Paul M. Schimpf (born 1971) is an American lawyer and former

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 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 ...

from the 58th district from 2017 to 2021. Among his activities prior to his tenure as State Senator, Schimpf served in the U.S. Marine Corps, participated in the trial of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

, and was the Republican nominee for Illinois Attorney General in 2014. Schimpf was a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor in the 2022 Illinois gubernatorial election.

Early life and education

Schimpf, the son of two school teachers, was born in 1971 at

Scott Air Force Base Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville and O'Fallon, east-southeast of downtown St. Louis. Scott Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the U ...

and raised in

Waterloo, Illinois Waterloo is a city in and county seat of Monroe County, Illinois. The population was 9,811 at the 2010 census. Geography Waterloo is located at (38.335243, -90.152685). According to the 2010 census, Waterloo has a total area of , of which (or ...

. He was the valedictorian of his high school senior class and was a

National Merit Scholar The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizati ...

. Schimpf attended the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

– passing an engineering scholarship offer at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

– and

Southern Illinois University School of Law Southern Illinois University School of Law (SIU Law) is one of four public law schools in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, it is the only law school in the southern region of Illinois. History The Southern Illinois Uni ...

Career

Schimpf served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, rising to the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in 1993 and retired in May 2013. In 2005, Schimpf was deployed to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

to serve as the chief American advisor to prosecutors in the

trial of Saddam Hussein The trial of Saddam Hussein was the trial of the deposed President of Iraq Saddam Hussein by the Iraqi Interim Government for crimes against humanity during his time in office. The Coalition Provisional Authority voted to create the Iraqi Spec ...

. Schimpf served as a member of the legislative staff of U.S. Representative John Kline of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

2014 Illinois Attorney General campaign

Schimpf was the Republican nominee for

Illinois Attorney General The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by statewide election. Based in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, the attorney ...

in 2014. Incumbent Democrat

Lisa Madigan Lisa Murray Madigan (born July 30, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as Attorney General of the U.S. state of Illinois from 2003 to 2019, being the first woman to hold that position. She is t ...

defeated him in the general election.

Illinois Senate

Schimpf ran successfully for the 58th district seat in the

in 2016, defeating former Lieutenant Governor

Sheila Simon Sheila J. Simon (born March 13, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 46th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, from 2011 to 2015. In 2014, she was the Democratic nominee for Illinois State Comptroller, losing to Republican incumbent Jud ...

in the general election. He was sworn in on January 11, 2017. His district included portions of

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Perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also made ...

Randolph Randolph may refer to: Places In the United States * Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Randolph, Arizona, a populated place * Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea * Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated commun ...

, St. Clair, Monroe,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

counties. Schimpf announced he would not run for reelection to the Illinois Senate in 2020. He was succeeded by

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 tha ...

, a 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 ...

and a fellow Republican.

2022 Illinois gubernatorial campaign

On February 15, 2021, Schimpf announced his candidacy for Illinois Governor in the 2022 election. His running mate was Carolyn Schofield. They came in fourth place in the primary, receiving 4.3% of the vote. Schimpf managed to only win his home county Monroe, which was one of only two counties

Darren Bailey Darren Bailey (born March 17, 1966) is an American far-right politician who was a Republican member of the Illinois Senate for the 55th district. Previously, he was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 109th district in So ...

did not win.

Electoral history

Personal life

Schimpf married his wife, Lori, while attending

. They live in

and have two sons together.

References

External links

Senator Paul Schimpf (R) 58th District
at the Illinois General Assembly
100th101stCampaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schimpf, Paul 1971 births Living people 21st-century American politicians Democratic Party Illinois state senators Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Military personnel from Illinois People from Waterloo, Illinois Southern Illinois University School of Law alumni United States Marine Corps officers United States Naval Academy alumni