David C. Harris (born March 26, 1948) an American politician and retired military officer from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

who is currently the director the Illinois Department of Revenue. He has previously served two tenures as a Republican member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

from 1983–1993 and 2011–2019 and as the Adjutant General of Illinois from 1999 to 2003.

Early life and career

Harris was born March 26, 1948, in

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...

. He graduated from St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights. Harris graduated from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. He became an associate member of the

Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), established on April 3, 1848, is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other excha ...

during the 1970s, but ceased trading prior to 2011. After a brief period of time in Pennsylvania, Harris moved to

Arlington Heights, Illinois Arlington Heights is a municipality in Cook County with a small portion in Lake County in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of the city's downtown. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 77,676. Per the ...

where he and his wife reside.

Military career

Harris joined the military in 1970 as a

military policeman Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, Screening (tactical), ...

. In 1971, he attended Officer Candidate School and returned to serve as a platoon leader in the 471st Military Police Company of the District of Columbia Army National Guard. From 1974 until 1980, Harris served as a member of the

Pennsylvania Army National Guard The Pennsylvania Army National Guard, abbreviated PAARNG, is part of the United States Army National Guard and is based in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Together with the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, it is directed by the Pennsylva ...

. In 1980, he joined the Illinois Army National Guard as an assistant correctional officer with the 33rd Military Police Battalion in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He was promoted to Staff Provost Marshal at the State Area Command in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

. In 1989, he graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College. That same year, he became the Chief Historian. In 1992, he was promoted to the Commander of the 44th Support Center. In 1997, he was promoted to Section Chief of the Selective Service. In July 1999, George Ryan named Harris the Adjutant General of Illinois to succeed Richard Austin. As Adjutant General, he was the principal advisor to the

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

on military matters and served as the Commanding General of both the Illinois Army and

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

. His responsibility the Guard's daily operations and oversight of approximately 13,500 uniformed personnel. Harris was the first Adjutant General appointed under the criteria of Senate Bill 1227. Harris retired from the

Illinois National Guard The Illinois National Guard comprises both Army National Guard and Air National Guard components of Illinois. As of 2013, the Illinois National Guard has approximately 13,200 members. The National Guard is the only United States military force emp ...

in 2003 and was succeeded as Adjutant General by Randal E. Thomas. Harris was inducted into the Infantry Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame at

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

in 2002.

Post military service

Harris served in Iraq with the

US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

as the deputy director and chief of staff of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office.

Political career

Harris served on Ronald Reagan's national advance staff in the 1976 Republican primary, and presidential elections of

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

. He was elected an alternate delegate to the

1984 Republican National Convention The 1984 Republican National Convention convened on August 20 to August 23, 1984, at Dallas Convention Center in downtown Dallas, Texas. The convention nominated President Ronald W. Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush for reelection. I ...

. In 1987,

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

appointed Harris a member of the Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Education.

First House tenure

In 1980, Illinois voters passed an amendment to the

Illinois Constitution The Constitution of the State of Illinois is the governing document of the state of Illinois. There have been four Illinois Constitutions; the fourth and current version was adopted in 1970. The current constitution is referred to as the "Constit ...

that abolished multi-member districts in the

and the process of cumulative voting. In the 1982 general election, Harris ran as a Republican in the newly created 53rd district. His opponent in the general election was Democratic activist and Elk Grove Park Board commissioner Joan E. Brennan. The district was centered around Elk Grove Township. Harris defeated Brennan in the general election. Harris lost the 1992 Republican primary to

Carolyn H. Krause Carolyn H. Krause (born October 20, 1938, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) was a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives, and represented the 66th district from 1993 to her retirement in 2009. Krause graduated from University of Wi ...

, a former Mayor of

Mount Prospect, Illinois Mount Prospect is a village in Elk Grove and Wheeling Townships in Cook County, Illinois, about northwest of downtown Chicago, and approximately 4 miles north of O'Hare International Airport. As of the 2020 census, the village had a total popu ...

. After his loss, he joined the Illinois Hospital & Health Systems Association as the Senior Vice President for Government Relations. In this role, he directed the association's government relations programs at both the state and federal levels.

Second House tenure

In 2010, Harris ran again for the Illinois House of Representatives against incumbent Democrat

Mark Walker Mark Walker may refer to: Politics and law * Mark L. Walker (born 1941), member of the Illinois House of Representatives * Mark Walker (North Carolina politician) (born 1969), minister and U.S. House of Representatives member for North Carolina's 6 ...

in the 66th district. The 66th district, which had significant overlap on what was the 53rd district, included parts of

Elk Grove Village Elk Grove Village is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 32,812. Located northwest of Chicago along the Golden Corridor, the Village of Elk Grove Village was incorpora ...

, Mount Prospect, Arlington Heights,

Des Plaines Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situated on and is named after the ...

Rolling Meadows Rolling Meadows is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 24,200. History In 1836, Orrin Ford became the first landowner in the area that is now Rolling Meadows, staking his claim of in an area ...

, and

Schaumburg, Illinois Schaumburg ( ) is a village mostly in Cook County and partly in DuPage County in northeastern Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 78,723. Schaumburg is around northwest of the Chicago Loop and northwest of O'Hare I ...

. Harris defeated Walker in the heavily Republican 2010 election. After the decennial redistricting process, Harris was redistricted to the 53rd District in 2013."David Harris"
. ''98th Illinois General Assembly''. Retrieved November 17, 2014. The 53rd house district includes parts of Arlington Heights,

, Mount Prospect,

, and Prospect Heights. In the

2016 Republican Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. These elections selected the 2,472 delegates that were se ...

, Harris was a delegate pledged to the

presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of John Kasich. He was a sponsor of Senate Bill 2861 which established the Illinois Code of Military Justice; state legislation analogous to the federal

Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 801–946 is the foundation of military law in the United States. It was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution ...

. On October 4, 2017, Harris announced his retirement from the Illinois House citing frustration from the

Illinois Budget Impasse The Illinois Budget Impasse was a 793-day-long budget crisis in the state of Illinois. From July 1, 2015, to August 31, 2017, Illinois was without a complete state budget for fiscal years 2016, 2017, and part of 2018. As a result, many state agenci ...

. He was succeeded by Mark Walker, who he had unseated eight years earlier.

Illinois Department of Revenue

In 2018, Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker announced his intention to appoint Harris the Director of the Illinois Department of Revenue. Harris subsequently assumed office in this position.

References

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Profile
at OpenStates.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, David 1948 births Living people People from Reading, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives People from Arlington Heights, Illinois Georgetown University alumni United States government people of the Iraq War Adjutants General of Illinois 21st-century American politicians National Guard (United States) generals Illinois National Guard personnel Pennsylvania National Guard personnel