From 1891 through 1899, Kelley lived at the Hull House settlement in Chicago, where in 1893, Governor Peter Altgeld made her the Chief Factory Inspector for the state of Illinois, a newly created position and unheard-of for a woman.
From 1891 through 1899, Kelley lived at the Hull House settlement in Chicago. In 1893, she became the first woman to hold statewide office when Governor Peter Altgeld appointed her to the post of Chief Factory Inspector for the state of Illinois, a newly created position and unheard-of for a woman.