Illinois Senate unanimously elects Bill Brady as Senate Republican Leader

[August 30, 2017]  State Senator Bill Brady was unanimously selected as Senate Minority Leader by his peers in the Illinois Senate on Tuesday. Brady, who had been serving as the designated Republican Leader since July, thanked his Senate colleagues for their support and pledged to do his best in leading the Senate Republican Caucus.

“I am humbled and honored to receive the support and confidence of my Senate Republican colleagues to serve as their leader,” said Brady (R-Bloomington). “I also want to thank the Senate President for his support.”

Brady was chosen after the mid-term retirement of Sen. Christine Radogno (R-Lemont.) “She left big shoes to fill,” Brady said, “but I am continuing her efforts to reach across the aisle to find common ground.”

Brady’s election as Senate Minority Leader came after the Illinois Senate approved a bipartisan school-funding reform measure he helped negotiate with the Governor and other legislative leaders, which for the first time treats all Illinois school districts fairly and equitably.

“Today, we proved what we can accomplish when working in a bipartisan manner by passing a school funding reform measure that treats all 852 school districts the same,” Brady said. “Let us commit to build upon this foundation of compromise as we move forward on the important issues facing our state and our residents.”

During his tenure as a legislator, Leader Brady has worked to increase education accountability and funding, and sponsored reforms of workers’ compensation and medical malpractice laws. He has championed pension reform, reforms in the state’s insurance and financial industries that became a national model, sponsored laws that promote highway safety through more training for young drivers, and led the way in efforts to restore integrity to state government, ensuring the best use of the taxpayers’ dollars.

Brady has served in the State Senate since 2002. He previously served as State Representative from 1993 until 2001. Brady and his wife, Nancy, have three adult children and three grandchildren and live in Bloomington, Illinois.

[Jason Gerwig
Assistant to the Chief of Staff/Communications
Illinois Senate Republican Staff]