Committeeman Don Harmon

Don Harmon and his family have deep roots in Oak Park and in the 39^th Legislative District he represents in the Illinois State Senate.  Harmon was born and raised in Oak Park, where he and his wife Teri are raising their three young children. He attended St. Giles Grade School, and is a member of the parish today.

With the help of family and scholarships, Harmon graduated from St. Ignatius High School on Chicago's west side, and Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.  Harmon worked his way through the University of Chicago, where he received both a law degree and an MBA.

After law school, Harmon served in Springfield on the House legal staff.  When he returned home, he based his law practice on creating public-private partnerships to bring billions of dollars of infrastructure improvements to the Chicago area.  In his spare time, Harmon volunteered with Street Level Youth Media and the Steckman Studio of Music helping at-risk children and teens.

In August of 2000 Don Harmon was unanimously nominated by members of the Democratic Party of Oak Park to fill the term of former Illinois Senate President Phil Rock, who retired as Oak Park Democratic Committeeman. He was first elected to a full four-year term as Democratic Committeeman in March of 2002, and was re-elected in 2006 and 2010.  Harmon is in his tenth year serving as Oak Park's elected representative to the Democratic Party.  In 2010, Harmon was elected to serve as the Suburban Vice-Chair of the Cook County Democratic Party.

In November of 2002, Harmon was elected to the Illinois Senate from the 39th Legislative District.  During his first term in the Senate, Harmon served alongside then-State Senator and now U.S. President Barack Obama.  The Democratic Party of Oak Park was one of the first Democratic organizations in the nation to endorse Obama's candidacy for President.

As a member of the Senate, Harmon has promoted a progressive agenda in the Illinois Senate, advocating for better opportunities for our children, greater access to affordable healthcare, improved government oversight and ethics reform, strengthened civil rights, substantive environmental protections, and economic opportunity for all.

Senator Don Harmon is currently serving his third term in the Illinois Senate.  In January of 2009, incoming Senate President John Cullerton appointed Harmon Assistant Majority Leader, and in 2011 President Cullerton appointed Senator Harmon President Pro Tempore.  Senator Harmon serves as Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee, and on the Assignments, Environment, Executive, Executive Appointments, Redistricting, and Telecommunications and Technology Committees.  For more information on Senator Harmon's service in the Illinois State Senate, visit his official legislative web site.

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