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Chris Lauzen

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Chris Lauzen
Chris Lauzen in 2013
Chairman of the Kane County Board
In office
December 2012 (2012-Dec) – December 2020 (2020-Dec)
Preceded byKaren McConnaughay
Succeeded byCorinne Pierog
Member of the Illinois Senate
from the 25th district
In office
January 1993 (1993-Jan) – January 2013 (2013-Jan)
Preceded byForest Etheredge
Succeeded byJim Oberweis
Personal details
Born (1952-12-30) December 30, 1952 (age 71)
Aurora, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseSarah Longley
Children4
EducationDuke University (BS)
Harvard University (MBA)
ProfessionCertified Public Accountant
WebsiteOfficial

Christopher John Lauzen is an American politician, businessman, and Certified Public Accountant who served as the chairman of the Kane County Board in Illinois from 2012 to 2020.[1] Lauzen was first elected in 2012. He previously served as a Republican member of the Illinois State Senate, serving from 1993 to 2013. He ran unsuccessfully for Illinois Comptroller in 1998 and for United States Congress in 2008.[2]

Early life and education

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Born and raised in Aurora, Illinois, Lauzen earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Duke University in 1974 and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1978.

Lauzen's grandparents emigrated from Romania to the United States in the early 20th century.[3] On July 28, 2006, Romanian President Traian Băsescu awarded Lauzen the Order of the Star of Romania Medal, Commander Rank (the highest commendation granted to a foreign citizen by Romania), in recognition of his work to "build bridges of friendship and commerce between the people of Romania and the United States."[3]

Career

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Business

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After receiving his degree, Lauzen returned to Aurora and worked as the president of Comprehensive Accounting Corporation, a franchisor of accounting services. He and his wife, Sarah, later purchased a Comprehensive Accounting franchise in Geneva, IL.[4]

Illinois Senate

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Chris Lauzen was first elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1992. He joined a group of newly elected conservative State Senators called the "Fab Five", including Dave Syverson, Steve Rauschenberger, Patrick O'Malley, and Peter Fitzgerald.[5] Throughout his political career, Lauzen has been a supporter of Christian views of marriage and stands against gun control and is pro-life.[6]

Lauzen served on several committees, including the Property Tax Reform Committee, Appropriations I, II, and III, and the Revenue Committee, where he was the ranking Republican spokesman.[7] In recognition of his work on these committees, Lauzen was honored by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce with the "Champion of Free Enterprise" award and the NFIB with the "Guardian of Small Business" award.[8]

Lauzen sponsored a large tax reduction for employers and a property tax assessment freeze for homeowners over 65 years old with income less than $35,000. He worked to reduce property taxes on VFW and American Legion veterans' posts by 85% and placed a cap on future increases. Lauzen also started "Illinois Porkbusters," which sought to cut $5,000,000 in wasteful spending each year from the state budget.[9]

Lauzen helped secure over $48,000,000 for school construction grants, sponsored education license plates for future teachers' scholarships, and was the only senator to speak against and vote "No" on providing 2/3 tuition discounts to illegal immigrants at public universities.[10]

Lauzen launched a Prescription Medication Pilot Program that saved participants an average of 50% on the cost of prescription medication.[11] He was also the original lead sponsor of the Breast Cancer Research voluntary check-off on the state personal income tax return.

While in the state senate, Lauzen also sponsored a ban on partial birth abortion and supported term limits for State Legislators.[12]

1998 state comptroller campaign

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In 1998, Lauzen ran for Illinois state comptroller to replace retiring Republican comptroller Loleta Didrickson. He won the Republican primary election by defeating Harry J. Seigle of East Dundee but lost in the general election to Democrat Dan Hynes.[13]

2008 congressional campaign

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Main article: 2008 Illinois's 14th congressional district special election

Lauzen officially began his campaign for congress in Illinois's 14th congressional district on September 19, 2007.[14] Lauzen ran to replace Dennis Hastert, who retired mid-term. Lauzen lost the Congressional campaign, receiving 44% of the Republican vote to Jim Oberweis' 56%.[15]

Kane County board chairman

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Lauzen managed the County during the second year of a freeze on the property tax levy for the county, Forest Preserve, and the Fox Valley Park District.[16] In March 2013, he also led members of the Kane County Board to a unanimous decision to refinance a large number of county bonds.[17] Lauzen has been involved in the Longmeadow Parkway Bridge Corridor, a proposed project to build a bridge in northern Kane County over the Fox River.[18]

