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Robert W. Pritchard
| Robert W. Pritchard | ||
 | ||
| Illinois House of Representatives District 70 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 2003-Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 14, 2015 | ||
| Years in position | 10 | |
| Party | Republican | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $67,836/year | |
| Per diem | $111/day | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | 2002 | |
| Next election | November 4, 2014 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | University of Illinois, 1967 | |
| Master's | University of Illinois, 1968 | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | February 2, 1945 | |
| Place of birth | Aurora, IL | |
| Profession | Agriculture Producer | |
| Religion | Christian | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Personal website | ||
 | ||
Contents |
Pritchard is an agriculture producer. He previously worked as Executive Director of the Illinois Agriculture Leadership Foundation in 2003, Director of Monsanto from 1998-2002, and Extension Advisor at the University of Illinois in 1979.
Pritchard is Chair of the Church Finance Committee, President of the Agriculture Relations Council, and past President of the Illinois Department of Agriculture Assembly Board.[1]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Pritchard served on the following committees:
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Pritchard served on the following committees:
| Illinois Committee Assignments, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Higher Education | ||||
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Pritchard served on the following committees:
| Illinois Committee Assignments, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Appropriations-Elementary & Secondary Educ | ||||
| • Appropriations-Higher Education | ||||
| • Elementary & Secondary Education | ||||
| • Financial Institutions | ||||
| • Higher Education | ||||
| • Insurance | ||||
| • Veterans' Affairs | ||||
Issues
Death penalty
At the beginning of the 2011 session, Kwame Raoul sponsored a proposal that will appeal the death penalty in Illinois. He faced opposition from the Illinois State’s Attorneys Association.
Raoul cited 10 years of studies that demonstrate a broken criminal justice system.
“There’s got to be a point where you try and solve a problem,” said Raoul. “I think it’s high time the Illinois justice system catch up.”
In 2000, former Gov. George Ryan placed a temporary moratorium on the death penalty, which has since been upheld. Three years later and two days before leaving office, he commuted the sentences of 167 Death Row prisoners.
Sheldon Sobol, Grundy County state's attorney and president of the Illinois State's Attorneys Association, said that the legislation was rushed through committee and that victims didn’t get a chance to be heard by lawmakers.
“When this bill is taken by the Legislature, they have not heard from the most important people that are impacted by this decision,” said Sobol.[2]
On January 6, 2011, the House narrowly passed the bill to abolish the death penalty. The measure now moves to the Senate, where it will be considered when that chamber returns to the Capitol next week.
Lawmakers approved Senate Bill 3539 with the required 60 votes after waging an earlier emotional, hour-long debate. However, the $20 million annual cost of death penalty cases that convinced state Rep. Patrick J. Verschoore to change his previous “no” vote to “yes.”
“I was on both sides of this issue. But then you think of the potential cost savings of this bill, and the state needs all of the savings we can get,” Verschoore said. “Besides, my wife was on me to vote for it.”
“Let’s instead put that money where it really matters,” said state Rep. Karen Yarbrough. “Let’s give law enforcement some training that they need to wage the fight against crime. Let’s give victims of these heinous crimes the support and services that they long deserve.”
Former FBI agent and state Rep. Jim Sacia could not be swayed. He recalled that Brian Dugan confessed to the 1985 killing of 7-year-old Melissa Ackerman in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.
“We wouldn’t have had information on the heinousness of this crime had we not had the tool of the death penalty,” Sacia said.
Rep. Robert W. Pritchard said issues of life and death aren’t that cut and dried.
“I agree there are cases that we’d like to have that perpetrator put to death,” Pritchard said. “But it’s arbitrary how and who we pursue in those cases.”
Rep. William Burns agreed and noted that the death penalty has often been biased in its implementation.
“If you’re an African-American who kills a white victim, you’re more likely to be sentenced to death than a white person who kills a black person,” Burns said. “That if you’re low-income, if you are uneducated, you’re more likely to be sentenced to death than someone who has more education and more money.”[3]
Elections
2012
Pritchard won re-election in the 2012 election for Illinois House of Representatives District 70. Pritchard was unopposed in the March 20 Republican primary and was unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[4][5][6]
| Illinois House of Representatives, District 70, General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Robert W. Pritchard Incumbent |
100% | 33,823 | |
| Total Votes | 33,823 | |||
2010
Pritchard won re-election to the 70th District Seat in 2010 with no opposition.[7]
| Illinois House of Representatives, District 70 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Robert W. Pritchard (R)
|
28,396 | 100.0% | ||
He ran unopposed in the Republican primary on February 2nd. The general election took place on November 2, 2010.
2008
On November 4, 2008, Republican Robert Pritchard won re-election to the Illinois House of Representatives District 70 receiving 35,501 votes, ahead of James Dusing (Green) who received 10,663 votes.[8]
| Illinois House of Representatives, District 70 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Robert Pritchard (R)
|
35,501 | |||
| James Dusing (G) | 10,663 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Republican Robert Pritchard won re-election to the Illinois House of Representatives District 70 receiving 18,310 votes ahead of Democrat Charles Sauer who received 12,008 votes.[9]
| Illinois House of Representatives, District 70 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Robert Pritchard (R)
|
18,310 | |||
| Charles Sauer (D) | 12,008 | |||
Campaign donors
2012
Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.
2010
In 2010, Pritchard collected $172,745 in campaign contributions. The largest contributors are listed below:[10]
| Illinois House of Representatives 2010 election - Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Top contributors to Robert W. Pritchard's campaign in 2010 | |
| Associated Beer Distributors Of Illinois | $2,500 |
| State Universities Annuitants Association | $2,490 |
| Illinois Realtors Association | $2,450 |
| John Deere & Co | $2,000 |
| Waste Management | $2,000 |
| Total Raised in 2010 | $172,745 |
2008
In 2008, Pritchard collected $165,149 in donations.[11]
Listed below are the five largest contributors to his campaign.
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 501 | $4,600 |
| Illinois State Medical Society | $4,000 |
| Illinois Education Association | $3,839 |
| Monsanto | $3,399 |
| Illinois Realtors Association | $2,700 |
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."[12][13]
2012
Pritchard received a score of 50.00 out of 100 in 2012 for a grade of D- according to the IOP’s grading scale. His score was tied for the 55th highest among all 120 members of the Illinois House of Representatives included in the Vote Card.[13]
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Robert + Pritchard + Illinois + Legislature
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
Robert Pritchard News Feed
- State lawmakers OK medical marijuana; local legislators split on measure - Kane County Chronicle
- The do-nothing caucus - Chicago Tribune
- Illinois House Approves Madigan's Pension Reform Plan - WNIJ & WNIU
Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found
External links
- Robert Pritchard Official website
- Illinois General Assembly - Representative Robert W. Pritchard (R) 70th District
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2008, 2006, 2004
References
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Rep. Pritchard
- ↑ "Local prosecutors: Don’t rush death penalty vote," Illinois Statehouse News, January 4, 2011
- ↑ "House narrowly approves abolition of death penalty," Illinois Statehouse News, January 6, 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 January 18, 2013
- ↑ Illinois Official 2010 General Election Results
- ↑ Illinois House of Representatives official election results for 2008
- ↑ Illinois House of Representatives official election results for 2006
- ↑ Follow the money - Illinois House 2010 donors
- ↑ Pritchard Campaign Donors
- ↑ Illinois Opportunity Project, "The Project," accessed February 21, 2013
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Illinois Opportunity Project, Legislative Vote Card home page, accessed February 21, 2013
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