Mike Jacobs (Illinois politician)
Encyclopedia
Mike Jacobs is a Democratic
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...

 member of the Illinois Senate
Illinois Senate
The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the state of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. The Illinois Senate is made up of 59 senators elected from...

, representing the 36th District since he was appointed in 2005.

Personal life

Jacobs graduated from the University of Illinois at Springfield
University of Illinois at Springfield
The University of Illinois at Springfield is a public university in Springfield, Illinois. The University was established in 1969 as Sangamon State University by the Illinois General Assembly and became a part of the University of Illinois system on July 1, 1995.The University of Illinois at...

 (BS, Political Studies) and the University of West Florida
University of West Florida
The University of West Florida, also known as West Florida and UWF, is a mid-sized public university located in Pensacola, Florida, United States. UWF is a member institution of the State University System of Florida. The University of West Florida is a Research University, which specializes in...

 (MS, Political Science). He lives in Moline with his son.

Political career

Following a 2007 meeting with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich
Rod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...

, meant to convince Jacobs to vote for Blagojevich's health insurance proposals, Jacobs told reporters that the Governor "blew up at him like a 10-year-old child", acted as if he might hit Jacobs, screamed obscenities at him and threatened to ruin his political career if Jacobs didn't vote for the bill. Jacobs said if Blagojevich had talked to him like that at a tavern
Tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....

, "I would have kicked his tail end." Blagojevich would not comment on the alleged incident. Jacobs was presented with a pair of boxing gloves
Boxing gloves
Boxing gloves are cushioned gloves that fighters wear on their hands during boxing matches. The term also refers to gloves used in training, though these often differ from competition gloves...

 after returning to the Senate.

On May 31, 2011, Jacobs was accused by Republican state Sen. Kyle McCarter
Kyle McCarter
Kyle McCarter is a Republican member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 51st district since February 2009. He replaced former Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson after the latter resigned due to poor health.- Career :...

 of punching him after a debate over an electricity rate increase, a claim he denied by saying in a televised interview that "the senator was full of shit" and "someone who couldn't even really polish my shoes". McCarter had noted that Jacobs' father was a registered lobbyist for the utility, but Jacobs' response was that "one thing he would not allow to happen would be for anyone to question my integrity". Jacobs also said this information had been fully disclosed, his constituents were aware of it, "and they would make a decision based on that". It was reported that McCarter filed a police statement over the incident.

Jacobs lead the charge in securing funding for the 62 Million WIU-Quad-Cities Riverfront Campus.

External links

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