Gary Forby (born January 4, 1945) is a former Democratic member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

. He represented the 59th District from 2003 to 2017. The 59th Senate District includes

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, Williamson,

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, Gallatin, Hardin,

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, Massac,

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

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, Pulaski and

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counties in

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...

. He was previously a 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 2001 to 2003 before being appointed to fill former State Senator Larry Woolard’s vacant seat in 2003. He was defeated in his bid for another term on November 8, 2016.

Early life, education and career

Born in Anna in 1945, Forby is a Southern Illinois native. He currently lives in Benton with his four children and one grandchild and remains very active in a number of local community organizations such as the Shriners and the Elk’s Club. He has also been an active member of the Engineers’ and Laborers’ International Unions.

Political career

Before being becoming a member of the General Assembly, Forby worked on his farm in Southern Illinois and as an excavating contractor at Forby Excavating, a small business based in Benton, Illinois. Forby has served as the Chair of the Franklin County Board and as a member of the Benton Township Board. On June 17, 2003, Forby was appointed to the

to succeed Larry D. Woolard. On June 18, 2003, John Bradley was appointed to succeed Forby in the Illinois House of Representatives. On March 20, 2012, Forby won the Democratic Primary with 12,692 votes (77% of those voting). He defeated Republican Mark Minor in the General Election. In 2016, Forby lost the race for the 59th district to Republican Dale Fowler.

References

External links

Biography, bills and committees
at the 98th Illinois General Assembly **By session
98th97th96th95th94th93rdIllinois State Senator Gary Forby
constituency website
Gary Forby for State Senator
*
Senator Gary Forby
at Illinois Senate Democrats {{DEFAULTSORT:Forby, Gary Illinois state senators Members of the Illinois House of Representatives 1945 births Living people People from Anna, Illinois 21st-century American politicians County board members in Illinois