High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! James Robert Thompson, Jr. (born May 8, 1936), also known as Big Jim Thompson, was the 37th and longest serving Governor of the US state of Illinois. A Republican, Thompson was elected to four consecutive terms and held the office for 14 years; his first term was only for two years as Illinois moved its gubernatorial election from Presidential election years to midterm Congressional election years. Many years after leaving public office, he served as a member of the 9/11 Commission.