David C. Harris (born March 26, 1948) an American politician and retired military officer from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

who is currently the director the

Illinois Department of Revenue The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that collects state taxes, operates the state lottery, oversees the state's casino industry, oversees the state's thoroughbred and harness horse rac ...

. He has previously served two tenures 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 1983–1993 and 2011–2019 and as the

Adjutant General of Illinois The adjutant general of Illinois is the senior officer of the Illinois Army National Guard, Illinois Air National Guard, and state defense forces of Illinois. The Illinois Naval Militia was also part of the adjutant general's command, until it was ...

from 1999 to 2003.

Early life and career

Harris was born March 26, 1948, in

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...

. He graduated from

St. Viator High School Saint Viator High School is a private Roman Catholic co-educational secondary school run by the Clerics of Saint Viator in Arlington Heights, Illinois. It was founded by Father Louis Querbes and opened in 1961 to serve as a college-preparatory sch ...

in Arlington Heights. Harris graduated from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

. He became an associate member of the

Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), established on April 3, 1848, is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other exch ...

during the 1970s, but ceased trading prior to 2011. After a brief period of time in Pennsylvania, Harris moved to

Arlington Heights, Illinois Arlington Heights is a municipality in Cook County with a small portion in Lake County in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of the city's downtown. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 77,676. Per th ...

where he and his wife reside.

Military career

Harris joined the military in 1970 as a military policeman. In 1971, he attended

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...

and returned to serve as a platoon leader in the 471st Military Police Company of the

District of Columbia Army National Guard The District of Columbia Army National Guard is the Army component of the District of Columbia National Guard. As the District of Columbia is a federal district and not a state, the guard is placed under the authority of the President of the Unite ...

. From 1974 until 1980, Harris served as a member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. In 1980, he joined the

Illinois Army National Guard The Illinois Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. With the Illinois Air National Guard it forms the Illinois National Guard. National coordination of various state National Guard uni ...

as an assistant correctional officer with the 33rd Military Police Battalion in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. He was promoted to Staff Provost Marshal at the State Area Command in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest ...

. In 1989, he graduated from the

United States Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

. That same year, he became the Chief Historian. In 1992, he was promoted to the Commander of the 44th Support Center. In 1997, he was promoted to Section Chief of the Selective Service. In July 1999,

George Ryan George Homer Ryan (born February 24, 1934) is an American former politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the 39th governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. Elected in 1998, Ryan received national attention for his 1999 mora ...

named Harris the

to succeed Richard Austin. As Adjutant General, he was the principal advisor to the

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

on military matters and served as the Commanding General of both the Illinois Army and

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

. His responsibility the Guard's daily operations and oversight of approximately 13,500 uniformed personnel. Harris was the first Adjutant General appointed under the criteria of Senate Bill 1227. Harris retired from the

Illinois National Guard The Illinois National Guard comprises both Army National Guard and Air National Guard components of Illinois. As of 2013, the Illinois National Guard has approximately 13,200 members. The National Guard is the only United States military force em ...

in 2003 and was succeeded as Adjutant General by Randal E. Thomas. Harris was inducted into the Infantry Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame at

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama– Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employee ...

in 2002.

Post military service

Harris served in Iraq with the

US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nat ...

as the deputy director and chief of staff of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office.

Political career

Harris served on Ronald Reagan's national advance staff in the 1976 Republican primary, and presidential elections of

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. He was elected an alternate delegate to the

1984 Republican National Convention The 1984 Republican National Convention convened on August 20 to August 23, 1984, at Dallas Convention Center in downtown Dallas, Texas. The convention nominated President Ronald W. Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush for reelection ...

. In 1987,

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

appointed Harris a member of the Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Education.

First House tenure

In 1980, Illinois voters passed an amendment to the

Illinois Constitution The Constitution of the State of Illinois is the governing document of the state of Illinois. There have been four Illinois Constitutions; the fourth and current version was adopted in 1970. The current constitution is referred to as the "Constit ...

that abolished multi-member districts in the

and the process of

cumulative voting Cumulative voting (also accumulation voting, weighted voting or multi-voting) is a multiple-winner method intended to promote more proportional representation than winner-take-all elections such as block voting or first past the post. Cumulativ ...

. In the 1982 general election, Harris ran as a Republican in the newly created 53rd district. His opponent in the general election was Democratic activist and Elk Grove Park Board commissioner Joan E. Brennan. The district was centered around

Elk Grove Township Elk Grove Township is one of 29 townships in Cook County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, its population was 92,905. Elk Grove Township formerly housed the United Airlines headquarters. Geography According to the United States Census B ...

. Harris defeated Brennan in the general election. Harris lost the 1992 Republican primary to Carolyn H. Krause, a former Mayor of

Mount Prospect, Illinois Mount Prospect is a village in Elk Grove and Wheeling Townships in Cook County, Illinois, about northwest of downtown Chicago, and approximately 4 miles north of O'Hare International Airport. As of the 2020 census, the village had a total ...

. After his loss, he joined the Illinois Hospital & Health Systems Association as the Senior Vice President for Government Relations. In this role, he directed the association's government relations programs at both the state and federal levels.

Second House tenure

In 2010, Harris ran again for the Illinois House of Representatives against incumbent Democrat Mark Walker in the 66th district. The 66th district, which had significant overlap on what was the 53rd district, included parts of Elk Grove Village, Mount Prospect, Arlington Heights,

Des Plaines Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situated on and is named after th ...

Rolling Meadows Rolling Meadows is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 24,200. History In 1836, Orrin Ford became the first landowner in the area that is now Rolling Meadows, staking his claim of in an area ...

, and

Schaumburg, Illinois Schaumburg ( ) is a village mostly in Cook County and partly in DuPage County in northeastern Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 78,723. Schaumburg is around northwest of the Chicago Loop and northwest of O'Har ...

. Harris defeated Walker in the heavily Republican 2010 election. After the decennial redistricting process, Harris was redistricted to the 53rd District in 2013."David Harris"
. ''98th Illinois General Assembly''. Retrieved November 17, 2014. The 53rd house district includes parts of Arlington Heights,

, Mount Prospect,

, and Prospect Heights. In the

2016 Republican Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. These elections selected the 2,472 delegates that were se ...

, Harris was a delegate pledged to the

presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: * President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...

. He was a sponsor of Senate Bill 2861 which established the Illinois Code of Military Justice; state legislation analogous to the federal

Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 801–946 is the foundation of Military justice, military law in the United States. It was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United S ...

. On October 4, 2017, Harris announced his retirement from the Illinois House citing frustration from the

Illinois Budget Impasse The Illinois Budget Impasse was a 793-day-long budget crisis in the state of Illinois. From July 1, 2015, to August 31, 2017, Illinois was without a complete state budget for fiscal years 2016, 2017, and part of 2018. As a result, many state agen ...

. He was succeeded by Mark Walker, who he had unseated eight years earlier.

Illinois Department of Revenue

In 2018, Governor-elect

J.B. Pritzker Jay Robert "J. B." Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and politician serving as the 43rd governor of Illinois since 2019. A member of the wealthy Pritzker family, which owns the worldwide ...

announced his intention to appoint Harris the Director of the

. Harris subsequently assumed office in this position.

References

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Profile
at OpenStates.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, David 1948 births Living people People from Reading, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives People from Arlington Heights, Illinois Georgetown University alumni United States government people of the Iraq War Adjutants General of Illinois 21st-century American politicians National Guard (United States) generals Illinois National Guard personnel Pennsylvania National Guard personnel