Kirk Dillard
Kirk Dillard (b. June 1, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois) is a former Republican member of the Illinois State Senate, representing District 24 from 1993 to August 4, 2014. He resigned to become the Chairman of the Regional Transportation Authority.[1]
Dillard ran for Governor of Illinois in 2014.[2] He lost the Republican primary election on March 18 on a ticket with state Rep. Jil Tracy.[3] The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Biography
Dillard earned his B.S. from Western Illinois in 1977 and his J.D. from DePaul Law in 1982. His professional experience includes working as Chief of Staff to Illinois Governor Jim Edgar, Legislative Affairs director to Illinois Governor James "Big Jim" Thompson, and Illinois state chairman for ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council).[4]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Dillard served on the following committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Committee of the Whole |
| • Executive Appointments |
| • Judiciary |
| • State Government & Veterans Affairs |
| • Transportation |
| • Legislative Ethics Commission |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Dillard served on these committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Assignments, Ranking Minority Member |
| • Committee of the Whole |
| • Criminal Law |
| • Energy |
| • Judiciary, Ranking Minority Member |
| • Licensed Activities |
| • Redistricting |
| • Legislative Ethics |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Dillard served on these committees:[5]
| Illinois committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Assignments |
| • Criminal Law |
| • Energy |
| • Gaming |
| • Judiciary |
| • Licensed Activities |
| • Redistricting |
Elections
2014
- See also: Illinois gubernatorial election, 2014
Dillard ran for Governor of Illinois in 2014 alongside his choice of lieutenant gubernatorial running-mate, state Rep. Jil Tracy. He lost in the Republican primary election on March 18, 2014.[6] [2] The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
| Governor and Lt. Governor of Illinois, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Bruce Rauner & Evelyn Sanguinetti |
40.1% | 328,934 | ||
| Kirk Dillard & Jil Tracy | 37.2% | 305,120 | ||
| Bill Brady & Maria Rodriguez | 15.1% | 123,708 | ||
| Dan Rutherford & Steve Kim | 7.6% | 61,948 | ||
| Total Votes | 819,710 | |||
| Election results via Illinois State Board of Elections. | ||||
Issues
2014
- Term limits:
- "By shrinking the Senate, [Rauner] puts more power in the hands of Mike Madigan...And by shrinking Senate seats, and thereby greatly increasing the size of Senate districts, rural Illinoisans will suffer from being far from their senator. Bruce’s proposal decimates downstate Illinois."[7]
- Right to work:
- "While job creation is our top priority, the political realities of Illinois make Right-to-Work legislation counter-productive. There are other ways to create jobs and get the state’s economy moving, and that’s what we’re focused on."[8]
- Corporate incentives:
- "While we may need to continue to offer some incentives in the very short term, I want to make sure that small businesses have the same opportunity as the big guy for the kinds of advantages they need to become entrepreneurs."[9]
- Progressive tax:
- "Illinois has a spending problem. We don’t have a revenue problem." "In the states that have a progressive income tax we’re not talking about taxing just the rich. … If you make $55,000 or more in the states that have a progressive income tax, that would be a tax increase over the Illinois income tax rate which is supposed to be in effect next year." "One advantage Illinois has always had is a low, flat income tax."[10]
Race background
Gov. Pat Quinn (D) lost his bid for re-election in 2014 to Republican Bruce Rauner. Quinn previously served as lieutenant governor under Rod Blagojevich. He became governor after Blagojevich's impeachment in 2009 and won a full term in 2010. Quinn was the second-least popular governor up for re-election in 2014, according to approval ratings compiled by FiveThirtyEight. According to multiple outside ratings, Quinn was among the most vulnerable governors in the 2014 electoral cycle.[11][12]
Incumbent Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon (D) announced in February 2013 that she would not run for re-election in 2014 alongside Quinn, her 2010 running mate. Simon later declared her candidacy for state comptroller.[13][14] Quinn chose former Chicago Public Schools chief Paul Vallas as his new running mate.[15]
The 2014 electoral cycle marked the first time in Illinois history that candidates for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor ran on a single ticket in the primary election phase.[15]
As a result of the 2014 elections, Illinois became one of 20 states under divided government and did not have a state government trifecta.
