Jesse White is Illinois’ 37th Secretary of State, and was first elected to the office in 1998. The Illinois Secretary of State’s office is the largest and most diverse of its kind in the nation, providing more direct services to the people of Illinois than any other public agency. Included among these successful services is the Organ/Tissue Donor Program — an issue toward which White has a special affinity. His sister Doris Ivy received a kidney transplant thanks to the generosity of a donor.

The best reflection of White’s impact on lifesaving donation lies with Illinois’ successful state donor registry program, the first of its kind in the nation. Through his leadership, the "first-person consent" registry today totals 4 million registrants, and more than 100,000 registrants are added each month through the state driver services facilities. In the 15 years since the Illinois registry was founded, the success of White's enrollment efforts has inspired almost all states to establish donor registries, which now identify more than a quarter of all recovered organ donors nationwide.

White has taken a hands-on approach to increasing the number of lives saved through donation. In addition to giving hundreds of speaking engagements on behalf of donation each year, White has organized thousands of education programs that motivate the public to join the state donor registry. His office also created the “Life Goes On” community action committees that have significantly increased registry participation rates to 60 percent at driver services facilities.

His friendship with the Payton family made possible the Organ/Tissue Donor License Plate that features “#34” worn by Chicago Bears great Walter Payton who had been on the waiting list for a liver transplant before his death. Money generated from the license plates help fund donor awareness education across the state. Each year, the Illinois Secretary of State’s office produces an organ/tissue donation public service announcement for television and radio, and holds a biannual poster contest for Illinois students in grades K-12 that honors donation.