Tom Cross (born July 31, 1958) is an American lawyer and former Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives where he served from 1993 to 2015. He served as House Minority Leader from January 2002 to August 2013, when he resigned to run for Illinois Treasurer.[1]
Early life and career
Cross served as an assistant state's attorney for Kendall County, Illinois, for eight years prior to his election to the Illinois House in the 1992 election.[2]
Political career
During his time as House Republican leader, Cross joined with then Senate Republican leader Frank Watson to referee the "rancorous" relationship between House and Senate Democrats and Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich.[3]
During the 2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Cross served as the Illinois state chairman for the presidential campaign of Rudy Giuliani.[4] In February 2009, Cross and fellow Republican, ranking impeachment committee member Jim Durkin, spoke out about a follow-on controversy over the impeachment testimony of then-U.S. Senator Roland Burris. Burris had been named by Blagojevich to fill President Barack Obama's Senate seat, after the emergence of the corruption charges against Blagojevich but before Blagojevich's removal from office.
Burris had reportedly not mentioned fund-raising contacts allegedly made to him by Blagojevich's brother, Robert Blagojevich, in his testimony, but then filed an affidavit with Democratic impeachment committee chair Barbara Flynn Currie, listing three such contacts, shortly after February 5. Word of the new information did not reach the public, or the Republicans in the House, until its release in the Chicago Sun-Times on February 13. Cross was quoted as saying "We [Republicans] find it ironic that at the same time Democrats are forming a new committee to clean up corruption, they are sitting on critical information related to the biggest corruption scandal our state has ever seen."[5]
2014 Candidacy for Illinois Treasurer
Incumbent Treasurer Dan Rutherford ran for Illinois Governor, leaving the seat of Illinois Treasurer open. After considering running for Illinois Attorney General, Cross decided to run for Treasurer.[6] He faced DuPage County Auditor Bob Grogan in the Republican primary on March 18, 2014, but defeated him, 57% to 43%.[7] Cross went on to face Democratic nominee Mike Frerichs in the general election on November 4, 2014.[6][7] During the election, he was endorsed by former Treasurer and Democrat Alexi Giannoulias.[8]
For more than two weeks after election day, the election was too close to call, but eventually Frerichs emerged as the winner of the race with a lead of over 9,000 votes out of more than 3.5 million ballots cast.[9][10]
Post political career
In 2015, he joined Aurora University as distinguished fellow.[11]
Personal life
Tom lives in Oswego with his wife and two children.
In April 2016, Cross's brother Scott came forward as being "Individual D" in the trial of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Scott Cross testified that, in 1979, while a student at Yorkville High School, he was one of the victims of sexual abuse by Hastert, who was at that time a teacher and wrestling coach at that school. Tom Cross, unaware of the incident, subsequently became a political protege of Hastert's. After Scott Cross's testimony, Tom Cross issued a statement on behalf of the Cross family that said "We are very proud of Scott for having the courage to relive this very painful part of his life in order to ensure that justice is done today.. We hope his testimony will provide courage and strength to other victims of other cases of abuse to speak out and advocate for themselves.".[12]
References
- ^ "Big GOP guns back Cross' treasurer run, but House Republicans suffer". Chicago Business. September 13, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
- ^ Pollock, James. "New members of Illinois House: The issues they view as most important to constituents and state". Illinois Issues. Sangamon State University. p. 19. ISSN 0738-9663.
- ^ Bernstein, David (February 2008). "Mr. Un-Popularity". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
- ^ Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. (eds.). "Rudy Giuliani Press Release Former IL Congressman Tom Ewing Endorses Giuliani Online by". The American Presidency Project. University of California, Santa Barbara. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ "Burris Defends His Evolving Description of Talks", Monica Davey, The New York Times, Feb. 16, 2009, page A9 Retrieved 2-15-09.
- ^ a b "Tom Cross Illinois Treasurer Candidate Bio". Reboot Illinois. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ a b Manchir, Michelle (March 18, 2014) - "Cross Claims GOP Nomination in Race for State Treasurer". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ Merda, Chad (September 21, 2014). "Giannoulias, a Democrat, backs Republican Cross for treasurer". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
- ^ Pearson, Rick & Long, Ray (November 19, 2014) - "Frerichs Claims Victory in Close Illinois Treasurer's Race". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ Korecki, Natasha (November 19, 2014) - "Tom Cross Concedes in Treasurer's Race, Giving Frerichs Win" - Early & Often. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ http://news.aurora.edu/tom-cross-joins-aurora-university/
- ^ Gutowski, Christy; Meisner, Jason; Coen, Jeff (28 April 2016). "Hastert victim finally confronts man who had been 'a key figure in my life'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
External links
- Biography, bills and committees at the 98th Illinois General Assembly
- House Republican Leader Tom Cross constituency site
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Profile at OurCampaigns.com
- House GOP Leader Tom Cross at Illinois House Republican Caucus
- Collected news and commentary at the Chicago Tribune