Lou Lang
Lou Lang is a former Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing District 16 from 1987 to 2019. Lang served as deputy majority leader from 2009 to 2018.
Biography
Lang earned his B.A. in political science from the University of Illinois, Urbana, and his J.D. from DePaul University in 1974. When he served in the state House, his professional experience included working as an attorney with Goldberg, Weisman and Cairo, Limited; as chief counsel for the Cook County Emergency Telephone Service Board, as counsel with Baker and Miller, as litigation partner with Feingold, Lang and Levy, and as an attorney for Niles Township Government.[1]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes yearly updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org
2023-2024
Lang was assigned to the following committees:
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Agriculture & Conservation |
| • Insurance: Property & Casualty |
| • Mental Health |
| • Rules |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Lang served on the following committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Rules |
| • Substance Abuse, Chair |
| • Administrative Rules |
| • Legislative Ethics, Chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Lang served on the following committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Insurance |
| • Rules |
| • Legislative Ethics Commission |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Lang served on the following committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Insurance |
| • Judiciary I - Civil Law |
| • Rules |
| • Administrative Rules |
| • Legislative Ethics |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Lang served on the following committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Joint Comm. on Government Reform |
| • Insurance |
| • Investigative |
| • Judiciary I - Civil Law |
| • Rules |
| • Telecommunications |
Issues
Gambling legislation
Lang sponsored legislation to open five new casinos in Illinois in 2011. He and fellow lawmakers may try to make it easier for the state's 10 existing riverboats to expand in order to see the new casinos open.
State Rep Lang said that he is re-tooling the latest gambling expansion package to give a sweetener to the nine casinos now open and the one being built in Des Plaines.
"There are going to be provisions in the [new legislation] that will recognize that current gaming operators will have some problems as a result of the smoking ban, as a result of the down economy, and as a result of the increased competition they are going to get under this [plan.]," Lang said. "We're going to provide some credits to them that they are not getting today. We're going to provide some opportunity for expansion. We're going to try and make their way a little better."[2]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2018
General election
General election for Illinois House of Representatives District 16
Incumbent Lou Lang won election in the general election for Illinois House of Representatives District 16 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Lou Lang (D) | 100.0 | 24,605 |
| Total votes: 24,605 | |||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 16
Incumbent Lou Lang advanced from the Democratic primary for Illinois House of Representatives District 16 on March 20, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lou Lang | 100.0 | 11,698 |
| Total votes: 11,698 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
No Republican candidates ran in the primary.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Vince Romano (R)
2016
Elections for the Illinois House of Representatives were held in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was November 30, 2015.[3]
Incumbent Lou Lang ran unopposed in the Illinois House of Representatives District 16 general election.[4][5]
| Illinois House of Representatives, District 16 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  Lou Lang Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections | ||
Incumbent Lou Lang ran unopposed in the Illinois House of Representatives District 16 Democratic primary.[6][7]
| Illinois House of Representatives, District 16 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Lou Lang Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for the Illinois House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on March 18, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was December 2, 2013. Incumbent Lou Lang (D) ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election. Vincent Romano (R) was removed from the ballot on January 7, 2014.[8][9][10]
2012
Lang won re-election in the 2012 election for Illinois House of Representatives District 16. Lang ran unopposed in the March 20 Democratic primary and defeated Vincent William Romano (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[11][12][13]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Lou Lang Incumbent |
68.1% | 22,281 | |
| Republican | William Vincent Romano | 31.9% | 10,431 | |
| Total Votes | 32,712 | |||
2010
Lang won re-election to the 16th District Seat in 2010 with no opposition. He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on February 2nd. The general election took place on November 2, 2010.[14]
| Illinois House of Representatives, District 16 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Lou Lang (D)
|
17,987 | 100.0% | ||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Democrat Lou Lang won re-election to the Illinois House of Representatives District 16. He ran unopposed receiving 25,316 votes.[15]
| Illinois House of Representatives, District 16 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Lou Lang (D)
|
25,316 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Democrat Lou Lang won re-election to the Illinois House of Representatives District 16 receiving 19,130 votes.[16]
| Illinois House of Representatives, District 16 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Lou Lang (D)
|
19,130 | |||
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.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Illinois scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2018
In 2018, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 8 through May 31.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills that "help or hinder Illinois citizens with developmental disabilities access more included lives in their homes and communities."'
