Terry L. Bruce
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Terry Lee Bruce (born March 25, 1944) is an American politician, lawyer, and educator from Illinois.


Early life

Bruce was born in Olney, Illinois on March 25, 1944. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and then later the
University of Illinois College of Law The University of Illinois College of Law (Illinois Law or UIUC Law) is the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public university in Champaign, Illinois. It was established in 1897 and offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S. ...
. He worked for a time at the United States Department of Labor on issues related to
farmworkers A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including harv ...
and as an intern on the staff of Tom McGloon. He also worked on the staffs of Congressman George Shipley and State Senator Philip Benefiel. He was admitted to the bar in 1969. When he announced his candidacy for 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 ...
in November 1969, he was occupied as an attorney in Olney, Illinois.


State Senate

Bruce's initial election to the Illinois Senate representing the 55th District in 1971 was in part made possible by the retirement of the incumbent, Paul W. Broyles. In 1972, the incumbent Bruce faced a challenge from Henry Hendren for representation of the 54th district. While in the Senate, he was a leader of the Democratic Study Group which he jokingly termed the ''"Crazy 8"''. In 1977, Bruce ran against Thomas Hynes to succeed
Cecil Partee Cecil Armillo Partee (April 10, 1921 – August 17, 1994) was an American attorney and politician. He was the first African American to serve as president of the Illinois Senate and the first to serve as Cook County State's Attorney. He serve ...
as President of the Illinois Senate. After 186 ballots, Hynes was victorious over the other Democratic faction and the Republican caucus. Bruce served as member of the Illinois Senate from 1971–84, and assistant majority leader from 1975–84. In 1981, Bruce was among those who opposed an "eleventh-hour action", ultimately accepted, to increase
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 ...
compensation. Bruce resigned from the Illinois Senate effective January 3, 1985. Local Democratic leaders appointed former state legislator
William L. O'Daniel William L. O'Daniel (December 4, 1923 – November 15, 2017) was an American farmer and politician. O'Daniel was born in Union County, Kentucky, on December 4, 1923. O'Daniel attended high school in Albion, Illinois. During World War II, he ...
to the vacancy created by Bruce's resignation.


Congress

In 1977, Democratic incumbent
George E. Shipley George Edward Shipley (April 21, 1927 – June 28, 2003) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. Born in Richland County, near Olney, Illinois, Shipley attended the East Richland High School, Olney, Illinois. He graduated from Olney High School ...
chose to retire after ten terms in the United States House of Representatives rather than run in the 1978 election. Bruce defeated Don Watson, Shipley's brother-in-law, for the Democratic nomination to succeed Shipley in
Illinois's 22nd congressional district The 22nd congressional district of Illinois was a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in Illinois. It was eliminated as a result of the 1990 Census. It was last represented by Glenn Poshard Glendal William Po ...
. Subsequently, in the general election there was an apathy towards Bruce's candidacy. Republican candidate Dan Crane, the brother of Chicago-area Congressman Phil Crane, was able to win several Democratic strongholds in the 22nd and the election. On July 14, 1983, the House Ethics Committee recommended that Crane be reprimanded for having engaged in a
sexual relationship An intimate relationship is an interpersonal relationship that involves Physical intimacy, physical or emotional intimacy. Although an intimate relationship is commonly a sexual relationship, it may also be a non-sexual relationship involving ...
a 17-year-old female house page. In the 1984 United States House of Representatives election, Bruce defeated Crane. Bruce was elected to the Ninety-ninth and to the three succeeding Congresses and served as United States Representative for Illinois's 19th congressional district from January 3, 1985 to January 3, 1993. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1992 to the
103rd Congress The 103rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 199 ...
.


Community college career

From 1996 to 2019 Bruce served as the chief executive officer of Illinois Eastern Community Colleges (IECC). The four college system includes
Wabash Valley College Wabash Valley College (WVC) is a public community college in Mount Carmel, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Eastern Community College (IECC) district. History Wabash Valley College was founded independently in 1960 by the local community s ...
in
Mount Carmel Mount Carmel ( he, הַר הַכַּרְמֶל, Har haKarmel; ar, جبل الكرمل, Jabal al-Karmil), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias ( ar, link=no, جبل مار إلياس, Jabal Mār Ilyās, lit=Mount Saint Elias/Elijah), is a c ...
,
Olney Central College Olney Central College is a public community college in Olney, Illinois. It confers associate degrees and technical certificates and also offers online bachelor's degrees through its affiliation with Franklin University. Olney Central College is a ...
in
Olney Olney may refer to: Places Australia * Olney Parish, New South Wales England * Olney, Buckinghamshire, a town near Milton Keynes, England United States * Olney, Alabama * Olney, Georgia - see List of places in Georgia (U.S. state) (I–R) * Ol ...
, Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, and Frontier Community College in Fairfield. Governor Pat Quinn appointed him to the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) in September 2012. He replaced former ICCB member Dianne Meeks. He still serves on the board with an expiring term of June 30, 2021. He at one point served as Vice Chairman of the board.IECC DISTRICT CEO TERRY BRUCE ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT PLANS
/ref> Bruce was appointed again to the ICCB by 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 ...
for a term March 20, 2015 until June 30, 2015 to succeed Rodolfo Valdez.


Family life

A resident of Olney, Illinois, Bruce is married to Charlotte and they have two daughters, Emily and Ellen.


References


External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Terry L. 1944 births Living people Democratic Party Illinois state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois University of Illinois College of Law alumni People from Olney, Illinois Illinois lawyers