Chris Lauzen

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Chris Lauzen
Chris Lauzen
Member of the Illinois State Senate
from the 25th district
Incumbent
Assumed office 
1993
Born December 30, 1952 (1952-12-30) (age 55)
Aurora, Illinois
Political party Republican
Spouse Sarah Lauzen
Profession CPA, businessman
Religion Romanian Catholic

Christopher J. Lauzen[1] is a Republican member of the Illinois State Senate, having been first elected in 1992. He was also a candidate for Congress in Illinois' 14th congressional district. Lauzen unsuccessfully ran to succeed Dennis Hastert, who has announced he will not be seeking another term.[2] Lauzen lost to businessman Jim Oberweis in the Republican primary election.

Contents

[edit] State Senate

In 1992, Lauzen was elected to the Illinois State Senate and worked together after the election with a group of conservative state senators who were dubbed the "Fab Five".[clarify] The Fab Five, along with Dave Syverson, Steve Rauschenberger, Patrick O'Malley, and Peter Fitzgerald, were known for countering with the Republican leadership. Of the five senators, only Lauzen and Syverson remain in the Senate.

Currently, Lauzen serves in the Illinois Senate on the Senate Committee as a Whole; Appropriations I; Appropriations II (where he is Minority Spokesperson); Appropriations III; Labor; and Revenue (where he is Minority Spokesperson) Committees.[3]

Having served in the Illinois State Senate for 15 years, Lauzen has been known as a conservative who opposes abortion rights, tax increases, gay marriage and gun control.[4] However, the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times have criticized Lauzen for his abrasive manner and have called him "minimally effective" in the Illinois Senate.[5][6]

He has been known as a lone wolf in the Senate, having been the only Senator to vote against various legislative issues, including a law that would allow breastfeeding in public.[7] He was also the only Senator to vote "no" and speak against providing 2/3 public university tuition discounts to illegal immigrants.

Various issues he has pushed while in the State Senate include sponsorship of a ban on partial-birth abortion, term limits to 12 years for state legislators[8], disclosure of spending in the Illinois General Assembly, and reduced deficit spending in Illinois.

Lauzen has also been known for speaking against various issues nationwide, including mental healthcare reform for children. When asked about a recommendation by the Illinois Mental Health Commission calling for universal screening for mental illness for all children, Lauzen criticized it, saying "If I were going to err, I would err on the side of the person who loves that child and not the person who knows what's best for that child."[9]

[edit] State Comptroller campaign

In 1998 Senator Lauzen ran for Illinois State Comptroller to replace retiring Republican Comptroller Loleta Didrickson. Chris Lauzen won the Republican primary defeating Harry J. Seigle of East Dundee, but lost in the general election to Democrat Dan Hynes. After losing to Hynes, Lauzen turned his attention to suing his primary opponent for libel. The lawsuit resulted in a $2,000 donation to the United Way.[10]

[edit] Congressional campaign

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

Chris Lauzen officially began his campaign for congress in Illinois' 14th congressional district on September 19, 2007.[11] Lauzen ran to succeed Dennis Hastert, who announced he would not be seeking another term.[2]

The race was very competitive between the two main candidates. On January 15, 2008, Lauzen and Oberweis participated in a debate at Aurora University. The forum was notable for Oberweis' two-minute opening statement, where he launched what was described by the Chicago Tribune as a "blistering attack" against Lauzen regarding questions Oberweis' campaign raised regarding International Profit Associates, a company that donated $100,000 to Lauzen's campaign and was being investigated for widespread sexual harassment and fraud.[12]

The Chicago Tribune editorial board believed Oberweis had a better command on national issues.[5]

Lauzen received endorsements from the The Beacon News in Aurora, the Kane County Chronicle, the Daily Chronicle in DeKalb County, and the Daily Herald in Arlington Heights.

Lauzen's hopes for a Congressional seat came to an abrupt halt on February 5, 2008 when he was defeated by rival Jim Oberweis by a 12 percentage point margin: Lauzen received 44% of the Republican vote to Jim Oberweis's 56% of the vote.[13]

According to the February 6, 2008 edition of The Beacon News, Lauzen's home-town paper, Lauzen only carried his home town of Aurora and was defeated in all other jurisdictions. [14]

Citing Oberweis's relentless attacks on him in the primary, Lauzen refused to endorse Oberweis in the March special general election. Although the district is solidly Republican, Oberweis lost to physicist Bill Foster, a democrat.

