John Cullerton
| John Cullerton | ||
 | ||
| Illinois State Senate District 6 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 1991 - Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 14, 2015 | ||
| Years in position | 22 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Leadership | ||
| President of the Senate | ||
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $67,836/year | |
| Per diem | $111/day | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | 1990 | |
| Next election | November 4, 2014 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Prior offices | ||
| Illinois House of Representatives | ||
| 1979 - 1991 | ||
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | Loyola University (1970) | |
| J.D. | Loyola University (1974) | |
| Military service | ||
| Service/branch | Illinois National Guard | |
| Years of service | 1970 - 1976 | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | October 28, 1948 | |
| Place of birth | Chicago, Illinois | |
| Profession | Partner, Thompson Coburn LLC | |
| Religion | Catholic | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Personal website | ||
 | ||
Contents |
Cullerton graduated with his Bachelor's Degree in 1970 and Law Degree in 1974 from Loyola-Chicago.
Cullerton is a full-time Senator and a former Public Defender in Cook County.
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Cullerton served on the following committees:
| Illinois Committee Assignments, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Committee of the Whole | ||||
| • Executive | ||||
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Cullerton served on these committees:
| Illinois Committee Assignments, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Committee of the Whole | ||||
| • Executive | ||||
| • Government Reform, Co-Chair | ||||
- Subcommittee on Election Law
- Subcommittee on State Government Operations
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Cullerton served on these committees:[1]
| Illinois Committee Assignments, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Executive | ||||
| • Government Reform | ||||
Issues
Tax hike
|
|
The Illinois State Senate passed a plan for a two point income tax hike, from 3 percent to 5 percent. At the start of the 2011 session, Quinn met with Democratic leaders to speak about passing tax hike legislation in the House. Gov. Pat Quinn is pulling for a hike of at least 1 percent.[2]
Senate President Cullerton said the House is going to have to act first.
"We already passed an income tax out of the Senate," Cullerton said. "So they're talking about getting the vote to pass an income tax out of the House."
House Republicans hesitate to support any tax increase without concessions from Quinn and legislative Democrats.
State Rep Jil Tracy said while there has been talk of Medicaid, workers' comp and education reform, talk isn't going to get many votes.
"I only hope there's been a lot of real reform talked about that's going to be shown in legislation," she said. "I'm not sure."
Tracy said Democrats only want GOP votes as a shield against angry voters.[3]
Budget, 2011
Both Republican and Democrat Senators were concerned that they didn't have enough time to before voting up or down the $1.2 billion in cuts to Gov. Pat Quinn’s introduced $35.4 billion budget.
As the Senate President, Sen. Cullerton sought this vote in a time crunch that made many senators uncomfortable.
“When we make these cuts they are real, and they affect real people,” Sen. Mike Jacobs said. “So we do have to be careful and I do agree with my colleague Senator (William) Delgado that we should go through this list slowly, completely and without an eye on which constituent gets help and what constituent gets hurt, but based on numbers.”
Sen. Matt Murphy said he too was concerned about the small time frame and reiterated his concern that reductions in spending as introduced don’t go far enough.
“I don’t know that that gets us to a point where the tax increase goes away. I think the numbers, the way they run out, will not allow the tax increase to go away if we’re only at 1.2 (billion dollars),” Murphy said.
The state increased the personal and corporate income taxes earlier this year by 67 percent and 45.9 percent, respectively. The tax increases will expire in four years unless the General Assembly votes to extend them.[4]
Expired nominations
Eric Madiar, chief legal counsel to Senate President John Cullerton, sent a letter to Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka in early January 2011, pointing out that 38 gubernatorial nominations expired with the closing of the previous General Assembly, and therefore should not be paid a salary or expenses.
Fifteen salaried and 23 unsalaried positions were up in the air in January 2011, including those of interim Illinois State Police Director Jonathon Monken and interim Illinois Commerce Commission Chair Manuel Flores.
“We in the new Senate cannot take action on that old paperwork. There is no paperwork supporting those individuals to be in office today,” said Madiar.[5]
Elections
2012
- See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2012
Cullerton won re-election in the 2012 election for Illinois State Senate District 6. He was unopposed in the Democratic Primary on March 20[6][7] and was unopposed in the general election on November 6, 2012.[8]
| Illinois State Senate, District 6, General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  John Cullerton Incumbent |
100% | 76,111 | |
| Total Votes | 76,111 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Democrat John Cullerton won re-election to the Illinois State Senate District 6 receiving 73,323 votes, ahead of Republican Jay Valko (21,320 votes).[9]
| Illinois State Senate, District 6 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| John Cullerton (D)
|
73,323 | |||
| Jay Valko (R) | 21,320 | |||
Campaign donors
2012
Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.
