Raja Krishnamoorthi

Raja Krishnamoorthi is a small businessman, who currently serves as the president of Sivananthan Labs, a small business based in the Chicago area. Raja also heads InSPIRE, a charity dedicated to mobilizing veterans and students to get involved in the solar industry. Raja recently became the Democratic nominee for Illinois's 8th U.S. Congressional District in the 2016 elections. After serving as Barack Obama's policy director in his successful U.S. Senate campaign, Raja was appointed as a member of the board of the Illinois Housing Development Authority. He then became a founding prosecutor for Illinois Attorney General's anti-corruption unit. Subsequently, Raja served as Illinois Deputy Treasurer and as Vice-Chair of the Illinois Innovation Council. In his 2016 campaign, Raja's highly-specific legislative agenda and his strong focus on policies for working families led to endorsements by all three major Chicago-area newspapers: the Daily Herald, Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune with the Tribune writing that Raja's "amalgam of business and government experience makes him the best candidate, hands down." In a competitive three-way open primary in March 2016, Raja won close to 60% of the vote, beating his leading opponent by almost 30 percentage points with record voter turnout.
Early Life and Education
Raja grew up in Peoria, Illinois. There, his father has taught industrial engineering at Bradley University for nearly 40 years. Raja attended public schools and graduated from Richwoods High School. Raja later won scholarships and took out loans to attend college and law school. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Princeton University and later graduated with honors from Harvard Law School in 2000.
Professional career
After law school, Krishnamoorthi clerked for Judge Joan B. Gottschall at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He then joined and became a partner at a Chicago-area law firm. Raja was later appointed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan as a Special Assistant Attorney General with the Public Integrity Unit. He also served on the board of the Illinois Housing Development Authority. In 2007, Raja become the Deputy State Treasurer of Illinois.
Political career
Raja served as policy director for Barack Obama’s successful 2004 campaign for the U.S. Senate.
2016 Congressional bid
In March 2015, Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth announced that she was running for the U.S. Senate. The Democratic Primary to replace Duckworth featured three candidates - a popular State Senator, a mayor and small businessman Raja Krishnamoorthi. After six debates and forums and many months on the campaign trail, Raja's candidacy was endorsed by all three Chicago newspapers - the Daily Herald, Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune. On Election Day - March 15, 2016, Raja won the three-way, open primary with 57% of the vote, beating his leading opponent by almost 30 percentage points. Raja is now the Democratic nominee for the in 2016.
Sivananthan Laboratories
Krishnamoorthi serves as the president of Sivananthan Laboratories in Bolingbrook, Illinois, a position he has held since September 9, 2010. The company is a high-tech incubator that focuses on developing night vision technology, solar technology, biosensors and radiation detectors.
Personal life
Krishnamoorthi resides in Schaumburg, Illinois with his wife, two sons, and one daughter.

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