 She is also chair of the Senate Black Caucus and co-chair of the Illinois Commission of Intergovernmental Cooperation.Lightford attended Proviso East High School before going on to Western Illinois University, where she was initiated as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.After college, she attended graduate school at the University of Illinois at Springfield where she earned a master's degree in Public Administration (MPA) and completed an internship with the Illinois Department of Corrections.