Alice Palmer was an activist, author, educator and politician whose state Senate seat, after some controversy, served as the launching pad for the political career of Barack Obama.
In 1995, Mrs. Palmer announced she would give up her seat in Springfield and run in a special election to succeed convicted U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds in Congress. She endorsed Obama as her chosen successor in the state Senate, but after she lost the congressional race to Jesse Jackson Jr., Mrs. Palmer decided to seek reelection to the state Senate.
