Ronald A. Wait (April 15, 1944 – December 2024) was an American politician who was a 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 constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

, representing the 69th district from 1995 to 2011. He previously served as a member in the

from 1983 to 1993.

Legislative career

Wait was first elected in 1982 defeating Democratic candidate Judith A. Weiher. The 64th district included all of Boone County, eastern Winnebago County, and the northern half of McHenry County. In the 1991 decennial redistricting process, Wait was redistricted into the 68th House District. The 68th included all of Boone County, eastern Winnebago County outside of Rockford, and a small portion of northern

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johann de Kalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama DeKalb County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Alabama, northeastern part ...

. In the 1992 general election, Wait was defeated by Democratic candidate Barbara Giolitto. In a 1994 rematch, the staunchly Republican district reverted to form and Wait was returned to the Illinois House of Representatives. During the 2001 decennial redistricting process, Wait retained much of his previous district, but the district was renumbered from the 68th district to the 69th district. Wait opted to retire from the Illinois House of Representatives and run for a judgeship in the 17th Circuit Court of Illinois. In a three-way Republican primary, Wait lost to former Boone County State's Attorney Jim Hursh. Hursh would go on to lose to

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

candidate Rob Tobin. Rockford City Councilman and fellow Republican Joe Sosnowski defeated Belvidere City Councilman and Democratic candidate Ray Pendzinski. Wait's death was announced on December 30, 2024. He was 80.

References

External links

Illinois General Assembly – Representative Ronald A. Wait (R) 69th District
official IL House website
BillsCommittees

Project Vote Smart – Representative Ronald A. Wait (IL)
profile
Illinois House Republican Caucus – Ron Wait
profile 1944 births 2024 deaths Farmers from Illinois Illinois lawyers Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives People from Belvidere, Illinois Drake University alumni Northern Illinois University alumni Drake University Law School alumni 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-Republican-stub