Kathy Byrne

Katherine Crane Byrne (December 31, 1957 – August 8, 2024) was an American lawyer. She worked at a Chicago-based law firm, became involved in politics, and president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.

Life and career Byrne was born on December 31, 1957, to William and Jane Byrne. Her mother later became a politician and her father was a marine pilot who died in a crash en route to Naval Air Station Glenview when she was eighteen months old. She was raised in Sauganash, Chicago where she lived with her mother and grandparents. In October 1978, she was hired through her mother, who by then was mayor of Chicago, to work in a public relations job at the Chicago Transit Authority making US$17,500 . She worked there as a trial attorney for over 35 years. She fundraised for Joe Biden's 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns.

Byrne died of lung cancer at the Rush University Medical Center, on August 8, 2024, at the age of 66.