Darin LaHood

Darin LaHood
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 18th district
Assumed office
September 10, 2015
Preceded by Aaron Schock
Member of the Illinois Senate
from the 37th district
In office
March 1, 2011 – September 10, 2015
Preceded by Dale Risinger
Succeeded by Chuck Weaver
Personal details
Born (1968-07-05) July 5, 1968
Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Kristen LaHood
Children 3
Relatives Ray LaHood (Father)
Education Loras College (BA)
John Marshall Law School, Chicago (JD)

Darin McKay LaHood /ləˈhʊd/ (born July 5, 1968)[1] is a Republican politician from Peoria, Illinois, who is the United States Representative for Illinois's 18th congressional district. Prior to being elected to Congress, he was a member of the Illinois Senate representing the seven-county 37th legislative district.[2]

LaHood is the son of Ray LaHood,[3][4] the former United States Secretary of Transportation and before then the seven term congressman from the district his son currently represents. He has called himself a fiscal conservative focused on budget issues.[5]

While Ray was a moderate Republican, Darin is considered more conservative.[6][7]

Early life

LaHood was born in Peoria, Illinois to Ray and Kathy LaHood, as the eldest of four siblings, and went to Academy of Our Lady/Spalding Institute.[8] He graduated from Loras College in Iowa and received his J.D. from John Marshall Law School.[8]

Career as an attorney

LaHood was a prosecutor in the Tazewell County state's attorney's office and the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada in Las Vegas.[9] On returning to Peoria in 2005, he took up private law practice; as of 2011 he is in the Peoria law firm of Miller, Hall & Triggs.[5]

Political career

LaHood ran for Peoria County state's attorney in 2008, losing to incumbent Kevin Lyons by a margin of 43,208 to 36,449. He was also involved in several other Republican campaigns, including Bill Brady's 2010 campaign for governor and Dan Rutherford's campaign for Illinois Treasurer.[5]

LaHood was appointed to the Illinois Senate on February 27, 2011, at the age of 42.[5] He took office March 1, the day after Dale Risinger retired.[10] When appointed, LaHood announced he would run for election to a full term in 2012, which he won, running unopposed.[5][11]

U.S. House of Representatives

2015 special election

On July 7, 2015, LaHood defeated Mike Flynn 69%-28% in the GOP Primary to become the Republican candidate for Illinois's 18th congressional district, replacing Aaron Schock. He faced the Democratic candidate Rob Mellon in the September 10 special general election,[12] easily defeating him with a large percentage of the vote.[13] He was sworn in by House Speaker John Boehner on September 17, 2015.[14]

2016 election

In the November 8, 2016 general election, LaHood defeated Democratic candidate Junius Rodriguez by a margin of 250,506 (72.1%) to 96,770 (27.9%).[15]

Tenure

LaHood was appointed to two House committees after his special election win in September 2015. He currently serves on the House Committee on Natural Resources[16] and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.[17]

On May 25, 2016, LaHood introduced legislation through the Science, Space, and Technology Committee that approved the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Modernization Act of 2016. The NITRD Program was originally authorized by the High Performance Computing Act of 1991. NITRD is the federal government's primary research portfolio on transformative high-end computing, high-speed networking, high capacity systems software, cybersecurity, and related advanced information technologies.[18]

Darin LaHood drew criticism from constituents for declining to hold an open town hall during the February 2017 recess.[19] Constituents from across the 18th congressional district gathered in Bloomington Normal and Jacksonville to request a town hall to discuss a variety of issues, including access to health care, immigration laws, and the freedom of the press.[20][21][22] LaHood spoke to the demonstrators outside the Farm Bureau building in Peoria who had come to push for a town hall, LaHood stated, "We live in a democracy, people may not always agree with me and that's why I have to go before voters like I did in November. I was fortunate to receive 72 percent of the vote in that election. But this is part of the process."[23]

LaHood is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership.[24]

He is a member of the Republican Study Committee.[25]

Legislature

LaHood voted in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[26] In a letter to the editor in the State Journal Register, LaHood stated that the bill would help his constituents save money and make businesses more competitive globally, including State Farm Insurance, John Deere, and other local businesses.[27]

Political positions

Domestic issues

Environment

LaHood believes that humans "play a role" regarding climate change and that there is "no doubt about that." He supports clean energy.[28]

Health care

LaHood opposes "able-bodied working men" from accessing Medicaid. Regarding single-payer healthcare, LaHood would consider a bill if it was "fiscally sound" and benefited his constituents.[28]

Russian inference investigations

LaHood supports the Special Counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.[28]

Technology

LaHood opposes net neutrality and believes that revoking it has "zero effect" on privacy or data collection.[28]

Economic issues

Tax reform

LaHood supports tax reform, specifically around corporate loopholes. In April 2017, he stated he would not vote for any tax cut bill unless it was "revenue neutral" so it would not add to the deficit.[28] In December, LaHood voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which, according to the Congressional Budget Office, will add $1.414 trillion to the national debt.[26][29]

