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Bill Brady
Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate
In office
July 1, 2017 – December 31, 2020
Preceded byChristine Radogno
Succeeded byDan McConchie
Member of the Illinois Senate
from the 44th district
In office
May 1, 2002 – December 31, 2020
Preceded byJohn Maitland
Succeeded bySally Turner
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
from the 88th district
In office
January 1993 – January 2001
Preceded byGordon Ropp
Succeeded byDan Brady
Personal details
Born (1961-05-15) May 15, 1961 (age 62)
Bloomington, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseNancy Brady
Children3
EducationIllinois Wesleyan University (BA)

William E. Brady (born May 15, 1961)[1] is an American politician who was a Republican member of the Illinois Senate from May 2002 until his resignation in December 2020.

Brady also served in the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 88th District from 1993 to 2001 and was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Illinois in 2006, 2010, and 2014.

Early life, education and career

Brady was born on May 15, 1961, in Bloomington, Illinois. He graduated from Central Catholic High School and Illinois Wesleyan University.[citation needed]

A millionaire real estate developer and broker,[2] Brady is an owner of ReMax Choice and co-owner of Brady Homes, founded by his father, Bill Brady Sr.[3]

Illinois Legislature

In 1992, Bill Brady defeated seven term incumbent Gordon Ropp by a razor thin margin in the Republican primary to serve in the Illinois House of Representatives.[4] He served in the Illinois House until giving up his seat to run for Congress. In 2001, incumbent Senator John Maitland announced he would not run for reelection. Brady defeated Rus Kinzinger, father of future Congressman Adam Kinzinger, in the 2002 Republican primary.[5] On April 8, 2002, Maitland announced his intention to resign from the Illinois Senate effective April 30, 2002. The Legislative Committee of the Republican Party of the 44th Legislative District appointed Brady to the vacancy. Brady was sworn into office by Judge Rita Garman and took office on May 1, 2002.[6][7]

After the 2020 general election, the Republican caucus chose Senator Dan McConchie to take over as Minority Leader. On December 31, 2020, Brady announced that he would resign his seat in the Senate effective at the end of the day.[8] On January 25, 2021, Sally Turner was appointed to succeed Brady.[9]

Committees

Brady served on the following committees:[10]

Political campaigns

In 2000, Brady ran for the United States House of Representatives from Illinois's 15th congressional district after Republican incumbent Thomas W. Ewing announced his retirement. Brady lost the Republican primary to Tim Johnson.[11] During the 2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Brady served as the Illinois state chairman for the presidential campaign of former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson.[12]

Brady ran for Governor of Illinois three times and was the Republican Nominee in 2010, but was ultimately unsuccessful in each run.

2006 gubernatorial election

Main article: 2006 Illinois gubernatorial election

Brady ran for governor in 2006.[13] He finished third in the Republican primary, getting about 18% of the vote.[14]

2010 gubernatorial election

Main article: 2010 Illinois gubernatorial election

In the 2010 gubernatorial election, he defeated his closest competitor, State Senator Kirk Dillard, by 193 votes in the GOP primary,[15] and faced incumbent Democratic Governor Pat Quinn and Green Party candidate Rich Whitney in November.[15] Brady's running mate was 28-year-old Jason Plummer, past Chairman of the Madison County Republican Party and, at the time,[citation needed] an intelligence officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve and vice president in his father's lumber business.[16] Despite winning 98 of Illinois's 102 counties, Brady lost to Quinn by around 32,000 votes out of 3,700,000.[17][18]

Results

Brady won 98 out of the 102 counties, winning all of the Chicago collar (suburban) counties. However, Quinn's huge win in Cook County which encompasses the Chicago Metropolitan Area, provided a large buffer of votes that Brady could not overcome. On election night, Quinn had an initial, large lead when results from Cook County were the first began to come in. Once suburban and rural precincts reported the vote tallies, Brady narrowed the gap, but Cook County provided enough votes to give the election to Governor Quinn. Brady conceded defeat on the following day, November 3. Quinn's win was ranked by Politico as the 7th biggest upset of the 2010 elections.[citation needed]

Illinois gubernatorial election, 2010[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Pat Quinn/Sheila Simon (Incumbent) 1,745,219 46.79% -3.00%
Republican Bill Brady/Jason Plummer 1,713,385 45.94% +6.68%
Independent Scott Lee Cohen 135,705 3.64%
Green Rich Whitney 100,756 2.70% -7.66%
Libertarian Lex Green 34,681 0.93%
Plurality 31,834 0.85% -9.68%
Turnout 3,729,746
Democratic hold Swing

2014 gubernatorial election

See also: Illinois gubernatorial election, 2014

Brady announced his third bid for Illinois Governor on June 26, 2013.[20] His fellow GOP contenders were businessman Bruce Rauner, state treasurer Dan Rutherford, and Senator Kirk Dillard. Brady's running mate was Maria Rodriguez. She was initially courted by Bruce Rauner as a running mate. Rodriguez carried two terms as mayor of Long Grove, Illinois.[21] Brady was the lowest-funded of the four Republican candidates for the primary election, with only $273,000 in his campaign account at the end of 2013.[22] During his campaign, Brady made several swipes at competitor Bruce Rauner, including comparing Rauner to disgraced and jailed former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.[23] Among other things, Brady advocated for pension reform, reducing taxes, reforming worker's compensation, not increasing the minimum wage, and the dismantling of the Illinois State Board of Education.[24] Brady lost the GOP primary at third place with 15% of the vote.

