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The Fighting Illini recently welcomed alumna Melissa Posen back to the University of Illinois where she will work with their Washington Office of Governmental Relations.

The former staff assistant and legislative correspondent to fellow Illinois graduate Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) just started her job as a Federal Relations Specialist with their alma mater. Posen interned for Roskam while still a student at the Urbana-Champaign campus, and she has worked for him on the Hill since 2010. She is yet to file paperwork as a registered lobbyist.

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) lost his tax policy expert to K Street when the former staffer took a job with a trade association for tech innovators.

Miguel Martinez is now director of government relations and tax counsel for the Information Technology Industry Council. ITI has been busy lobbying a wide variety of issues from tax policy to trade to telecommunications to homeland security, according to most recent lobby filings. Martinez leaves behind a four year career on the Hill where he spent the entire time counseling Lewis, ranking member on the House Ways and Means Oversight subcommittee.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), known for his entertaining Twitter war with Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), has recently emerged victorious in multiple online "competitions."

The pair engaged in what would eventually become a yearlong war to amass more Twitter followers, which began with a challenge from Himes in January 2012, according to the New Haven Register. The challenge to gain a larger Twitter following was only intended to last for a week, but after a year of exchanging barbs about their height, age, and beauty, Murphy was able to triumphantly claim victory in January 2013, stating, "At long last, Congressman Himes' long and oppressive rule atop Connecticut's Twitter delegation has finally ended." The victory came after Murphy finally surpassed Himes in Twitter followers; Himes tweeted, "So @ChrisMurphyCT just passed my follower #. I could mourn, or I could point out he's a friggin' senator now."

Former Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.) has scored his first official federal lobbying client with an American-based subsidiary to an Austrian pharmaceutical maker.

Delahunt will focus on an "innovative diabetes treatment" on behalf of Healiance Pharmaceuticals, according to disclosures. Healiance's parent company is Vienna-based Digen Pharmaceuticals. Since 2011, Healiance has been lobbying diabetes treatments with Gephardt Government Affairs as well.

A former top aide to Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) has snagged her first lobbying client, a subsidiary of a large Indian multinational.

Sarah Blackwood, now vice president at Banner Public Affairs, is lobbying on behalf of Tata America International Corp., an American-based IT and consulting firm indirectly owned by the large Indian conglomerate, Tata Group. Blackwood is focusing on "STEM and high-skilled workforce issues" related to immigration reform, according to the disclosure.

En garde! Better take a new Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) staffer seriously since you'll be dealing with someone who holds Olympic medals in fencing.

Becca Ward, now a staff assistant in the Oregon Democrat's D.C. office, won two bronze medals in sabre fencing at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and took home the gold in the 2006 World Fencing Championships. Hailing from Portland, Ore., Ward is a 2012 graduate of Duke University where she finished with a collegiate fencing record of 272-7 which placed her first all-time in career wins at the school.

When you travel the world as often as Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) does, it is easy to neglect filing paperwork on-time for each trip. But at least Saddam Hussein didn't pay for it.

McDermott reported a February 2012 visit to San Diego courtesy of the Aspen Institute more than 14 months late. House ethics rules state travelers must submit travel forms within two weeks of completed travel.

The former chief of staff to Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) has left the Hill for an upstart in the mortgage insurance industry.

Matthew Tully departed for Essent Guaranty Inc. to handle government and industry relations. Essent has no prior history of federal lobbying, but the company only entered the mortgage insurance market in 2010, according to its website.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.)'s former campaign manager, now chief of staff logged six-figure earnings on the campaign trail.

Mike Henry's financial disclosure filed when he first came on board reported hefty earnings from running the Kaine for Virginia campaign: $209,000. It's unclear if Henry's reported salary covers all the time he spent with Kaine for Virginia, which dates back to 2011, or just his 2012 earnings with the campaign.

Incoming Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) has already made his first decision before returning to Congress by choosing loyalty over experience in his chief of staff.

Jon Kohan, who ran Sanford's campaign through the primary and general elections, will be the former governor's chief upon being sworn into office. Before heading up Sanford for Congress, he spent two years at Jamestown Associates, most recently as an account executive.