- Legislators are scored on their votes on manufacturing issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 11 through May 31. There were also special sessions. The 1st special session was June 21-July 6. The 2nd special session was July 26-July 31. During the 3rd special session, the Senate met on August 13, and the House met on August 16. The 4th special session was on August 28-29. There was a veto session from October 24-November 9.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 13 through May 31.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 14 through December 7 (extended session).
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 29 through June 2.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 9 through May 31.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 11 through May 31.
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Noteworthy events
Clearance of sexual harassment charges by inspector general (2018)
On September 6, 2018, the Illinois General Assembly inspector general Julie Porter released a letter saying there was insufficient evidence that Lang sexually harassed or intimidated a legislative activist. Porter wrote, "I do not have sufficient evidence that such occurrences, if they even happened, constituted sexual harassment." Porter also said that Maryann Loncar, who made the accusation, did not cooperate with the investigation.[19]
Loncar made the accusation on May 31, 2018, saying that Lang harassed her and used intimidating behavior, including unwanted physical contact and threatening language. Lang denied the accusations, saying Loncar was motivated by profit and alleging that she was retaliating against him after he did not support bills for which she advocated. Lang asked the inspector general to investigate the claims and resigned from his positions as deputy majority leader, member of the Legislative Ethics Commission, and the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.[20]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
When he served in the state House, Lang and his wife, Teri, had five children. He was involved with the American Jewish Council, B'nai B'rith Sports Lodge, Chicago Bar Association, Congregation Ezras Israel, Congregation Kol Emeth, Decalogue Society, Human Relations Commission, Illinois State Bar Association, Jewish United Fund, Mayer Kaplan Jewish Community Center Board of Directors, North Suburban Bar Association, and the Zionist Organization of Chicago.[1]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for Lou + Lang + Illinois + Legislature
See also
- Illinois House of Representatives
- House Committees
- Illinois State Legislature
- Illinois state legislative districts
External links
- Rep. Lou Lang's weblog
- Campaign Website
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Illinois House Democrats - Lou Lang
- Profile from Open States
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998, 1996
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Project Vote Smart, "Rep. Lang," accessed February 21, 2014
- ↑ "Sweetener floated for existing boats as gaming expansion changes," Illinois Statehouse News, January 3, 2011
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election and Campaign Finance Calendar," accessed November 30, 2015
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate list: General Election - 11/8/2016," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election results, General election 2016," accessed December 15, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate Filing Search," accessed January 3, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election Results: GENERAL PRIMARY - 3/15/2016," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ Illinois Secretary of State, "Candidate list - General Primary - 3/18/2014," accessed March 18, 2014
- ↑ Illinois Board of Elections, "General Primary Election Official Canvass," April 18, 2014
- ↑ Illinois Secretary of State, "Official general election candidate list," accessed March 18, 2014
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate List," accessed December 5, 2011
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed May 14, 2014
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, “Official Vote - November 6, 2012 General Election,” accessed January 18, 2013
- ↑ Illinois Elections Division, "Illinois Official 2010 General Election Results," November 2, 2010
- ↑ Illinois Elections Division, "Illinois House of Representatives official election results for 2008," November 4, 2008
- ↑ Illinois Elections Division, "Illinois House of Representatives official election results for 2006," November 4, 2006
- ↑ Citizen Action Illinois, "99th General Assembly Legislative Scorecard 2016," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ Illinois Parents of Adults with Developmental Disabilities, "2016 Illinois Community Living Report," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ WGN, "Ex-Illinois House leader Lou Lang cleared of sexual harassment," September 6, 2018
- ↑ The Hill, "Illinois Dem quits leadership post amid harassment allegations," May 31, 2018
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Illinois House of Representatives District 16 1987–2019 |
Succeeded by NA |
