John O. Jones is a former Republican 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 ...

, representing the 54th district from 2003 to 2013. Jones previously served in 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 1995 to 2002.

Early life

Jones was born October 8, 1940, in

Broughton, Illinois Broughton is a village in Hamilton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 194 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area. The village was founded in the 1720s as Saint Philippe du Grand Marai ...

. He graduated from Mount Vernon Township High School in 1958. He served four years in the

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and was discharged in 1962 as an Airman First Class. At the time of his election to the Illinois House of Representatives, he was the owner of Jones Trucking Services. He and his wife Mimi have two children and five grandchildren.

Illinois General Assembly

In the 1994 general election, Jones won election to the 107th district. The district included all or parts of

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, Wabash,

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, and

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counties. In the 2002 general election, Jones defeated Democratic incumbent William L. O'Daniel. In 2012, O. Jones' 54th district was redrawn and, in places, combined with Republican State Senator Kyle McCarter's 51st district to create the new 54th district. John. O. Jones proclaimed his retirement after failing to receive the 2,000 signatures needed for the Republican primary ballot. After considering running as an independent candidate, he told the Centralia Sentinel that he would instead retire from the state Senate, stating he felt that was best for the party and for the people. Jones was lead sponsor of landmark senior citizen prescription assistance legislation that expanded the Circuit Breaker program by increasing the income eligibility requirements; member of Woodlands Task Force which protected landowners from skyrocketing property taxes on vacant woodland, grassland and wetlands; sponsored education reform bill creating a base level funding for each student; sponsored comprehensive legislation to revitalize the coal industry in Illinois and he has been a strong advocate for township government, school construction funding and ethanol promotion. During his time in the Senate, he was assigned to the following committees: Committees on Licensed Activities (Minority Spokesperson); Agriculture and Conservation; Commerce and Economic Development; Judiciary Criminal Law; State Government and Veterans Affairs

Legislative Awards

Friend of 4-H - Illinois Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers, Illinois Agriculture Association Activator - Friend of Agriculture Award, Friend of the Family Award, CARES Advisory Council - Carpe Diem Award, Guardian of Small Business Award, Illinois HomeCare Council - Legislator of the Year, Illinois Firefighters Association – Legislator of the Year, Township Officials of Illinois – Legislator of the Year, Township Officials of Effingham County – Legislator of the Year, Illinois Civil Justice League’s - Friend of Fairness.

References

External links

Senator John O. Jones
official website
Illinois General Assembly - Senator John O. Jones (R) 54th District
official IL Senate website
BillsCommittees
*''Follow the Money'' - John O. Jones
200620042002200019981996
campaign contributions
Project Vote Smart - Senator John O. Jones (IL)
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Illinois State Senate Republicans - John O. Jones
profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, John O. 1940 births Living people People from Hamilton County, Illinois School board members in Illinois Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Republican Party Illinois state senators 21st-century American legislators United States Air Force airmen 21st-century Illinois politicians