Terry Link (born March 20, 1947) is an American politician who represented the 30th district in the

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. Under the ...

from 1997 until his resignation in 2020. The 30th district includes all or part of the municipalities of Beach Park,

Buffalo Grove Buffalo Grove is a Village (United States)#Illinois, village in Lake County, Illinois, Lake and Cook County, Illinois, Cook Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of Downtown Chicago and north of ...

, Green Oaks,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, Mundelein,

North Chicago North Chicago is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 30,759 at the 2020 census making it the third-most populous city by population in the county, after Waukegan and ...

, Riverwoods, Wheeling,

Vernon Hills Vernon Hills is a suburb north of Chicago, Illinois in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,850 at the 2020 census. Vernon Hills serves as a retail hub for its surrounding area ( Libertyville, Lake Forest, Mundelein, Lo ...

and

Waukegan Waukegan ( ) is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Chicago, Waukegan is a satellite city within the greater Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its popu ...

. Link was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of

Waukegan, Illinois Waukegan ( ) is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Chicago, Waukegan is a satellite city within the greater Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, its population was 89,321, makin ...

in 2012. In 2020, Link pleaded guilty to tax evasion and resigned from his seat in the Senate. For the same reason, he also resigned from his position as Chairman of the Democratic Party of Lake County.

Early life and education

A lifelong resident of the

area, Link attended North Chicago Community High School. After graduating, he attended Stout State University (now the

University of Wisconsin–Stout The University of Wisconsin–Stout (UW–Stout or Stout) is a public university in Menomonie, Wisconsin, United States. The polytechnic university of the University of Wisconsin System, it enrolls more than 6,900 students. The school was foun ...

Career

After college, Link began to pursue his career in business as a partner at Major Industrial Trucking. He later worked for

Johnson Controls Johnson Controls International plc is an American, Irish-domiciled multinational conglomerate headquartered in Cork, Ireland, that produces fire, HVAC, and security equipment for buildings. As of mid-2019, it employed 105,000 people in arou ...

in their governmental affairs division. He later served in both the Illinois State Treasurer's office and Illinois Secretary of State's office. In 1992, Link was elected Chairman of the Democratic Party of Lake County by his fellow Democratic precinct committeemen. Link ran for the

to serve the 30th district in 90th General Assembly. In an upset, Link defeated Thomas Lachner, a Republican member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

, to succeed retiring Republican David Barkhausen. As a senator, Link supported legislation to aid those on fixed incomes, to cap large tax increases statewide. He also supported a tax credit to encourage businesses to hire honorably discharged veterans, a consumer protection measure requiring automotive manufacturers to eliminate mercury switches from existing vehicles and served as the lead sponsor on the Wetland Protection Act and Smoke Free Illinois. Link advised then-State Senator

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

to not run against

Bobby Rush Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist, and pastor who served as the U.S. representative for for three decades, ending in 2023. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter ...

in the 2000 primary for

Illinois's 1st congressional district Illinois's first congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Illinois. Based in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, the district includes much of the South Side of Chicago and continues southwest to Joliet, Illinois, ...

. In the 97th General Assembly, Link served as the Chairperson of the Gaming Committee and Vice Chairperson of Financial Institutions, Local Government and State Government & Veterans Affairs committees respectively. Link resigned in September 2020. Local Democratic leaders appointed Adriane Johnson, a Commissioner for the Buffalo Grove Park District, to fill the remainder of his term.

2013 mayoral election

Link ran in the Democratic primary for Waukegan Mayor in 2013. He received endorsements from, among others, the Waukegan Police Benevolent Labor Committee and Lake County Board Commissioner Diane Hewitt. Link came in last place in the primary, behind Waukegan City Clerk Wayne Motley and Alderman Sam Cunningham.

Income tax evasion allegation

In August 2020, Link was charged with one count of

income tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduc ...

. Link later resigned from his position on the Illinois General Assembly Legislative Ethics Commission. A criminal information file asserted that Link had significantly underreported his 2016 income, which included his salary as a state legislator and payment for lobbying work.

Personal life

Link and his wife Susan with whom he has four children and three grandchildren.

References

External links

Biography, bills and committees
at the 98th Illinois General Assembly **By session
98th97th96th95th94th93rdState Senator Terry Link
constituency site
Terry Link for State Senator
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Link, Terry Illinois state senators 1947 births Living people People from Waukegan, Illinois University of Wisconsin–Stout alumni Illinois politicians convicted of crimes 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly