Paul Jacobs is a Republican member of the

Illinois House 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 repr ...

from the 115th district since January 13, 2021. The 115th district includes all or parts of Alto Pass,

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

Ashley Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsc'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

, Ava, Belle Rive, Bluford,

Bonnie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

, Campbell Hill, Carbondale, Centralia, Cobden, De Soto,

Dix DIX or Dix may refer to: Computing * Danish Internet Exchange Point, in Copenhagen * Data Integrity Extensions, data corruption error-handling field in data storage technology * Device Independent X, part of the 2D graphics device driver in ...

Dongola Dongola ( ar, دنقلا, Dunqulā), also spelled ''Dunqulah'', is the capital of the state of Northern Sudan, on the banks of the Nile, and a former Latin Catholic bishopric (14th century). It should not be confused with Old Dongola, an ancien ...

, Du Bois,

Du Quoin Du Quoin ( ) is a city in Perry County, Illinois. It is best known for hosting the annual DuQuoin State Fair and the Street Machine Nationals. The population is estimated at 5,761 in the 2020 census. Geography Du Quoin is located at (38.0068, ...

, Elkville, Gorham, Grand Tower, Harrison, Ina, Jonesboro,

Makanda Makanda is a village in Jackson County, Illinois, Jackson County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 547, down from 561 in 2010. In the early 20th Century it used the slogan "Star of Egypt." Makanda is ...

, Mill Creek, Mount Vernon,

Murphysboro Murphysboro is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,093 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area. The mayor of Murphysboro is Will Stephens. The government consi ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, Opdyke,

Pinckneyville Pinckneyville is a city in and the county seat of Perry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,066 at the 2020 census. It is named for Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, an early American diplomat and presidential candidate. Pinckney ...

, Radom, Richview, St. Johns, Tamaroa, Vergennes, Waltonville, and Woodlawn. Jacobs was elected to succeed then-state Representative

Terri Bryant Terri Bryant is a Republican member of the Illinois Senate from the 58th district. Previously, she was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives representing the 115th district from 2015 until 2021. She took office two weeks earlier than ...

after she successfully ran for the Illinois Senate.

Early life, education, and career

Jacobs was born in

Pomona, Illinois Pomona is an unincorporated community in Pomona_Township,_Jackson_County,_Illinois, Pomona Township, Jackson County, Illinois, Jackson County, Illinois, United States. Pomona is located in the Shawnee National Forest south of Murphysboro, Illinoi ...

. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1965 to 1971. He has been an optometrist for the

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 ...

region since 1970. He and his wife Rhoda built and owned the ''Von Jakob Winery'' in

Alto Pass, Illinois Alto Pass is a village in Union County, Illinois, United States. The population was 391 at the 2010 census, an increase from 388 in 2000. The Bald Knob Cross and Bald Knob Wilderness are nearby. Alto Pass lies roughly 5.1 miles to the northwest ...

in 1997 and would later retire from the winery at an unknown date. As of July 3, 2022, Representative Jacobs is a member of the following Illinois House committees: * Appropriations - Higher Education Committee (HAPI) * Health Care Availability & Access Committee (HHCA) * Health Care Licenses Committee (HHCL) * Higher Education Committee (HHED) * Tourism Committee (SHTO) * Veterans' Affairs Committee (HVET)

Electoral history

Personal life

Jacobs currently resides in

and is married to his wife Rhoda. He has "four grown children and ten grandchildren." He is a lifelong

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

References

External links

Representative Paul Jacobs (R)
at the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...

Constituent Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Paul 21st-century American politicians American Christians Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Living people Year of birth missing (living people)