Raymond Poe (born March 26, 1944) is an American politician and former 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 and career

Raymond Poe was born March 26, 1944, in Lincoln, Illinois. In 1963, he graduated from DeVry University. He and his wife Carol had three children. Poe served on the Williamsville School Board from 1970 to 1991. Poe served for a time as the president of the Sangamon County Farm Bureau and on the board of directors for the Lincolnland FS Inc., an agricultural cooperative. In 1990, Poe served on the Advisory Council on Business/Education Partnerships, an advisory council created to assist the

Illinois State Board of Education The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) administers public education in the state of Illinois. The State Board consists of nine members who are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate. Board members serve four-year terms, wit ...

in aligning educational efforts with the needs of the business community.

Illinois House of Representatives

In the 1994 election, Poe defeated Democratic incumbent Vickie Moseley in the 99th district. Raymond Poe was the first person to announce his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois in the 2006 Republican primary. However, Poe was unable to break out of the crowded field or pair himself with a gubernatorial candidate and opted to run for reelection as state representative from the 99th district. In 2013, Tom Cross stepped down as House Minority Leader to run for the Republican nomination for

Illinois Treasurer The Treasurer of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. The office was created by the Constitution of Illinois. Current Occupant The current Treasurer of Illinois is Democrat Mike Frerichs. He was first elected to head t ...

in the 2014 election. Poe campaigned for the leadership position within the Republican caucus, but conceded to Jim Durkin prior to the caucus vote. Poe resigned from the Illinois House on November 15, 2015. Local Republican leaders appointed

Sara Wojcicki Jimenez Sara Wojcicki Jimenez (born 1979), was a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives representing the 99th district since her appointment in 2015. The 99th district includes Auburn, Berlin, Chatham, Curran, Divernon, Leland ...

. Wojcicki Jimenez was sworn into office on November 20, 2021.

Post-legislative career

On December 4, 2015, Governor

Bruce Rauner Bruce Vincent Rauner (; born February 18, 1956) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. Prior to his election, he was the chairman of R8 Capital Partners and chai ...

nominated Poe to serve as the Director of the

Illinois Department of Agriculture The Illinois Department of Agriculture is the code department of the Illinois state government that regulates various facets of the agriculture industries of Illinois, oversees Illinois soil and water conservation, supervises the weights and meas ...

. Poe was confirmed by 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 ...

unanimously. Poe replaced Philip Nelson, a former president of the Illinois Farm Bureau, who resigned after less than one year in the Rauner administration. After Rauner lost his reelection campaign to J. B. Pritzker, Poe opted to retire on December 31, 2018.

References

External links

Representative Raymond Poe (R) 99th District
at the Illinois General Assembly **By session
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Raymond Poe
at Illinois House Republican Caucus Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Politicians from Springfield, Illinois 1944 births Living people 21st-century American politicians State cabinet secretaries of Illinois {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-stub