This article contains promotional content .(September 2018) |
Chris Lauzen | |
---|---|
Chairman of the Kane County Board | |
In office December 2012 –December 2020 | |
Preceded by | Karen McConnaughay |
Succeeded by | Corinne Pierog |
Member of the Illinois Senate from the 25th district | |
In office January 1993 –January 2013 | |
Preceded by | Forest Etheredge |
Succeeded by | Jim Oberweis |
Personal details | |
Born | Aurora,Illinois,U.S. | December 30,1952
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Sarah Longley |
Children | 4 |
Education | Duke University (BS) Harvard University (MBA) |
Profession | Certified Public Accountant |
Website | Official |
Christopher John Lauzen is an American politician,businessman,and Certified Public Accountant who served as the chairman of the Kane County Board in Illinois from 2012 to 2020. [1] Lauzen was first elected in 2012. He previously served as a Republican member of the Illinois State Senate,serving from 1993 to 2013. He ran unsuccessfully for Illinois Comptroller in 1998 and for United States Congress in 2008. [2]
Born and raised in Aurora,Illinois,Lauzen earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Duke University in 1974 and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1978.
Lauzen's grandparents emigrated from Romania to the United States in the early 20th century. [3] On July 28,2006,Romanian President Traian Băsescu awarded Lauzen the Order of the Star of Romania Medal,Commander Rank (the highest commendation granted to a foreign citizen by Romania),in recognition of his work to "build bridges of friendship and commerce between the people of Romania and the United States." [3]
After receiving his degree,Lauzen returned to Aurora and worked as the president of Comprehensive Accounting Corporation,a franchisor of accounting services. He and his wife,Sarah,later purchased a Comprehensive Accounting franchise in Geneva,IL. [4]
Chris Lauzen was first elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1992. He joined a group of newly elected conservative State Senators called the "Fab Five",including Dave Syverson,Steve Rauschenberger,Patrick O'Malley,and Peter Fitzgerald. [5] Throughout his political career,Lauzen has been a supporter of Christian views of marriage and stands against gun control and is pro-life. [6]
Lauzen served on several committees,including the Property Tax Reform Committee,Appropriations I,II,and III,and the Revenue Committee,where he was the ranking Republican spokesman. [7] In recognition of his work on these committees,Lauzen was honored by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce with the "Champion of Free Enterprise" award and the NFIB with the "Guardian of Small Business" award. [8]
Lauzen sponsored a large tax reduction for employers and a property tax assessment freeze for homeowners over 65 years old with income less than $35,000. He worked to reduce property taxes on VFW and American Legion veterans' posts by 85% and placed a cap on future increases. Lauzen also started "Illinois Porkbusters," which sought to cut $5,000,000 in wasteful spending each year from the state budget. [9]
Lauzen helped secure over $48,000,000 for school construction grants,sponsored education license plates for future teachers' scholarships,and was the only senator to speak against and vote "No" on providing 2/3 tuition discounts to illegal immigrants at public universities. [10]
Lauzen launched a Prescription Medication Pilot Program that saved participants an average of 50% on the cost of prescription medication. [11] He was also the original lead sponsor of the Breast Cancer Research voluntary check-off on the state personal income tax return.
While in the state senate,Lauzen also sponsored a ban on partial birth abortion and supported term limits for State Legislators. [12]
In 1998,Lauzen ran for Illinois state comptroller to replace retiring Republican comptroller Loleta Didrickson. He won the Republican primary election by defeating Harry J. Seigle of East Dundee but lost in the general election to Democrat Dan Hynes. [13]
Lauzen officially began his campaign for congress in Illinois's 14th congressional district on September 19, 2007. [14] Lauzen ran to replace Dennis Hastert, who retired mid-term. Lauzen lost the Congressional campaign, receiving 44% of the Republican vote to Jim Oberweis' 56%. [15]
Lauzen managed the County during the second year of a freeze on the property tax levy for the county, Forest Preserve, and the Fox Valley Park District. [16] In March 2013, he also led members of the Kane County Board to a unanimous decision to refinance a large number of county bonds. [17] Lauzen has been involved in the Longmeadow Parkway Bridge Corridor, a proposed project to build a bridge in northern Kane County over the Fox River. [18]
In 2018, Lauzen raised questions regarding possible insider payments from the executive director of the Upper Illinois Valley River Development Authority to companies he owns. The authority is one of 10 regional development authority bodies in Illinois. Its executive director is Andrew Hamilton and he is the head of 8 of the 10 bodies, including the Upper Illinois Valley agency that includes Kane County. The Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) had published two reports that focus on over $2 million that IPI says has gone to Hamilton and companies he is affiliated with. Lauzen questioned the liaison to the authority but did not receive satisfactory answers, according to him, and called for a closer investigation. According to the Daily Herald, "The institute [IPI] found Hamilton operates a related private business that has resulted in $2 million in pay and reimbursements since 2010. That total includes an average of about $241,227 in annual pay and reimbursements to Hamilton from the eight authorities combined during the past eight years. It also includes $151,078 paid to one of Hamilton's side businesses, Opportunity Alliance." [19]
Lauzen and his wife, Sarah, have four sons. [20]
Peter Gosselin Fitzgerald is a retired American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Illinois. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 1999 to 2005. Fitzgerald defeated Democratic incumbent Carol Moseley Braun in 1998, becoming the first Republican to win a U.S. Senate race in Illinois since Charles Percy twenty years earlier. He had previously served in the Illinois State Senate from 1993 to 1998.
