Rickey R. Hendon
Encyclopedia
Rickey R. Hendon is a former Illinois Senator
for the 5th district, serving from 1992 to 2011.
. Prior to that, he was Secretary and Treasurer for the Cook County Forest Preserve.
Hendon sponsored legislation that would create a pilot program in the Chicago Public School that allows the Chicago Board of Education to establish a program to discourage criminal behavior by providing prison tours.
Because of his interest in health care, Hendon sponsored a bill designed to assist low-income families on Medicaid, by restricting the co-payment for brand name drugs to $3 and eliminating co-pay for generic drugs.
Another recent bill Hendon sponsored was aimed at expanding opportunities for minority owned businesses to compete and ultimately bring additional film projects and television studios to Illinois.
There was substantial tension between Hendon and then colleague Barack Obama
, culminating after five years in a 2002 shoving match. Nonetheless, Hendon supported Obama in the 2008 presidential election.
In 2009, Senator Hendon was a principal proponent of a bill for $31 billion in capital-spending for education passed in May by the state Legislature. Part of the bill would have ensured that 40 million in funds would go to Chicago State University for a West Side campus. The interim president said he had no knowledge of plans for West Side branch. However, a 2007 feasibility study indicated strong community and prospective student support for a satellite campus. He resigned his elected office in the Illinois State on 2/24/11.
. He and his wife, Dawn, have five children. They attend Mt. Sinai Baptist Church. Hendon is leader of the Senate softball team. In 1992 he wrote and starred in the film "Butterscotch and Chocolate."
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...
for the 5th district, serving from 1992 to 2011.
Public service
Before running for the state senate, Hendon was alderman of the 27th ward in Chicago, IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Prior to that, he was Secretary and Treasurer for the Cook County Forest Preserve.
Senate career
Hendon has been an Illinois State Senator since 1992. He currently serves as an Assistant Majority Leader, Co-Chairman of the Senate Executive Appointments Committee, Vice-Chairman of the Environment and Energy Committee and a member of the Labor and Commerce Committee and the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus.Hendon sponsored legislation that would create a pilot program in the Chicago Public School that allows the Chicago Board of Education to establish a program to discourage criminal behavior by providing prison tours.
Because of his interest in health care, Hendon sponsored a bill designed to assist low-income families on Medicaid, by restricting the co-payment for brand name drugs to $3 and eliminating co-pay for generic drugs.
Another recent bill Hendon sponsored was aimed at expanding opportunities for minority owned businesses to compete and ultimately bring additional film projects and television studios to Illinois.
There was substantial tension between Hendon and then colleague Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, culminating after five years in a 2002 shoving match. Nonetheless, Hendon supported Obama in the 2008 presidential election.
In 2009, Senator Hendon was a principal proponent of a bill for $31 billion in capital-spending for education passed in May by the state Legislature. Part of the bill would have ensured that 40 million in funds would go to Chicago State University for a West Side campus. The interim president said he had no knowledge of plans for West Side branch. However, a 2007 feasibility study indicated strong community and prospective student support for a satellite campus. He resigned his elected office in the Illinois State on 2/24/11.
Controversies
In October 2010, a federal grand jury issued subpoenas for state grants sponsored by Hendon, and there is currently an investigation going on regarding those grants. In that same month, Hendon made "nasty" remarks about State Senator Bill Brady, who was the Republican nominee for Governor. While introducing Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, Hendon told the crowd that he had "never served with such an idiotic, racist, sexist, homophobic person in my life... If you think that women have no rights whatsoever, except to have his children, vote for Bill Brady. If you think gay and lesbian people need to be locked up and shot in the head, vote for Bill Brady." Hendon's remarks were immediately disavowed by Governor Quinn, among others, and Hendon was sharply criticized by members of the Illinois media. Hendon later tried to apologize to Brady on the Senate floor, but Brady would not accept his apology.Personal life
Hendon was born in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. He and his wife, Dawn, have five children. They attend Mt. Sinai Baptist Church. Hendon is leader of the Senate softball team. In 1992 he wrote and starred in the film "Butterscotch and Chocolate."
External links
- Senator Rickey R. Hendon (D) 5th District official Illinois General Assembly site
- Senator Rickey R. Hendon at Illinois State Senate Democrats