James R. Reilly (January 31, 1945 – April 4, 2022) was an American politician who served 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 ...

Early life

James R. Reilly was born January 31, 1945, 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 ...

. He moved to

Jacksonville, Illinois Jacksonville is a city in Morgan County, Illinois, Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,446 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Morgan County. It is home to Illinois College, Illinois School for the Deaf, and the ...

in 1962. He graduated from Illinois College in 1967 and from the University of Chicago Law School in 1972. He returned to Jacksonville and served as its city attorney. In 1976, he was elected as one of three representatives from the 49th district to the

. Prior to serving in the Illinois House of Representatives, he worked as an aide to State Representative George Burditt and taught in

Winchester, Illinois Winchester is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,593 at the 2010 census. Winchester is part of the Jacksonville Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Winchester is located at (39.6300 ...

for two years.

Legislative career

During his freshman term his duties in the General Assembly included: Minority Spokesman, State Government Committee; Vice Chairman, Joint Committee on Administrative Rules; Member, Appropriations II and Elementary and Secondary Education Committees, and Commission on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Government career and appointments

Governor James R. Thompson made Reilly his chief of staff. After a staff reorganization, Reilly was named Deputy Governor with a portfolio including budget development and legislative negotiations. Reilly then left to establish the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. After Governor Jim Edgar's Chief of Staff Kirk Dillard left the administration to run for 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 ...

seat of retiring incumbent Thomas McCracken Jr., Reilly became Edgar's Chief of Staff.

Death

Reilly died on April 4, 2022, at Saint Joseph Villa assisted facility in Chicago, Illinois.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reilly, James 1945 births 2022 deaths Illinois College alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni Politicians from Springfield, Illinois Politicians from Jacksonville, Illinois Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Illinois lawyers 20th-century American legislators 20th-century Illinois politicians Chiefs of staff to the governor of Illinois

Early life

Legislative career

Government career and appointments

Death

Further reading

References