Ira I. Silverstein (born October 10, 1960) is a former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 8th district from 1999 to 2019. The 8th Senate District consists of Forest Glen, North Park and West Ridge in the

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

and its surrounding suburbs of Park Ridge,

Morton Grove Morton Grove is a village in Cook County, Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 25,297. The village is named after former United States Vice President Levi Parsons Morton, who helped finance the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railr ...

, Niles, Lincolnwood and Skokie, as of the decennial

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

following the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

Early life

Silverstein's father was a public school teacher. Silverstein attended Boone Elementary School and

Mather High School Stephen Tyng Mather High School (commonly known as simply Mather) is a public 4–year high school located in the West Ridge neighborhood on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1959, Mather is operated by the Chicago Pub ...

and then earned his bachelor's degree from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

. He later received his J.D. degree from the John Marshall Law School.

Senate career

Silverstein was the Chairman of the Senate Executive Committee, and he served on the Senate Judiciary and Licensed Activities committees, and the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR). JCAR reviews regulations imposed by state departments on business and citizens to ensure they are in accordance with the department's legal authority. In 2013, Silverstein introduced the "Internet Posting Removal Act" which sought to require web site admins to "upon request, remove any posted comments posted by an anonymous poster unless the anonymous poster agrees to attach his or her name to the post and confirms that his or her IP address, legal name, and home address are accurate. The bill was the subject of much derision, and was later withdrawn. He also introduced a modification to the Illinois Vehicle Code to make operating a motor vehicle with a wearable computing headset illegal. In 2017, he was accused of sexual harassment by victims rights advocate Denise Rotheimer, who released a series of flirtatious messages the two had exchanged. He resigned his position as Senate Democratic whip after she named him publicly during legislative hearings. Rotheimer claimed Silverstein made unwanted comments about her appearance and late-night phone calls she felt pressured to accept in order to advance legislation. The inspector general of the Illinois General Assembly released a report in January 2018 saying he did not engage in sexual harassment but he "did behave in a manner unbecoming of a legislator in violation of the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act." In the March 20, 2018 Democratic primary, Silverstein was defeated by more than 20 points by

Ram Villivalam Ram Villivalam is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate for the 8th district. The 8th Senate District consists of the Forest Glen, North Park and West Ridge neighborhoods in the City of Chicago and the nearby suburbs of Park Ridge, Morto ...

in the first competitive primary he faced since taking the seat. Silverstein resigned a few days before the start of the 101st General Assembly allowing his successor to be sworn in the weekend before inauguration. Also in 2018,

Debra Silverstein Debra Silverstein is the Alderman of the 50th Ward of the City of Chicago, Illinois. She defeated 38-year incumbent Bernard Stone in the 2011 runoff election, a race in which she was endorsed by Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel. As of 2019–2020, sh ...

, his wife, replaced Ira Silverstein as the Democratic Party's committeeperson (until 2018 legal name change, "committeeman") for Chicago's 50th Ward. In early 2020, Ira Silverstein ran for election for the 9th Subcircuit judge of the Cook County Judicial Circuit Court in Illinois. Silverstein lost in the Democratic primary on March 17, 2020.

Personal life

Silverstein is a practicing attorney. He maintains offices in downtown Chicago and a neighborhood office on

Devon Avenue Devon Avenue is a major east-west street in the Chicago metropolitan area. It begins at Chicago's Sheridan Road, which borders Lake Michigan, and it runs west until merging with Higgins Road near O'Hare International Airport. Devon continues on ...

, serving small business owners and residents in matters such as elder law, estate planning and business issues. Silverstein is married to Chicago

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

, and they have four children. Silverstein is an

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...

. As a state senator, he shared an office suite with fellow senator and future U.S. president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, who would often assist Silverstein with various tasks on the Sabbath.

References

External links

Senator Ira I. Silverstein (D)
at the Illinois General Assembly **By session
99th98th97th96th95th94th93rdIllinois State Senator Ira I. Silverstein
constituency site *
Senator Ira I. Silverstein
at Illinois Senate Democrats {{DEFAULTSORT:Silverstein, Ira 1960 births Living people Illinois state senators Jewish American state legislators in Illinois Politicians from Chicago Loyola University Chicago alumni John Marshall Law School (Chicago) alumni 21st-century American politicians Mather High School alumni 21st-century American Jews