Al Salvi

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Albert J. Salvi (born April 25, 1960 in Evanston, Illinois) is an attorney, former radio talk show host, and a former Illinois State Representative and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate and secretary of state.

Al Salvi was elected to the Illinois State legislature in 1992 and served there until 1996 when he left his seat to run for U.S. Senate. In his Senate run Salvi defeated Lieutenant Governor Bob Kustra in the Republican primary but was defeated by Democratic Congressman Dick Durbin in the general election. In 1998, Al Salvi was the Republican candidate for secretary of state but was defeated by Democrat Jesse White.

Al Salvi is a personal injury attorney and a partner in the law firm Salvi, Roskam & Maher. Salvi handles cases such as: automobile accidents and injuries, slip and fall, dog bites, medical malpractice, personal injury, and litigation. [1]

In 1998, when Salvi was running for Illinois Secretary of State, campaign manager Peter Roskam asked the Illinois Comptroller's office for a list of state employees. At the time, Roskam told the Chicago Tribune that the request was for personal use. However, Roskam gave the list to Salvi, who used the list to send numbered campaign fund-raising tickets to state employees. The numbering allowed the campaign to keep track of who contributed and who didn't. One watchdog group called the scheme "classic Illinois political prostitution with a twist."^[1]

According to Federal Election Commission records, Salvi, a conservative, has donated to several other conservative candidates including: Alan Keyes, Dan Quayle, and Peter Roskam.

Al Salvi was the host of "The Al Salvi Show"; a local issues-oriented radio talk show which aired Monday through Friday 10 am - Noon on WKRS AM 1220 in Waukegan, Illinois.[2] Al Salvi invited Republican David McSweeney, a candidate for the 8th Congressional District, on his program but the interview soon became confrontational. Salvi went on to call McSweeney the "sleaziest" person he had dealt with, that he "made an ass of himself," is "a nut" and "made Richard Nixon look like a choirboy." These statements were made during a primary in which his wife Kathy was an opponent of McSweeney. [3]

In the Summer of 2006 Salvi left his radio show on WKRS to pursue his legal career. He was replaced in the 10 AM to Noon time slot by Bruno Behrend, another WKRS radio host.

Al Salvi is a 1982 graduate of the University of Notre Dame where he received his B.A. in government, and a 1985 graduate of the University of Illinois Law School where he received his Juris Doctor.