Arthur Wilhelmi

Arthur Wilhelmi
Illinois State Senate District 43
Former officeholder
In office
2005 - February 2012
Party	Democratic
Compensation
Base salary	$67,836/year
Per diem	$132/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 2, 2010
First elected	2004
Term limits	N/A
Education
Bachelor's	Loyola University of Chicago (1990)
J.D.	Chicago – Kent College of Law (1993)
Personal
Birthday	May 14, 1968
Place of birth	Joliet, Illinois
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Roman Catholic
Websites
Office website
Personal website
Campaign website

Arthur "A.J." Wilhelmi was a Democratic member of the Illinois State Senate. Wilhelmi served in the Illinois Senate from 2005 until his early retirement in February 2012. Wilhelmi stepped down from his seat in order to take a job as senior vice president of government relations for the Illinois Hospital Association.

Wilhelmi graduated with his Bachelor's degree from Loyola-Chicago and his Juris Doctor degree from Chicago-Kent Law.

Committee assignments

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Wilhelmi served on committees:

• Agriculture and Conservation Committee, Illinois State Senate, Vice Chair
• Committee of the Whole, Illinois Senate
• Environment Committee, Illinois State Senate
• Gaming Committee, Illinois State Senate
• Judiciary Committee, Illinois State Senate, Chair
• Transportation Committee, Illinois State Senate

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Wilhelmi served on these committees:

• Agriculture and Conservation Vice-Chairman
• Criminal Law
• Gaming
• Judiciary Chairman
• Transportation

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Issues

Protests

In May 2011, Wilhelmi sponsored House Bill 180, which would require protesters to move an extra 100 feet away from grieving families at funeral services.

Senators unanimously approved House Bill 180 to keep protesters at a distance of 300 feet away from the funeral site. Protesters are not permitted to engage in “disorderly conduct,” such as loud singing, playing music and chanting, 30 minutes before and after the funeral or memorial service.

“I think the 300 feet will … expand the zone slightly so that families who are grieving will be less disrupted and will have the ability to mourn the loss of their loved ones, without this bill failing in court,” said state Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi.

Wilhelmi added that the bill still protects freedom of speech.

Sen. William Haine, a co-sponsor, said the legislation helps provide respect to military families.

“It is certainly within the interest of this state to establish peace and order at a funeral site,”said Haine.

Elections

2012

See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2012

Wilhelmi ran for re-election to the Illinois State Senate in District 43 in the 2012 election. Wilhelmi was unopposed in the Democratic primary on March 20, 2012. He would have faced Republican Sandy Johnson in the general election on November 6, 2012, but resigned in February.

2010

See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2010

Wilhelmi won re-election to the 43rd District Seat in the Illinois State Senate. Wilhelmi was opposed by Republican candidate Cedra Crenshaw.

Illinois State Senate, District 43 (2010)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Arthur Wilhelmi (D)		38,663	61.18%
Cedra Crenshaw (R)		24,536	38.82%

The election took place on November 2, 2010. Wilhelmi ran unopposed in the Democratic primary election on February 2nd.

2006

On November 7, 2006, Democrat Arthur Wilhelmi won re-election to the Illinois State Senate District 43 receiving 38,113 votes, ahead of Republican Christian Smith receiving 16,167 votes.

Illinois State Senate, District 43 (2006)
Candidates		Votes
Arthur Wilhelmi (D)		38,113
Christian Smith (R)		16,167

Campaign donors

2010

In 2010, Wilhelmi received $1,095,890 in campaign donations. The top contributors are listed below.

Illinois State Senate 2010 election - Campaign Contributions
Top contributors to Arthur Wilhelmi's campaign in 2010
Illinois Senate Democratic Fund	$267,934
Illinois Democratic Party	$204,291
Illinois Education Association	$35,133
Associated Beer Distributors Of Illinois	$16,000
International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers	$11,700
Total Raised in 2010	$1,095,890

2006

In 2006, Wilhelmi collected $256,389 in donations.

Listed below are those that contributed most to his campaign.

Donor	Amount
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers	$11,000
Chicagoland Speedway	$10,000
Penn National Gaming	$10,000
Chicago Auto Trade Association	$8,000
Harrahs Casino-Joliet	$7,150
Illinois Federation of Teachers	$7,000
Illinois Senate Democratic Fund	$5,000
Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois	$5,000
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association	$4,500
Comcast	$4,000
Archer Daniels Midland	$4,000
Exxonmobil	$4,000
Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois	$4,000
Illinois Automobile Dealers Association	$3,500
Illinois State Medical Society	$3,000
Midwest Energy	$3,000
AT&T	$3,000
Comed	$2,400
Vulcan Materials	$2,250
Altria	$2,000

Recent news

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All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

District 43

Wilhelmi represented Illinois Senate District 43. District 43 includeed the Southwest Chicago suburbs of Crest Hill, Joliet, and Lockport.

Personal

A.J. is married to Michelle Wilhelmi. They have three children and reside in Joliet, Illinois.

External links

Suggest a link

• Wilhelmi's campaign website
• Biography from the Illinois General Assembly
• Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2006
• Wilhelmi's facebook
• Wilhelmi's LinkedIn
• Wilhelmi's twitter

References

Political offices
Preceded by '	Illinois Senate District 43 2005–February 2012	Succeeded by Pat McGuire