David Dwain Phelps (born October 26, 1947) is an American educator and politician and former Democratic member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

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

Early life

Phelps was born in

Eldorado, Illinois Eldorado () is a city in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,122 at the 2010 census, with a 1980 peak of 5,198. Although the city's name is spelled as if it were Spanish, the name was originally "Eldereado" or “Elder-Re ...

. He graduated from

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

in 1969. Phelps was trained as an educator. After teaching for several years, he became a school administrator. From 1980 to 1984 he served as Saline County Clerk and Recorder. Phelps was 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 ...

from 1984 until 1998.

U.S. Congress

He was elected to Congress in 1998 from

Illinois's 19th congressional district The 19th congressional district of Illinois was a congressional district in Illinois. It was eliminated as a result of the 2010 US census, as population growth in Illinois was slower compared to other states. The district became obsolete for 2013 ...

after 10-year incumbent

Glenn Poshard Glendal William Poshard (born October 30, 1945) is an American educator and former politician who served as a Illinois State Senator and U.S. Congressman. He was also a Illinois gubernatorial candidate, and president of the Southern Illinois Uni ...

made an unsuccessful run for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. In 2002, Illinois lost a district as a result of the 2000 Census. Phelps' district was dismantled and split between three neighboring districts. His home in

Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

was drawn into the Champaign-Urbana based 15th District, while Decatur, the heart of his former district, was shifted to the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...

-based 17th District. The bulk of his former district was merged with the neighboring 20th District. Phelps ran against 20th District

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 ...

incumbent

John Shimkus John Mondy Shimkus (, born February 21, 1958) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from 1997 to 2021, representing the 20th, 19th and 15th congressional districts of Illinois. Shimkus is a member of the Republican Part ...

in the general election. The new district was numerically Phelps' district—the 19th. However, it was geographically and demographically more Shimkus' district; Phelps only retained 35 percent of his former territory. The campaign was very bitter; both men accused the other's staffers of stalking their families. Shimkus won by over 20,000 votes in this much more conservative district. The Illinois Office of Executive Inspector General found that David Phelps, a Democrat from Harrisburg, should be banned from working in state government because of his behavior as an assistant director of the Illinois Department of Transportation from 2003 to 2011. Phelps quit his $127,700 post in 2011 in the midst of an unfolding scandal involving similar allegations against one of his deputies at the agency, Danny Clayton. Three other workers and one contractor also were ensnared in the probe. Phelps was hired by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich after losing a bid for Congress to Republican U.S. Rep. John Shimkus of Collinsville in the 2002 electio

Phelps is a

Blue Dog Democrat The Blue Dog Coalition (commonly known as the Blue Dogs or Blue Dog Democrats) is a caucus in the United States House of Representatives comprising centrist members from the Democratic Party. The caucus was founded as a group of conservative ...

. While in Congress, he was strongly

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

, pro-gun, and co-sponsored the

Federal Marriage Amendment The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), also referred to by proponents as the Marriage Protection Amendment, was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would legally define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. The FMA ...

. A professional songwriter, Phelps toured the nation as a

gospel singer Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

, in a quartet with his brothers. While serving in the U.S. House, he was the hymn director for the Congressional Weekly Prayer Breakfast on Capitol Hill.

Post congressional life

As of August 2017, he was serving as a member of the Saline County Board. Both his nephew,

Brandon Phelps Brandon Phelps (born September 10, 1970) is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 118th District from January 2003 to September 2017. The 118th district, located in Southern Illinois, includes all or p ...

, and daughter, Natalie Phelps Finnie, served as members of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 118th district.

Electoral history

References

* http://thesouthern.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/former-congressman-cited-in-ethics-probe/article_191d9a70-a5f8-11e2-83be-001a4bcf887a.html

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, David 1947 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives American gospel singers Baptists from Illinois Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois People from Eldorado, Illinois 21st-century American politicians County clerks in Illinois County board members in Illinois