John Thomas Doody Jr. (born January 15, 1945) is an American politician who served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 the 37th district from September 1995 until January 1997 and later a Judge of the

Cook County Circuit Court The Circuit Court of Cook County is the largest of the 24 judicial circuits in Illinois as well as one of the largest unified court systems in the United States — second only in size to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County since that court ...

Biography

Doody was born January 15, 1945, in

Evergreen Park, Illinois Evergreen Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. In 2020, the population was 19,943. History As early as 1828, a German farming family had settled in the area of what is now Evergreen Park. In the succeeding decades, other Ge ...

. He attended

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

and St. Procopius College, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the latter institution. Doody later earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from John Marshall Law School. Doody was a soldier in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and is a veteran of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Doody was, for a time, the Mayor of

Homewood, Illinois Homewood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,463 at the 2020 census. The village sits just a few miles south of Chicago proper. It is bordered by Chicago Heights and Flossmoor to the south, Hazel Crest to ...

. Doody was elected a township trustee of Bloom Township in 1981, a village trustee for Homewood in 1983, and Village President of Homewood in 1991. Doody was appointed to the Illinois House of Representatives and sworn into office on September 11, 1995, to succeed Ed Zabrocki, the Mayor of

Tinley Park, Illinois Tinley Park (formerly Bremen) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. The village is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 55,971. It is one of the fastest growing suburbs ...

, who had been elected in the 1994 elections. He was defeated by Democratic candidate

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Rep ...

in the 1996 general election. Doody explored challenging McCarthy in the 1998 election, but opted out in favor of Maureen O'Hara who was supported by Minority Leader

Lee Daniels Lee Daniels (born December 24, 1959) is an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter. His first producer credit was '' Monster's Ball'' (2001), for which Halle Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress, making Daniels ...

. After his 1996 loss, he became a member of the Homewood Public Library Board. In 2002, he became a Circuit Court Judge, a position he would hold until his retirement in 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doody, John 20th-century American politicians People from Evergreen Park, Illinois Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives People from Homewood, Illinois 1945 births Living people Mayors of places in Illinois Benedictine University alumni Illinois State University alumni John Marshall Law School (Chicago) alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Military personnel from Illinois Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County