In 2018, Lauzen raised questions regarding possible insider payments from the executive director of the Upper Illinois Valley River Development Authority to companies he owns. The authority is one of 10 regional development authority bodies in Illinois. Its executive director is Andrew Hamilton and he is the head of 8 of the 10 bodies, including the Upper Illinois Valley agency that includes Kane County. The Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) had published two reports that focus on over $2 million that IPI says has gone to Hamilton and companies he is affiliated with. Lauzen questioned the liaison to the authority but did not receive satisfactory answers, according to him, and called for a closer investigation. According to the Daily Herald, "The institute [IPI] found Hamilton operates a related private business that has resulted in $2 million in pay and reimbursements since 2010. That total includes an average of about $241,227 in annual pay and reimbursements to Hamilton from the eight authorities combined during the past eight years. It also includes $151,078 paid to one of Hamilton's side businesses, Opportunity Alliance."[19]

Personal life

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Lauzen and his wife, Sarah, have four sons.[20]

Electoral history

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  • 2016 Race for Kane County Board Chairman
    • (R) Chris Lauzen 100%
  • 2016 Race for Kane County Board Chairman – Republican primary
    • (R) Chris Lauzen 74%
    • (R) Ken Shepro 25%
  • 2012 Race for Kane County Board Chairman[21]
    • (R) Chris Lauzen 59.25%
    • (D) Sue Klinkhamer 40.75%
  • 2012 Race for Kane County Board Chairman – Republican primary[22]
    • (R) Kevin R Burns 29.28%
    • (R) Chris Lauzen 62.01%
  • 2010 Race for Illinois 25th Senate District[23]
    • (R) Chris Lauzen 69.3%
    • (D) Leslie Juby 30.7%
  • 2008 Race for Illinois 14th Congressional Primary — Republican Party[15]
    • Chris Lauzen 41%
    • Jim Oberweis 56%
    • Michael Dilger 2%
  • 2006 Race for Illinois 25th Senate District
    • (R) Chris Lauzen 65.0%
    • (D) Frank Craig 35.0%
  • 2002 Race for Illinois 25th Senate District
    • (R) Chris Lauzen 100.0%
  • 2000 Race for Illinois 21st Senate District
    • (R) Chris Lauzen 64.9%
    • (D) Stephanie Downs Hughes 35.1%
  • 1998 Race for comptroller
    • (D) Dan Hynes 58.6%
    • (R) Chris Lauzen 39.6%
    • McIntosh Sadler II 1.7%

References

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  1. ^ "Pages - Board Member". Countyofkane.org. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  2. ^ "Project Vote Smart - The Voter's Self Defense System". Votesmart.org. 1952-12-30. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  3. ^ a b "Visiting President of Romania Awards National Medal of Romania to State Senator Chris Lauzen" Archived 2007-08-13 at the Wayback Machine, July 28, 2006
  4. ^ Meet Senator Lauzen Archived 2006-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Illinois Senate Republicans. Retrieved May 25, 2007
  5. ^ Strahler, Steven (May 20, 1995). "Young and Restless;Meet GOP's Fab 5". Crain's Chicago Business. Chicago. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  6. ^ Krol, Eric (2007-06-01). "Lauzen ready for a run at Congress". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2008-01-24. [dead link‍]
  7. ^ Illinois General Assembly website - Lauzen's page
  8. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  9. ^ "Lauzen best choice for Congress". Dailyherald. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  10. ^ "tomroeser.com". Tomroeser.com. Archived from the original on 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  11. ^ [2] Archived December 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "LexisNexis® Academic & Library Solutions". Lexisnexis.com. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  13. ^ "Dan Hynes Articles, Photos, and Videos". Chicagotribune.com. 2009-10-02. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  14. ^ Kraushaar, Josh (2007-09-15). "Conservative Enters Race For Hastert's Seat". The Politico. CBS News. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  15. ^ a b "Illinois - Summary Vote Results: U.S. House Special - District 14 - Dem Special Primary". Digital Chicago, Inc. 2008-02-27. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  16. ^ "Pages - Communications Display". Countyofkane.org. 2013-09-03. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  17. ^ "Kane County Chronicle | Kane refinances $32 million bonds, saves $2.3 million". Archived from the original on 2013-07-18. Retrieved 2013-01-20.
  18. ^ "KDOT: Construction Project - Longmeadow Parkway Bridge Corridor". Co.kane.il.us. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  19. ^ Fuller, James (2018-09-16). "Lauzen wants answers on agency's director after think tank report". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  20. ^ "About Chris". Chris Lauzen State Senator. Friends for Lauzen (campaign organization). Archived from the original on 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  21. ^ "John A. Cunningham : Kane County Clerk : Election Results : 2015 Consolidated Primary Election". Kanecountyelections.org. Archived from the original on 2015-03-15. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  22. ^ "2012 General Primary REP Contest Results : Federal". Kanecountyelections.org. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  23. ^ "Illinois State Board of Elections : General Election of November 2, 2010" (PDF). Elections.il.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 6, 2011. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Illinois Comptroller
1998 		Succeeded by
Thomas Jefferson Ramsdell
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