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When examining his
resume, one quickly realizes that there are very few elected officials in
the state of Illinois with the professional and governmental experience of
Senator Dan Rutherford, not to mention his love of life and eagerness to
make a difference in the lives of others.
An executive with an
International Company and an accomplished State Legislator, The Champaign
News Gazette has said, “Dan Rutherford is right now what the Republican
Party needs.”
For use
when introducing Sen. Rutherford:
Dan
Rutherford, the lighter side.
Legislative Accomplishments
Dan Rutherford
is distinguished by a legislative career of accomplishment. He was first
elected to the Illinois Senate in 2002. In 2009, he was appointed Assistant
Republican Leader. His Senate career follows a 10-year term in the House
of Representatives, where he served as the Assistant Republican leader. As a
member of the Senate, he is the ranking Republican serving on the Financial
Institutions Committee and also serves on the bi-partisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.
Senator Dan
Rutherford has sponsored and shaped legislation intended to help some of
Illinois’ most fragile citizens. He was a leading sponsor of important
legislation which fundamentally changed the formula for reimbursing nursing
homes. Now, reimbursement rates are based on the medical needs of the
resident, instead of their geographic location in the state. Senator
Rutherford is pleased to report that the new system has resulted in better
health care and services for Illinois’ treasured elderly community.
Dan has also
been a consistent champion of agricultural interests, promoting legislation
to enhance the use of ethanol and soy products. An avid conservationist, he
is helping preserve the environment by using recycling programs in his home
and offices. To date, Dan has personally planted over 16,000 trees
 and
shrubs on his own property to promote reforestation, in addition to
utilizing stream bank stabilization practices.
Senator
Rutherford’s legislative efforts have resulted in many accolades from both
the public and private sector. He was particularly proud to have been named
Legislator of the Year multiple times, in addition to being selected as an
“outstanding legislator” by numerous economic, agricultural and conservation
groups, to name a few.
The Aurora
Beacon News noted that “while his voting record in Springfield draws
high marks with conservative [groups], he also has a decided independent
streak.”
Some of the recognition
he has received:
Appointed Assistant Senate Republican Leader 2009
Hall of Fame Member, Illinois State University College of Business 2009
Hall of Fame Member, Illinois State University College of Arts & Sciences
2009
Friend of
Agriculture, Illinois Farm Bureau 2009
Legislator of the Year, Health Care Council of Illinois 2008
Legislator of the Year, Illinois Bankers Association 2009
Illinois Chamber of Commerce “Champion of Free Enterprise” 2009
Legislator of the
Year, Teamsters Joint Council 65 2005
Legislator of the
Year, Illinois Association of County Officials
Distinguished
Service Award for Agriculture, Livingston County Corn Growers
Legislator of the Year, Illinois
Bankers Association
Friend of Agriculture Award from the Illinois Farm Bureau
Inducted into Legislator Hall of Fame by Illinois Health Care
Association 2004
Legislator of the Year,
Illinois Health Care Association 2003
Legislator of the Year,
Illinois Health Care Association 2002
Legislator of the Year,
Illinois Soil and Water Conservation
Reappointed Assistant
House Republican Leader 2001
Appointed the Assistant
House Republican Leader 1999
Voice of Employers Award, Management Association of Illinois
Legislator of
the Year, Association of Community Mental Health Authorities of Illinois
Outstanding Legislator, Illinois Hospital and Health Systems Association
Recognition for
outstanding service to Illinois veterans, Illinois Association of County
Veterans Assistance Commission
Outstanding Freshman
Legislator, Illinois Health Care Association
Recognized by the Illinois Department of
Corrections for support of Corrections and Correctional Officers
Selected on of the
Chicago Tribune’s “People to Watch in 1986”
Outstanding Young
Man in America Award
President of
Student Body -- Illinois State University
Who's Who Among Students in Universities and Colleges
The Making of a
Leader: A History of Involvement
Senator Rutherford began his career as a
Legislative Assistant in Springfield following his graduation from Illinois
State University, where he served his school, community and fellow students
as Student Body President.
At the age of 24, Rutherford coordinated a
Congressional District for Governor Ronald Reagan’s campaign. Today, Dan
reminisces about driving to O’Hare airport to pick up Nancy Reagan, with one
security guard from the California State Police, and driving her to events
in Northern Illinois, before meeting Ronald Reagan and presenting him with
briefing papers when candidate Reagan came to Illinois.
Putting together one of the best Congressional
area organizations in the state, Dan caught the eye of the Reagan National
Campaign and was tapped to be the state-wide Executive Director of Illinois
for the General Election. Illinois was the bellwether state and where
Illinois went, so would the Nation. Illinois delivered for the future
President and Rutherford was affirmed a Republican Star on the rise.
Following the election Rutherford was offered a position on the Presidential
Transition Team. However, within a day of the offer, he received a call from
Governor Jim Thompson offering him a position on his staff in Illinois.
Although it was a tough decision to make, Dan opted to stay in Illinois,
later stating that he knew it was the right decision because it provided him
with the opportunity to join the ServiceMaster Company and serve in the
General Assembly.
Reagan & Rutherford
The Business Executive
Dan Rutherford is a graduate of Illinois State
University with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration.
While on a business trip to Japan in 1984, Dan
became familiar with the ServiceMaster Company. A year later he joined the
company.
Rutherford eventually became responsible for
expansion of the company’s businesses internationally, licensing services in
Chile, Brazil, Honduras, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Guam, Venezuela, South
Africa, Spain, Czechoslovakia, Indonesia, Panama, Italy, Mexico and the
Philippines. He is with the company yet today, assisting with domestic
regulatory matters.
On the Lighter Side
As a young person, Dan enjoyed camping,
fishing and adventure. In high school he was a foreign exchange student to
Barbados; after graduating from college he backpacked across Europe, and in
his mid-twenties he took a few months to lead safaris in Kenya.
He learned to sail boats and crewed for
numerous Chicago to Mackinaw Island races, competed in regattas off of
Melbourne and cruised the southern coast of Australia.
Before his 30th birthday, Dan joined a small
group of 12 adventurers and they took three months to cross Africa in their
diesel Bedford truck- camping, bathing in creeks, cooking open fire meals,
using sand mats to cross the Sahara, and making sure not to drink from wells
that were poisoned because of the war with Libya. He began in Algeria and
went south through Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Zaire and
Burundi.
Having been on all the continents of the world
but one, Dan was determined to get to Antarctica before his 40th birthday.
With a lot of luck and a few connections, he found himself in the Falkland
Islands meeting a Russian icebreaker with a group of naturalists who were
exploring the continent. The former commander of Operation Deep Freeze was a
member of the group, in addition to many other experienced scientists.
Whales were a common sight, often accompanying the ship as it made its way
through the icy waters. The breaker crushed the ice when needed. Dan has
particularly fond memories of Christmas that year, which he spent floating
on a tabular iceberg in the Antarctic Sound. 
Always looking for excitement, Dan skydived in
college and learned to fly at a relatively young age, before he decided to
master scuba diving. He is an Advanced Certified Diver, logging over 200
dives. His most recent trip was to
Curacao, and earlier
to Saba Island. He has
also taken diving trips to the Turks & Caicos, Bali, Mozambique, Cape Town
and Apo Island in the Philippines. |