Political positions

Death penalty

Brady intended to lift the moratorium on the death penalty if he became governor.[25]

Abortion

Brady is anti-abortion. He supports a ban on all abortions, including in cases of rape and incest. He makes an exception and allows abortion when a mother's life is at risk.[26][27][28] He has also backed legislation allowing pharmacists to refuse to dispense emergency contraceptions to a managed care system – the type currently administered by many Health Management Organizations (HMOs) – to control the cost of health care.[29]

Gun control

Brady has stated that he is opposed to any further restrictions to the ownership of firearms in Illinois. He is also for legalizing concealed carry, which would allow a law-abiding, licensed Illinois resident to carry a handgun or other weapon in public in a concealed manner.[25][30]

Term limits

Brady has called for term limits in Illinois. He would limit legislators to five terms in the House (10 years) and three terms (18 years) in the Senate.[31]

Taxes

Brady has opposed efforts to raise state sales and income tax rates in Illinois. He favors reducing sales taxes that he claims drive retail jobs and businesses to other states. He favors dedicating a percentage of Illinois revenue to property tax relief[clarification needed] and eliminating the estate tax in Illinois.[citation needed]

Personal life

Bill and his wife, Nancy, have three children and own a home in Bloomington.[1][32]

References

  1. ^ a b "Bill Brady". Ilga.gov. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Clout St: Tribune poll: Brady holds slim lead over Quinn". Newsblogs.chicagotribune.com. 2010-09-03. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Clout St: Inside Republican governor candidate Bill Brady's business deals". Newsblogs.chicagotribune.com. 2010-05-22. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  4. ^ Amyllen L. Bodily and Michael D. Klemens (1992-04-01). "Election results: Good-bye status quo". Illinois Issues. Northern Illinois University. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  5. ^ "Politics has long been a passion for U.S. Rep.-elect Kinzinger". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  6. ^ Richardson, Scott (March 20, 2002). "Brady fends off Kinzinger challenge - 'Grass-roots' effort pays off". The Pantagraph – via NewsBank.
  7. ^ Harry, Jim (Secretary of the Senate), ed. (May 6, 2002). "Communication from the Illinois Secretary of State" (PDF). Journal of the Illinois Senate. Illinois Senate. 92 (92): 117–120. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  8. ^ Pearson, Rick (December 31, 2020). "After giving up GOP leadership post, three-time candidate for governor Bill Brady resigns from the Illinois Senate". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  9. ^ Miller, Rich (January 25, 2021). "Musical Chairs". Capitol Fax. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  10. ^ "Senator William E. Brady (R), 44th District". Ilga.gov. Archived from the original on 3 August 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  11. ^ Wilson, Doug (July 27, 2005). "Sen. Brady wants Republican nod to run for Illinois governor". Herald-Whig. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  12. ^ Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T., eds. (November 8, 2007). "Press Release: Thompson Campaign Announces Illinois Leadership Team". The American Presidency Project. University of California, Santa Barbara. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  13. ^ State Journal-Register via Associated Press (2008-11-07). "Bill Brady says he will run for governor". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  14. ^ Ballots Cast -GENERAL PRIMARY - 3/21/2006 Archived 2016-01-13 at the Wayback Machine. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  15. ^ a b "Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball". Centerforpolitics.org. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  16. ^ Long, Ray (2010-02-04). "Family fortune, social networks lift Plummer". ChicagoTribune.com. Chicago: Tribine Company. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
  17. ^ McDermott, Kevin (2010-11-07). "Pat Quinn defied pollsters, national wave to prevail". stltoday.com. St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  18. ^ "Ballots Cast". Elections.il.gov. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  19. ^ "General Election of November 2, 2010" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  20. ^ Bond, Brendan (January 17, 2014). "Bill Brady 4th GOP candidate for governor in 2014". Reboot Illinois. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  21. ^ Heinzmann, David (February 26, 2014). "Running mate considers Bill Brady a kindred spirit". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  22. ^ Erickson, Kurt (March 9, 2014). "Brady starts putting ads on TV". Herald & Review. Associated Press. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  23. ^ "Bill Brady Compares Bruce Rauner to Blago". nbc Chicago. Associated Press. March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  24. ^ Sweeny, Chuck (February 26, 2014). "Chuck Sweeny: Illinois Sen. Bill Brady hopes to end education bureaucracy". JournalStandard.com. Associated Press. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  25. ^ a b "Primary: Social Issues". Chicago Tribune Election Center. On the Issues: Candidates for Governor. Chicago: Tribune Company. 2010-01-26. Archived from the original on August 4, 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  26. ^ "Profile: Illinois State Sen. Bill Brady runs for the GOP nomination for governor". Archived from the original on February 7, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  27. ^ Pearson, Rick (2007-01-07). "Bill Brady finds himself standing in a harsher light". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  28. ^ "Illinois governor's race: Sen. Bill Brady accepts GOP nomination". Chicago Tribune. 2010-03-05. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  29. ^ "The cost of Bill Brady's plan". Illinoistimes.com. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  30. ^ [1] Archived December 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  31. ^ "abc7chicago.com - ABC7 WLS Chicago and Chicago News". ABC7 Chicago. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  32. ^ "Bio - Bill Brady". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved November 25, 2014.

External links

Governor campaign
Illinois General Assembly
Party political offices Preceded byJudy Topinka Republican nominee for Governor of Illinois 2010 Succeeded byBruce Rauner Illinois Senate Preceded byChristine Radogno Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate 2017–2020 Succeeded byDan McConchie
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