Minor party candidates
Quinn and Rauner ran against Libertarian candidate Chad Grimm. Initially, there were three other minor party or independent tickets in the race, including Michael Oberline (Constitution), Scott Summers (Green), and Michael Hawkins (independent). The Illinois State Board of Elections ruled on petition challenges on August 22, 2014, disqualifying Oberline, Summers, and Hawkins from appearing on the November 4 ballot. It was the first time in a decade that the Libertarian Party was the only minor party to compete for Illinois statewide office in the general election.[16]
Polls
General election
All candidates
| Governor of Illinois: All candidates | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pat Quinn* (D) | Bruce Rauner (R) | Chad Grimm (L) | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||||
| We Ask America October 27-28, 2014 | 49.5% | 44.8% | 5.6% | 0% | +/-3 | 2,327 | |||||||||||||
| Southern Illinois University September 23-October 15, 2014 | 40.7% | 42.4% | 3% | 13.9% | +/-3.7 | 691 | |||||||||||||
| Early & Often/We Ask America October 8, 2014 | 44.48% | 41.03% | 6.95% | 7.53% | +/-3 | 1,051 | |||||||||||||
| We Ask America/Reboot Illinois October 6, 2014 | 43.6% | 39.6% | 5.9% | 10.9% | +/-3 | 1,097 | |||||||||||||
| The Chicago Tribune/APC Research, Inc. September 3-12, 2014 | 48% | 37% | 5% | 8% | +/-3.5 | 800 | |||||||||||||
| Global Strategy Group (D-DGA) September 4-7, 2014 | 43% | 40% | 5% | 12% | +/-4 | 605 | |||||||||||||
| We Ask America/Reboot Illinois September 2, 2014 | 37% | 46% | 7% | 10% | +/-3 | 1,064 | |||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 43.75% | 41.55% | 5.49% | 8.9% | +/-3.31 | 1,090.71 | |||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
**Incumbency is denoted by asterisk (*)
Quinn vs. Rauner
| Governor of Illinois: Pat Quinn vs. Bruce Rauner | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pat Quinn* (D) | Bruce Rauner (R) | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| New York Times/CBS News/YouGov October 16-23, 2014 | 45% | 41% | 14% | +/-3 | 3,519 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports October 20-22, 2014 | 47% | 48% | 6% | +/-3 | 1,000 | ||||||||||||||
| New York Times/CBS News/YouGov September 20-October 1, 2014 | 46% | 43% | 11% | +/-2 | 3,955 | ||||||||||||||
| New York Times/CBS/YouGov August 18-September 2, 2014 | 40% | 44% | 13% | +/-3.0 | 4,363 | ||||||||||||||
| Garin-Hart-Yang (D) August 12-14, 2014 | 43% | 46% | 11% | +/-3.5 | 802 | ||||||||||||||
| We Ask America/Chicago Sun Times August 6, 2014 | 38% | 51% | 11% | +/-3.12 | 1,085 | ||||||||||||||
| Gravis Marketing/Human Events (R) August 4-5, 2014 | 40% | 48% | 12% | +/-4.0 | 567 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports July 29-30, 2014 | 39% | 44% | 10% | +/-4.0 | 750 | ||||||||||||||
| We Ask America/Capitol Fax July 8, 2014 | 39% | 51% | 10% | +/-3.2 | 940 | ||||||||||||||
| We Ask America/Reboot Illinois June 10-11, 2014 | 37% | 47% | 16% | +/-3.0 | 1,075 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports April 9-10, 2014 | 40% | 43% | 10% | +/-4.0 | 750 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 41.27% | 46% | 11.27% | +/-3.26 | 1,709.64 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
**Incumbency is denoted by asterisk (*)
Republican Primary
| Illinois Governor - 2014 Republican Primary | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Bill Brady | Kirk Dillard | Bruce Rauner | Dan Rutherford | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||
| WeAskAmerica March 16, 2014 | 19.35% | 27.36% | 44.24% | 9.04% | 0% | +/-3.0 | 1,126 | ||||||||||||
| WeAskAmerica March 11, 2014 | 18.9% | 25.76% | 46.46% | 8.88% | 0% | +/-2.9 | 1,235 | ||||||||||||
| WeAskAmerica March 4, 2014 | 11.65% | 14.45% | 39.88% | 8.20% | 25.82% | +/-2.85 | 1,262 | ||||||||||||
| Chicago Tribune/WGN March 1-5, 2014 | 18% | 23% | 36% | 9% | 13% | +/-4 | 600 | ||||||||||||
| WeAskAmerica February 25, 2014 | 12.8% | 17.25% | 35.6% | 7.48% | 26.88% | +/-3 | 1,178 | ||||||||||||
| Chicago Tribune/WGN February 2-8, 2014 | 20% | 11% | 40% | 13% | 15% | +/-4 | 600 | ||||||||||||
| WeAskAmerica November 26, 2013 | 18% | 10% | 26% | 17% | 29% | +/-2.8 | 1,233 | ||||||||||||
| Capitol Fax/We AskAmericaPoll June 20, 2013 | 18% | 11% | 12% | 22% | 38% | +/-2.8 | 1,310 | ||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 17.09% | 17.48% | 35.02% | 11.83% | 18.46% | +/-3.17 | 1,068 | ||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
**Due to the nature of the comparison, a placeholder figure of 0% is assigned to candidates not included in any given match-up round
2012
- See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2012
Dillard won re-election to the Illinois State Senate in District 24 in the 2012 election. Dillard defeated House incumbent Chris Nybo in the Republican primary on March 20, 2012, and defeated A. Ghani (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[17][18][19]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kirk Dillard Incumbent |
65.9% | 68,220 | |
| Democratic | A. Ghani | 34.1% | 35,366 | |
| Total Votes | 103,586 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Kirk Dillard Incumbent |
61.7% | 19,287 |
| Chris Nybo | 38.3% | 11,979 |