[edit] Controversies

On December 21, 2007, Lauzen announced that he would return $99,800 in campaign contributions from a business that has been under investigation by the Illinois Attorney General's office for deceptive marketing practices. The contributions in question were made by International Profit Associates, its owner John R. Burgess, and his family over the past 9 years. Lauzen stated that Burgess and IPA had no conflicts of interest or state contracts. Several other politicians returned contributions from Burgess and IPA between 2002 and 2006, including Illinois Senator Barack Obama, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, United States Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.[15][16] When asked about returning the money after others returned the donations in 2006, Lauzen refused to do so, stating that "neither John Burgess nor IPA have ever asked me for a thing. The company employs thousands of people. They have helped tens of thousands of small businesses in this country."[17]

Many years ago, Lauzen returned campaign contributions from Illinois Governor George H. Ryan. Much like the IPA situation, Lauzen initiated the return of donations entirely on his own after Lauzen's refusal to support Illinois FIRST, a spending proposal that Lauzen criticized as too costly. Lauzen announced he was returning $10,000 in contributions after then-Governor Ryan questioned Lauzen's opposition to the program.[18]

[edit] Personal life

Lauzen received his B.A. in Management Science and English from Duke University in 1974, and graduated with an MBA degree from Harvard University in 1978.[19]

Lauzen is a Certified Public Accountant and is the owner of Comprehensive Accounting Services in Geneva, Illinois. He previously was assistant to the corporate president of Gould Corporation from 1978 to 1979, and later served as President of Comprehensive Accounting Corporation in Aurora, Illinois from 1979 to 1984.[20]

In 2001, he requested that his name be legally changed to "Christopher J. Lauzen, CPA."[5] A judge, however, denied the request.[1][21]

Chris Lauzen and his wife Sarah have four boys: Ted, Elliot, Hans, and Robbie. Lauzen is a second-generation American, his family immigrating from present-day Romania to the United States in the early 20th century, coming from Istrău village and Satu Mare, in Satu Mare County (then part of Austria-Hungary).[22]

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 promote relations between Romania and the United States.[22]

[edit] Electoral history

  • 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%
    • (Ref.) Houstoun McIntosh Sadler II 1.7%

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Ayres, Jr., B. Drummond (2001-04-01). "Political Briefing; Butcher Is a Name; So Why Not C.P.A.?". Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
  2. ^ a b "Rep. Dennis Hastert Says He Will Not Seek Re-Election", Fox News, August 17, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007
  3. ^ Illinois General Assembly website - Lauzen's page
  4. ^ Krol, Eric. "Lauzen ready for a run at Congress", Daily Herald, 2007-06-01. Retrieved on 2008-01-24. 
  5. ^ a b c "More choices for Congress". Chicago Tribune (2008-01-16). Retrieved on 2008-03-10. “Lauzen has been in the Senate for 14 years, where he has alienated many legislators and been minimally effective. An odd quirk: Lauzen once sought to change his legal name to Christopher J. Lauzen, CPA. Yes, that would have been his full name.”
  6. ^ "Endorsements for Illinois" by the Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 22, 2007.
  7. ^ "Senate passes bill to allow breastfeeding" from Copley News Service on March 26, 2004. Retrieved January 22, 2007.
  8. ^ "GOP taking up cause of term limits in General Assembly" from Copley News Services on February 13, 1995. Retrieved January 22, 2007.
  9. ^ Tina Hesman and Matthew Franck (2005-12-10). "Science tries to find secrets of teen brains". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
  10. ^ Why Kathuria's lawsuit should have been predicted ArchPundit Retrieved December 8, 2007.
  11. ^ Kraushaar, Josh. "Conservative Enters Race For Hastert's Seat", The Politico, CBS News, 2007-09-15. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. 
  12. ^ Kimberly, James. "Oberweis slams Lauzen, citing delay in return of campaign contribution", Chicago Tribune, 2008-01-16. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. 
  13. ^ a b Illinois - Summary Vote Results: U.S. House Special - District 14 - Dem Special Primary. Digital Chicago, Inc. (2008-02-27). Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
  14. ^ Oberweis gets GOP nod - The Beacon News.
  15. ^ Salles, Andre. "Lauzen giving back money from contributor under state investigation", The Beacon News, 2007-12-22. Retrieved on 2008-01-10. 
  16. ^ McIntire, Mike. "Rubbing Shoulders With Trouble, and Presidents", The New York Times, 2006-05-07. Retrieved on 2008-01-10. 
  17. ^ "Officials differ on ditching campaign money from troubled firm" by Mike Colias of the Associated Press on May 10, 2006. Retrieved January 22, 2008.
  18. ^ "Senator returns $10,000 donation to Gov. Ryan" by Dean Olson of The State Journal-Register on August 5, 1999. Retrieved January 22, 2008
  19. ^ About Chris. Chris Lauzen State Senator. Friends for Lauzen (campaign organization). Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
  20. ^ Meet Senator Lauzen Illinois Senate Republicans. Retrieved May 25, 2007
  21. ^ Neal, Steve (2001-03-05). "Name game's just silly". Chicago Sun-Times.
  22. ^ a b "Visiting President of Romania Awards National Medal of Romania to State Senator Chris Lauzen", July 28, 2006

[edit] External links

[edit] Media articles


Persondata
NAME Lauzen, Christopher J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION
DATE OF BIRTH 1952-12-30
PLACE OF BIRTH Aurora, Illinois
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH