Jack Schaffer (born October 12, 1942) is an American politician and businessman. Born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Schaffer served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He received his bachelor's degree from

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

. He owned an outdoor advertising business and a self-storage business in

Crystal Lake, Illinois Crystal Lake is a city in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. Named after a lake southwest of the city's downtown, Crystal Lake is northwest of Chicago. The population was 40,269 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Crystal L ...

. Schaffer was county auditor for

McHenry County, Illinois McHenry County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, it had a population of 310,229, making it the sixth-most populous county in Illinois. Its count ...

from 1968 to 1972. From 1973 to 1999, he served in the

Illinois State 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 th ...

as a Republican. As state senator, Schaffer served as caucus chairman, minority whip and minority leader. In 1992, Schaffer ran for Congress in

Illinois's 16th congressional district The 16th congressional district of Illinois is represented by Republican Darin LaHood. Prominent past representatives from the 16th district have included Everett Dirksen, who went on to become the Republican leader in the United States Senate; ...

, against

Don Manzullo Donald Anthony Manzullo (born March 24, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for , from 1993 to 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party. From 2001 to 2007 he served as Chairman of the Committee ...

. He was defeated in the Republican primary by Manzullo 56%-44%, who would later go on to win the general election. From 1999 to 2003, Schaffer then served as a consultant and lobbyist and was Commissioner of the Illinois Office of Banks and Real Estate. In 2006, Schaffer was appointed to the

Metra Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 train station, stati ...

Board, and in 2009, he was elected treasurer.'Illinois Blue Book 1991-1992,' Biographical Sketch of Jack Schaffer, pg. 00

References

1942 births Living people Politicians from Chicago People from Crystal Lake, Illinois Northern Illinois University alumni Businesspeople from Chicago Republican Party Illinois state senators 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly {{Illinois-statesenator-stub