2008
In 2008, Cullerton collected $1,133,320 in donations.[10]
Listed below are those that contributed most to his campaign.
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Donald R. Levin | $100,000 |
| Harrison & Lois Steans | $25,000 |
| Citizens for Viverito | $25,000 |
| AT&T | $21,500 |
| Comcast | $11,334 |
| Cooney & Conway | $10,600 |
| Chicago Federation of Labor & Industrial Union Council | $10,500 |
| Midwest Energy | $10,000 |
| Illinois Education Association | $10,000 |
| Association of Midwest Public Insurance Adjusters | $10,000 |
| Chicagoland Speedway | $10,000 |
| Penn National Gaming | $10,000 |
| Michael Heisley | $10,000 |
| Harrahs | $8,500 |
| Illinois Federation of Teachers | $8,000 |
| Association of Beer Distributors of Illinois | $7,500 |
| Illinois Venture Capital Association | $7,348 |
| Illinois Credit Union League | $7,300 |
| Chicago Automobile Association | $7,000 |
| Illinois Bankers Association | $6,000 |
Scorecards
Illinois Opportunity Project
The Illinois Opportunity Project, "an independent research and public policy enterprise that promotes legislative solutions in advance of free markets and free minds," annually releases its Legislative Vote Card, grading all members in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly on the basis of their support of "pro-growth economic policies that increase personal freedom and reign in expansive government."[11][12]
2012
Cullerton received a score of 37.50 out of 100 in 2012 for a grade of F according to the IOP’s grading scale. His score was tied for the 37th highest among all 59 members of the Illinois State Senate included in the Vote Card.[12]
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term John + Cullerton + Illinois + Senate
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
John Dix News Feed
- Press conference scheduled for May 19 on Illinois Senate Resolution in support ... - Order of St. Andrew, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
- Illinois Senate passes pension bill, sets up showdown with House - Chicago Tribune
- Illinois Senate to move union-backed pension plan - Chicago Daily Herald
- Senate panel OKs restrictive gun bill - The State Journal-Register
- 'Moral character' gone from Senate concealed carry bill - The State Journal-Register
- Watchdog Group Says Illinois Must Address Pensions - NBC Chicago (blog)
- Illinois Senate working to improve odds for gambling bill - The State Journal-Register
- Illinois Senate President says he's received 'credible' pension plan from unions - The Republic
- Illinois Internet Gaming Bill Said To Be On The Way - LegalUSPokerSites.com
- Illinois Senate passes union-backed pension reform bill - Yahoo! News
Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found
District 6
Cullerton represents Illinois Senate District 6. District 6 includes in the Northeast and Near East sides of Chicago[13].
Personal
John is married to Pamela Cullerton. They have six children and reside in Chicago, Illinois.
External links
- Illinois Senate President website
- Biography, bills and committees at the 98th Illinois General Assembly
- Senate President profile at Illinois Senate Democrats
- Summary, biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions at Follow The Money
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Profile at Wikipedia
References
- ↑ "Illinois General Assembly" List of Illinois Senate Committees, July 28, 2009
- ↑ "Cullerton on Tax Hike," Illinois Statehouse News, January 4, 2011
- ↑ "Dem leaders talk tax hike," Illinois Statehouse News, January 4, 2011
- ↑ "Senators unhappy with proposed budget," Illinois Statehouse News, May 3, 2011
- ↑ "Senate looks to clear out expired nominations," Illinois Statehouse News, January 18, 2011
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections "Candidate List," December 5, 2011
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Official 2012 Primary Results"
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, “Official Vote - November 6, 2012 General Election,” accessed December 31, 2012
- ↑ Illinois Senate election results for 2008
- ↑ Cullerton Campaign Donors
- ↑ Illinois Opportunity Project, "The Project," accessed February 21, 2013
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Illinois Opportunity Project, Legislative Vote Card home page, accessed February 21, 2013
- ↑ "Illinois Chamber of * Commerce Committee, Illinois State Senate, Northeast Illinois Legislative District Maps, July 29, 2009
| Political offices | ||
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Succeeded by NA |
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