Steve Rauschenberger is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Illinois State Senate from 1993 to 2007.
The 2006 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich won re-election to a second four-year term scheduled to have ended on January 10, 2011. However, Blagojevich did not complete his term, as he was impeached and removed from office in 2009. This was the first election since 1964 that a Democrat was re-elected governor.
Daniel W. Hynes is an American politician, formerly serving as the Illinois Comptroller.
Patrick O'Malley is a former Illinois State Senator and gubernatorial candidate who served as an elected member of the board of trustees and Chairman of the Finance Committee for Moraine Valley Community College from 1989 to 1992.
The 2004 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Republican Senator Peter Fitzgerald decided to retire after one term. The Democratic and Republican primary elections were held in March, which included a total of 15 candidates who combined to spend a record total of over $60 million seeking the open seat.
After the resignation of Republican Party United States Congressman Dennis Hastert from his Illinois's 14th congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives on November 26, 2007, a special election was held to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the 110th United States Congress.
The 2010 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor Pat Quinn was elected to a full term in office, having become governor in 2009 following the impeachment and removal of Governor Rod Blagojevich. Quinn was elected as the Democratic nominee, the Illinois Green Party nominee was attorney and 2006 nominee Rich Whitney, the Republican nominee was State Senator Bill Brady, the Libertarian Party nominee was Lex Green, and Scott Lee Cohen ran as an independent.
The 1998 United States Senate election in Illinois was held November 3, 1998. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun decided to run for re-election, despite the number of controversies that she had in her first term. Republican State Senator Peter Fitzgerald won his party's primary with a slim margin of victory. Fitzgerald won with a margin of victory of approximately 3%. He won all but five counties and became the only Republican Senate candidate to defeat a Democratic incumbent in 1998.
The 2014 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Illinois, concurrently with the election to Illinois's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Illinois on November 4, 2014. All of Illinois' executive officers were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat, and all of Illinois' eighteen seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on March 18, 2014.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Illinois, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Illinois, concurrently with the 2018 Illinois general election and other midterm elections. Incumbent Republican governor Bruce Rauner ran for re-election to a second term in office, but was defeated by Democratic nominee J. B. Pritzker. This was one of eight Republican-held governorships up for election in a state that Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential election.
The 2020 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Illinois, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections and the Illinois Fair Tax. Incumbent Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who had been Senate Minority Whip since 2015, won reelection to a fifth term in office, defeating Republican nominee Mark Curran.
Forest D. Etheredge was an American educator and politician who served as a Republican member of the Illinois Senate from 1981 to 1993.
The 2018 Illinois Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Attorney General of Illinois. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who had served since 2003, did not seek re-election to a fifth term. Democrat Kwame Raoul won the election with 55 percent of the vote, while Republican Erika Harold took 43 percent of the vote.
The 2018 New York State Senate elections were held on November 6, 2018, to elect representatives from all 63 State Senate districts in the U.S. state of New York. Primary elections were held on September 13, 2018.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the 18 U.S. representatives from the state of Illinois, one from each of the state's 18 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, various state and local elections, and the Illinois Fair Tax.
Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 8, 1994. Primaries were held on March 15, 1994.
Elections were held in Illinois on Tuesday, November 6, 1990. The primary elections were held on March 20, 1990.