

Toi Hutchinson knows how to make a comeback. Her first foray into politics came when she challenged an incumbent to run for atownship supervisor seat in Illinois. She lost.The day after the election, an Illinois state senator asked Hutchinson to be her chief of staff. A few years later, when the senator won a seat in the U.S. House, Hutchinson took her place in 2009. But taking on a state legislator role as the mother of three young boys wasn’t all Hutchinson had going on. She was also in law school at the time.

For more about In The Arena, visit www.governing.com/ita