International issues

Immigration

LaHood supports immigration reform, including shortening the time that it takes for people to legally enter the United States. He is "100 percent supportive" of expanding the number of individuals allowed to immigrate to the country.[28]

Social issues

Cannabis

LaHood has a "F" rating from NORML for his voting history regarding cannabis-related causes. He opposes the legalization of marijuana, even for medicinal purposes. LaHood opposes veterans having access to medical marijuana if recommended by their Veterans Health Administration doctor and if it is legal for medicinal purposes in their state of residence. He believes the legalization of medical marijuana increases it's illegal use and abuse by teenagers and that it is addictive.[30]

Donald Trump

LaHood believes that Trump should release his tax returns and will vote in favor of requiring it if a bill is presented to the House. Regarding Trump's visits to Mar-a-Lago, LaHood believes "more business should be conducted in the White House than in Florida."[28]

Personal life

LaHood lives in Dunlap, a suburb of Peoria, with his wife Kristen; they married in 1992. They have three children: McKay, Lucas, and Teddy.[31][32]

References

  1. ↑ "Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill". Roll Call. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Illinois General Assembly - Senator Biography". Illinois General Assembly. Archived from the original on December 15, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  3. ↑ Dahl, Dave. "Illinois Senate passes workers' comp reform". Wjbc.com. Archived from the original on December 18, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  4. ↑ "US Congressman Ray LaHood (Archived version from 2003)". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on October 11, 2004. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Darin LaHood gets nod to replace Risinger on senate". The Register-Mail. Galesburg, Illinois: GateHouse Media. February 27, 2011. Archived from the original on March 27, 2011. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  6. ↑ Dewey, Jim (March 31, 2015). "Darin LaHood Announces Candidacy". Quincy Journal. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  7. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Jack (March 25, 2015). "Illinois GOP Finds an Anti-Schock to Replace Aaron Schock". National Journal. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  8. 1 2 Felsenthal, Carol (July 22, 2015). "Darin LaHood Is Running as the Anti-Aaron Schock". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  9. ↑ Heath, Brad; McCoy, Kevin (December 28, 2010). "Prosecutor misconduct lets convicted off easy". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  10. ↑ McDonald, Karen (March 1, 2011). "LaHood eager to serve (Darin LaHood sworn in as newest state senator)". Peoria Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois: GateHouse Media. p. B1. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Re-election assured for unopposed candidates". Pjstar.com. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  12. ↑ Kaergard, Chris (July 7, 2015). "Darin LaHood easily wins GOP nomination for 18th District seat". Journal Star. Peoria.
  13. ↑ "Darin LaHood wins special election to replace ex-U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock". Chicago Tribune. September 10, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  14. ↑ "LaHood takes seat in Congress once occupied by Schock". Chicago Tribune. September 18, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Illinois General Election 2016". Illinois State Board of Elections. 2016-11-08. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  16. ↑ "Meet Our Members". House Committee on Natural Resources. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  17. ↑ "Members". Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. 2015-08-25. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  18. ↑ "Committee Approves NITRD Modernization". Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
  19. ↑ Franke-Ruta, Garance. "Resistance Report: More than 1 million sign White House petition for Trump's tax returns, breaking record". Yahoo News. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  20. ↑ Blanchette, David (February 24, 2017). "U.S. Rep. LaHood criticized for dodging constituents' questions". Pekin Daily Times. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  21. ↑ Kwon, Esther (February 23, 2017). "Protesters Ask For Public Meeting With LaHood". News Channel 20. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  22. ↑ Beigh, Derek (February 24, 2017). "LaHood, protesters: B-N town hall still possible". Pantagraph. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  23. ↑ Jackson, Denise (February 20, 2017). "Protesters confront Congressman Darin Lahood about town hall meeting". 25newsWeek. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Members". Republican Mains Street Partnership. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  25. ↑ "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  26. 1 2 Almukhtar, Sarah (19 December 2017). "How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  27. ↑ LaHood, Darin. "Tax Relief: Promises made, promises kept". The State Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Nightengale, Laura. "What U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood said at his town hall". The State Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  29. ↑ Patel, Jugal K.; Parlapiano, Alicia (28 November 2017). "The Senate's Official Scorekeeper Says the Republican Tax Plan Would Add $1 Trillion to the Deficit". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  30. ↑ "Illinois Scorecard". NORML. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  31. ↑ "ABOUT DARIN". lahoodforcongress.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  32. ↑ "LaHood announces bid for Congress to fill Schock vacancy". Illinois Review. March 18, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Aaron Schock		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 18th congressional district
September 10, 2015 – present		 Incumbent
Current U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Trent Kelly
R-Mississippi		 United States Representatives by seniority
364th		 Succeeded by
Warren Davidson
R-Ohio
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