John R. Gregg
Encyclopedia
John R. Gregg is an American
politician, attorney and author. He was a state representative in the Indiana House of Representatives
from 1986–2002. He served as Speaker of the Indiana House from 1996–2002 and Majority Leader from 1990–1994. Gregg was named “Public Official of the Year” in 2002 by Governing Magazine. He is a member of the Democratic Party
.
Gregg was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2008. He served as Honorary Chairman of the Hillary Clinton for President
, Indiana Campaign.
He is a partner in the Vincennes, Indiana
office of the law firm Bingham McHale LLP.
Gregg’s book, “From Sandborn to the Statehouse,” was published in 2008. He is writing a second book about growing up in a small town.
Gregg announced on Monday, May 16, 2011, that he was forming an exploratory committee for the Indiana governor’s race in 2012
.
in Knox County
, he is a 1972 graduate of North Knox High School.
Gregg graduated with an associate’s degree from Vincennes University
in 1974, and is a member of Sigma Pi
Fraternity. He graduated from Indiana University
(B.A., Political Science and History) in 1976; Indiana State University
(M.P.A., Public Administration) in 1978; and the Indiana University McKinney School of Law (J.D., Juris Doctor) in 1984.
law firm Sommer Barnard PC. In 2005 he became partner at the Vincennes, Indiana office of the law firm Bingham McHale LLP. He is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association and the Knox County Bar Association, where he served as President in 1992.
from 1974–1986, when he ran against and defeated Republican incumbent Representative Bill Roach to represent District 45 in the Indiana House of Representatives.
He served as the House majority leader from 1990–1994 and as the House Democratic leader from 1994–1996.
Gregg was first elected Speaker of the House in 1996, when the general election had left an equally divided House with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. For the first time in Indiana history, the Speaker presided over an equally divided House. Gregg was re-elected Speaker following the 1998 general election when Democrats took control of the House of Representatives with a 53-47 majority. During his tenure as Speaker, Gregg championed many causes, including reforms in education, campaign finance, property tax, lobbying and ethics.
During his terms as Speaker, Gregg implemented improvements in House procedures, including on-time convening of sessions, the support of a bipartisan clerk's office, staffing parity for both caucuses, and the prohibition of smoking within the interior hallways and offices surrounding the House chamber. A House Resolution to honor Speaker Gregg on his retirement in 2002 credited him with returning civility and congeniality to the House chamber.
Gregg introduced measures to help streamline the workload of legislators and staff, including reducing the number of standing committees from 21 to 17 and initiating stricter adherence to House rules regarding how members vote and conduct themselves on the House floor.
Gregg was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2008. As an honorary chair of the Hillary Clinton for President
, Indiana Campaign, Gregg accompanied former President Bill Clinton
to events across Indiana during the 2008 primary.
, from 2003–2004, where he was instrumental in helping the institution move from a two-year to a four-year curriculum.
in 2002, and four Sagamore of the Wabash
awards (Governors Robert D. Orr
, 1989; Evan Bayh
, 1996; Frank O’Bannon
, 2002; and Joe Kernan, 2003.
In 2004, Gregg was diagnosed and successfully treated for prostate cancer, and in 2011 he remained cancer-free. A Weight Watchers program helped him gradually lose 60 pounds.
He is a member of Sandborn First Christian Church, and is a 33rd Degree Mason and past Master in the Sandborn Masonic Lodge #647.
Gregg has expressed interest in running for governor in 2012.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician, attorney and author. He was a state representative in the Indiana House of Representatives
Indiana House of Representatives
The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House members serve two-year terms without term limits...
from 1986–2002. He served as Speaker of the Indiana House from 1996–2002 and Majority Leader from 1990–1994. Gregg was named “Public Official of the Year” in 2002 by Governing Magazine. He is a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
.
Gregg was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2008. He served as Honorary Chairman of the Hillary Clinton for President
Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2008
New York junior Senator and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton had expressed interest in the 2008 United States presidential election since at least October 2002, drawing media speculation on whether she would become a candidate. No woman has ever won the nomination of a major party in the...
, Indiana Campaign.
He is a partner in the Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 18,701 at the 2000 census...
office of the law firm Bingham McHale LLP.
Gregg’s book, “From Sandborn to the Statehouse,” was published in 2008. He is writing a second book about growing up in a small town.
Gregg announced on Monday, May 16, 2011, that he was forming an exploratory committee for the Indiana governor’s race in 2012
Indiana gubernatorial election, 2012
The 2012 Indiana gubernatorial election will take place on November 6, 2012.Incumbent governor Mitch Daniels is term-limited.-Candidates:* Mike Pence, U.S...
.
Early life and education
Born on September 6, 1954 to Don and June (née Blackwood) Gregg in the rural Indiana community of SandbornSandborn, Indiana
Sandborn is a town in Vigo Township, Knox County, Indiana, United States. The population was 415 at the 2010 census. It is the home of the annual Black Creek Festival...
in Knox County
Knox County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 39,256 people, 15,552 households, and 10,139 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 people per square mile . There were 17,305 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...
, he is a 1972 graduate of North Knox High School.
Gregg graduated with an associate’s degree from Vincennes University
Vincennes University
Vincennes University is a public university in Vincennes, Indiana, in the United States. Founded in 1801 as Jefferson Academy, VU is the oldest public institution of higher learning in Indiana. Since 1889, VU has been a two-year university, although baccalaureate degrees in seven select areas are...
in 1974, and is a member of Sigma Pi
Sigma Pi
Sigma Pi is an international college secret and social fraternity founded in 1897 at Vincennes University. Sigma Pi International fraternity currently has 127 chapters and 4 colonies in the United States and Canada and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee...
