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 I ...

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

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

, Mundelein, North Chicago, Riverwoods, Wheeling, Vernon Hills and

Waukegan ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

. Link was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of

Waukegan, Illinois ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

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 Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

of Lake County.

Early life and education

A lifelong resident of the

Waukegan ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

- North Chicago area, Link attended

North Chicago Community High School North Chicago Community High School, also known as North Chicago and NCCHS, is a public four-year high school located in North Chicago, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, in the United States. It is part of North Chicago School District 187. ...

. 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. A member of the University of Wisconsin System, it enrolls more than 9,600 students. The school was founded in 1891 and named in honor of it ...

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 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 around 2,0 ...

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

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 current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

, 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. 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 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 reduce the ta ...

. 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 21st-century American politicians Illinois politicians convicted of crimes