| Total Votes | 31,266 | |
Endorsements
Dillard was endorsed by Family-Pac.[20]
2010
| 2010 Race for Governor - Republican Primary[21] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Adam Andrzekewski (R) | 14.5% | |||
 Bill Brady (R)
|
20.3% | |||
| Kirk Dillard (R) | 20.2% | |||
| Andy McKenna (R) | 19.3% | |||
| Dan Proft (R) | 7.7% | |||
| Jim Ryan (R) | 17.0% | |||
| Robert Schillerstorm (R) | 1.0% | |||
| Total votes | 767,485 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Republican Kirk Dillard won re-election to the Illinois State Senate District 24. He ran unopposed receiving 80,766 votes.[22]
| Illinois State Senate, District 24 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Kirk Dillard (R)
|
80,766 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Issues
State of the State response
In January 2014, Dillard responded to Governor Pat Quinn's 2014 State of the State address and Quinn's agenda for a new building program for Illinois, new early childhood education initiatives, and a higher minimum wage. Dillard criticized Quinn for not addressing the rate at which residents were leaving the state. “He didn’t tell us that Illinois is second in the nation in out-migration of people,” Dillard said. “Or that many surveys rate us the third worse run state in America."[23]
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."[24][25]
2012
Dillard received a score of 87.50 out of 100 in 2012 for a grade of A- according to the IOP’s grading scale. His score was tied for the 13th highest among all 59 members of the Illinois State Senate included in the Vote Card.[25]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Kirk and his wife, Stephanie, have two children.
See also
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for Kirk + Dillard + Illinois + Legislature
See also
- Illinois State Senate
- Senate Committees
- Illinois State Legislature
- Illinois state legislative districts
External links
- Biography, bills and committees at the 98th Illinois General Assembly
- Profile from Open States
- Summary, biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Profile at Wikipedia
- Campaign contributions at Follow The Money
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Collected news and commentary at The Huffington Post
- Collected news and commentary at the Chicago Tribune
- Collected news and commentary at WTTW Chicago Tonight (PBS)
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010 Senate, 2010 Governor, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998, 1996
Footnotes
- ↑ ABC 7 Chicago, "Kirk Dillard resigns as state senator," August 4, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Southern, "Rutherford announces gov. campaign in Southern Illinois," June 2, 2013
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate list," December 3, 2013
- ↑ ALEC, "State Chairmen," accessed August 7, 2014 ALEC
- ↑ Illinois General Assembly, "List of Illinois Senate Committees," accessed July 28, 2009
- ↑ Public Policy Polling, "Quinn extremely unpopular, Madigan would start out favored," November 29, 2012
- ↑ Illinois News Network, "No agreement on term limits among gubernatorial candidates," October 8, 2013
- ↑ Illinois News Network, "GOP gubernatorial candidates differ on Right to Work," November 25, 2013
- ↑ Illinois News Network, "Corporate incentives and the candidates," February 25, 2014
- ↑ Illinois News Network, "Gubernatorial candidates and the progressive tax," February 28, 2014
- ↑ Governing Politics, "2013-2014 Governor's Races: Who's Vulnerable?" December 11, 2012
- ↑ St. Louis Today, "Illinois Gov. Quinn 2nd least popular incumbent going into 2014," April 9, 2013
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Simon will not run again for lieutenant governor," February 13, 2013
- ↑ Chicago Magazine, "What Happens After Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon Quits Pat Quinn’s Team," March 26, 2013
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 CBS Local - Chicago, "2014 Governor Candidates To Choose Running Mates," August 24, 2013
- ↑ Ballot Access News, "Libertarian Party Statewide Slate Will Appear on Illinois Ballot," August 22, 2014
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate List," accessed December 5, 2011
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Official 2012 Primary Results" accessed March 22, 2014
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, “Official Vote - November 6, 2012 General Election,” accessed December 31, 2012
- ↑ Family-Pac, "Endorsements," accessed June 22, 2012
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Vote Totals List: General Primary 2010" accessed July 7, 2010
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Illinois Senate election results for 2008," November 4, 2008
- ↑ WatchDog.org, "Illinois governor lays out ambitious agenda, forgets to mention how to pay for it," accessed February 6, 2014
- ↑ Illinois Opportunity Project, "The Project," accessed February 21, 2013
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Illinois Opportunity Project, "Legislative Vote Card home page," accessed February 21, 2013
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
Illinois Senate District 24 1993–August 2014 |
Succeeded by Chris Nybo (R) |