Fraternity. He graduated from Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
(B.A., Political Science and History) in 1976; Indiana State University
Indiana State University
Indiana State University is a public university located in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States.The Princeton Review has named Indiana State as one of the "Best in the Midwest" seven years running, and the College of Education's Graduate Program was recently named as a 'Top 100' by U.S...
(M.P.A., Public Administration) in 1978; and the Indiana University McKinney School of Law (J.D., Juris Doctor) in 1984.
Law practice and early career
From 1978–1985, Gregg worked as a land agent for Peabody Coal Company and as a governmental affairs representative for Amax Coal Company. After earning his J.D. and passing the state bar in 1984, he opened a private practice in Vincennes until 2002, when he joined the IndianapolisIndianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
law firm Sommer Barnard PC. In 2005 he became partner at the Vincennes, Indiana office of the law firm Bingham McHale LLP. He is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association and the Knox County Bar Association, where he served as President in 1992.
Political career
Gregg served his Sandborn community as a Democratic precinct committeemanPrecinct committeeman
A Precinct Committeemen, or PC, is the name for a office and the name of the official that organizes a voting precinct for a political party.There are state, ward and township party organizations, but the basic unit of U.S...
from 1974–1986, when he ran against and defeated Republican incumbent Representative Bill Roach to represent District 45 in the Indiana House of Representatives.
He served as the House majority leader from 1990–1994 and as the House Democratic leader from 1994–1996.
Gregg was first elected Speaker of the House in 1996, when the general election had left an equally divided House with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. For the first time in Indiana history, the Speaker presided over an equally divided House. Gregg was re-elected Speaker following the 1998 general election when Democrats took control of the House of Representatives with a 53-47 majority. During his tenure as Speaker, Gregg championed many causes, including reforms in education, campaign finance, property tax, lobbying and ethics.
During his terms as Speaker, Gregg implemented improvements in House procedures, including on-time convening of sessions, the support of a bipartisan clerk's office, staffing parity for both caucuses, and the prohibition of smoking within the interior hallways and offices surrounding the House chamber. A House Resolution to honor Speaker Gregg on his retirement in 2002 credited him with returning civility and congeniality to the House chamber.
Gregg introduced measures to help streamline the workload of legislators and staff, including reducing the number of standing committees from 21 to 17 and initiating stricter adherence to House rules regarding how members vote and conduct themselves on the House floor.
Gregg was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2008. As an honorary chair of the Hillary Clinton for President
Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2008
New York junior Senator and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton had expressed interest in the 2008 United States presidential election since at least October 2002, drawing media speculation on whether she would become a candidate. No woman has ever won the nomination of a major party in the...
, Indiana Campaign, Gregg accompanied former President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
to events across Indiana during the 2008 primary.
Vincennes University President
Following his service as an Indiana state representative, Gregg became interim president of Indiana’s oldest college, Vincennes UniversityVincennes University
Vincennes University is a public university in Vincennes, Indiana, in the United States. Founded in 1801 as Jefferson Academy, VU is the oldest public institution of higher learning in Indiana. Since 1889, VU has been a two-year university, although baccalaureate degrees in seven select areas are...
, from 2003–2004, where he was instrumental in helping the institution move from a two-year to a four-year curriculum.
Radio talk show host
Since 1999, Gregg has hosted a radio call-in show in Vincennes and in Washington, Indiana. Gregg hosted the popular early morning talk show, “Indiana Open Phones,” on an Indianapolis radio station from 1999–2004. The forum covered topics from Indiana politics to folksy western Indiana cuisine.Awards
In addition to his 2002 recognition as "Public Official of the Year” by Governing Magazine, Gregg has been honored with a Hoosier Hero Award (1996) an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Vincennes UniversityVincennes University
Vincennes University is a public university in Vincennes, Indiana, in the United States. Founded in 1801 as Jefferson Academy, VU is the oldest public institution of higher learning in Indiana. Since 1889, VU has been a two-year university, although baccalaureate degrees in seven select areas are...
in 2002, and four Sagamore of the Wabash
Sagamore of the Wabash
The Sagamore of the Wabash is an honorary award created by the state of Indiana during the term of Governor Ralph F. Gates . A tri-state meeting was to be held in Louisville with officials from Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Aides to Gates learned that the governor of Kentucky was preparing...
awards (Governors Robert D. Orr
Robert D. Orr
Robert Dunkerson Orr was an American political leader and the 45th Governor of Indiana from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party.-Early life:...
, 1989; Evan Bayh
Evan Bayh
Birch Evans "Evan" Bayh III is a lawyer, advisor and former Democratic politician who served as the junior U.S. Senator from Indiana from 1999 to 2011. He earlier served as the 46th Governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997. Bayh is a current Fox News contributor as of March 14, 2011.Bayh first held...
, 1996; Frank O’Bannon
Frank O'Bannon
Frank Lewis O'Bannon was an American politician who was the 47th Governor of Indiana from 1997 until his death in 2003.-Background:...
, 2002; and Joe Kernan, 2003.
Personal
Gregg chose to end his career as Indiana House Speaker to devote more time to his two sons, John Blackwood Gregg, born in 1992, and Hunter Wallace Gregg, born in 1993. In his parting announcement, he told his colleagues: “I think I’ve been a pretty good Speaker, but I want to be an even better father.”In 2004, Gregg was diagnosed and successfully treated for prostate cancer, and in 2011 he remained cancer-free. A Weight Watchers program helped him gradually lose 60 pounds.
He is a member of Sandborn First Christian Church, and is a 33rd Degree Mason and past Master in the Sandborn Masonic Lodge #647.
Gregg has expressed interest in running for governor in 2012.