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Biography

Senator Bill Brady

A mainstream conservative who has a solid reputation for budget expertise and for challenging the status quo in state government, Senator Bill Brady believes state government should be accountable for educating our children and maintaining such essential services such as transportation and law enforcement supported by a tax system that is fair and efficient.

As a state legislator, Senator Brady has worked to increase educational accountability, promote fiscal responsibility, offer homeowners relief from burdensome property taxes, overhaul regulation of the health care industry in Illinois, create a business climate favorable to job growth, attack corruption in government, protect children from sexual predators, and to safeguard the pension funds of retired teachers, university faculty and state employees.

He has sponsored reforms of workers’ compensation and medical malpractice laws, and he championed reforms in the state’s insurance and financial industries that became a national model. He passed legislation to guarantee health insurance for retired teachers and was a leading sponsor of legislation to promote highway safety through more training for young drivers. Senator Brady has led the way in efforts to restore integrity to state government and to ensure the best use of the taxpayers’ dollars.

Senator Brady has represented the citizens of seven Central Illinois Counties in the 44th Senate District since 2002. He previously served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1993 to 2001. Brady also was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor in 2006.

Senator Brady currently is the ranking Republican on the Senate Insurance Committee, the leading Republican on the Senate Pensions and Investments Committee, and a member of the Revenue and Public Health committees. He also serves on the General Assembly’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability and is a member of the board that governs the state’s CHIP (Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan) program.

He has been honored by such organizations as the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Farm Bureau for his achievements in the General Assembly.

A lifelong resident of Bloomington, Senator Brady and his brothers have owned and operated real estate development, property management, mortgage, insurance, home construction and broadcasting businesses in Central Illinois for more than 25 years.

In his community, Senator Brady also has been an active member of a number of business associations, including the Illinois Association of Realtors, the Bloomington-Normal Home Builders Association and the McLean County Chamber of Commerce. His service has extended to several community organizations as well, including the Board of St. Joseph’s Hospital, the Diocese of Peoria Catholic Charities Board, Westminster Retirement Village Board, the Heartland Community College Foundation Board, the Illinois State University Business Advisory Council, the Illinois High School Association and the United Way.

Senator Brady graduated from Central Catholic High School and Illinois Wesleyan University, both in Bloomington. He and his wife, Nancy, have three children.