The director, an Illinois native whose parents broke up when he was 10, quit high school and got his G.

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On one side, 64-year-old Boies, an Illinois native with disarming manners and a boyish smile--and a talent for neutralizing very powerful adversaries.

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Paulson, an Illinois native, also served as a lobbyist for the Illinois General Assembly's Washington office, working with the Illinois congressional delegation.

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