Don Harmon
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Don Harmon (born November 26, 1966) is an American attorney serving as a Democratic 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 39th District since 2003. His district includes Chicago's Austin neighborhood and the suburbs of Oak Park,
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,
Bensenville Bensenville is a village located near O'Hare International Airport in DuPage County, Illinois, with a portion of the town in Cook County. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 18,813. First known as Tioga, it was formally established ...
, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, Melrose Park, Northlake, River Grove, Rosemont, Schiller Park, and Stone Park. In January 2009, incoming Illinois Senate President
John Cullerton John J. Cullerton (born October 28, 1948) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 6th district from his appointment in 1991 to 2020. He served as President of the Illinois Senate from ...
appointed Harmon the State Senate's Assistant Majority Leader. Harmon was appointed Illinois Senate President Pro Tempore in 2011. In January 2019, Harmon lost that title when Senate President
John Cullerton John J. Cullerton (born October 28, 1948) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 6th district from his appointment in 1991 to 2020. He served as President of the Illinois Senate from ...
retired the President Pro Tempore leadership position. Harmon was later elected to succeed
John Cullerton John J. Cullerton (born October 28, 1948) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 6th district from his appointment in 1991 to 2020. He served as President of the Illinois Senate from ...
as President 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 ...
on January 19, 2020.


Early life and career

Harmon was born and raised in Oak Park where he attended St. Giles Grade School. He graduated from
St. Ignatius College Prep Saint Ignatius College Prep is a selective private, coeducational Jesuit college-preparatory school located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The school was founded in Chicago in 1869 by Fr. Arnold Damen, S.J., a Dutch ...
on Chicago's West Side; Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois and the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
(J.D. and M.B.A.). After law school, Harmon served in Springfield on the House legal staff. Harmon was a partner at the Chicago-based law firm Burke, Burns & Pinelli until he stepped down from the firm in January 2020.


Political career

In August 2000, Don Harmon was nominated by members of the Democratic Party of Oak Park to fulfill the term of former Illinois Senate President Phil Rock as Oak Park Democratic Committeeman. He was then elected to his first full term as Committeeman in 2002 and has since been re-elected in 2006 and 2010. In 2010, Harmon was elected to serve as the Suburban Vice-Chair of the Democratic Party of Cook County.


Illinois Senate

First elected in the fall of 2002, Harmon served alongside then-State Senator and now former U.S. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
. In the State Senate, Harmon voted for a bill that allows government to charge citizens for Freedom of Information Act requests. Critics of the bill argued it weakens the public's ability to receive information from the government. The bill passed with dissenting votes from Democrats and Republicans. Harmon introduced legislation to legalize sports betting in Illinois. The bill "would allow wagering on professional and collegiate sports," according to one report. Harmon sponsored legislation creating the Illinois Early Learning Council to create policy recommendations regarding the education of children from birth to age five. The result of that effort was the Pre-School for All program implemented throughout the state. He also authored the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003 to prohibit discriminatory policies by state, county or local governments, and to preserve for Illinois citizens civil rights protections eroded by recent U.S. Supreme Court Decisions. Additionally he helped pass legislation to eliminate two obsolete taxing districts-the Cook County Tuberculosis Sanitarium District and the Cicero Township Trustee of Schools saving taxpayers millions of dollars.


Committee assignments

As of July 2022, Senator Harmon is a member of the following Illinois Senate committees: * Executive Committee (SEXC) * (Chairman of) Executive - Firearms Committee (SEXC-SFIR) * Redistricting - Chicago West and Western Cook County Committee (SRED-SRWW)


Controversy

On September 24, 2019, federal authorities raided the offices of State Senator
Martin Sandoval Martin A. Sandoval (January 12, 1964 – December 5, 2020) was an American Democratic politician and senator for Illinois who admitted guilt to corruption charges in 2020.. Contains PDF and text links to the plea agreement and charges against ...
. Among the documents seized were documents from Harmon's law firm, Burke, Burns & Pinelli. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that his firm "represents numerous government agencies in the Chicago region, including the Village of Lyons, where the mayor is Chris Getty. The Lyons village hall and Getty’s private insurance offices were visited Sept. 26 by federal agents." When asked about the raided documents, Harmon responded, "I have absolutely no idea to what that refers." Sandoval resigned from the Illinois Senate on November 27, 2019. In 2017, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Harmon's dual role as legislator and as an attorney handling state clients. A 2012 report alleges that Harmon refused to answer questions connected to his law practice. In 2019, another report by the Chicago Sun-Times highlighted the relationship between Harmon's firm and clout-heavy lobbyist Frank Cortese. Cortese is a close affiliate of convicted Teamsters boss John Coli. The Sun-Times revealed that Cortese set up a lobbying business "with the help of a clout-heavy law firm of Burke Burns & Pinelli, whose attorneys have donated heavily to Madigan’s campaigns over the years. Among the partners at the firm: state Sen. Don Harmon, who is vying to replace the retiring Cullerton as Illinois Senate president."


References


External links


Biography, bills and committees
at the Illinois General Assembly **By session
98th97th96th95th94th93rdSenator Harmon's Constituent Services WebsiteSenator Harmon's Campaign Website
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Senator Don Harmon
at Illinois State Senate Democrats , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, Don 1966 births 2020 United States presidential electors 21st-century American politicians Democratic Party Illinois state senators Living people People from Oak Park, Illinois Presidents of the Illinois Senate University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni