Kenneth G. McMillan (born September 7, 1942) is an American politician and educator.

Early life and career

Kenneth G. McMillan was born September 7, 1942 in

Macomb, Illinois Macomb () is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois, about southwest of Peoria, Illinois, Peoria. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the c ...

and raised on a farm near Walnut Grove, Illinois. He attended the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

and earned a bachelor of science in agriculture and a master of science in agricultural economics. He served as the assistant director of legislation and the assistant to the president of the Illinois Agricultural Association. He later joined the staff of Congressman Leslie C. Arends and served as a confidential assistant and chief speechwriter for Secretary

Earl Butz Earl Lauer "Rusty" Butz (July 3, 1909 – February 2, 2008) was a United States government official who served as the secretary of agriculture under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. His policies favored large-scale corporate farming ...

. At the time of his election to 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 ...

he was Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois and producer of purebred

Suffolk sheep The Suffolk is a British breed of domestic sheep. It originated in the late eighteenth century in the area of Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, as a result of cross-breeding when Norfolk Horn ewes were put to improved Southdown rams. It is a po ...

Politics

In the 1976 general election, McMillan defeated chairman of the Mercer County Board of Supervisors and Democratic candidate Walter E. "Red" Medhurst. In 1978, McMillan was reelected, defeating activist and Democratic candidate Kathryn Harris. The 47th district at the time included all of Hancock, Henderson, Warren, McDonough, Mercer, and portions of

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

and Knox. McMillan served as a Republican member of 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 ...

from 1977 to 1983. During the 80th Illinois General Assembly, he was a member of the Committees on Appropriations II; Elections and Reapportionment; and Agriculture, Conservation and Energy. He also served as a member of the Illinois Economic and Fiscal Commission. McMillan ran for

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

in 1982 on a conservative platform and defeated moderate Republican incumbent

Tom Railsback Thomas Fisher Railsback (January 22, 1932 – January 20, 2020) was an American politician and lawyer who served eight terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983 for . A member of the Republican Party, he sat on the Hou ...

. At the time, his state senate district covered much of the western portion of the congressional district. McMillan however lost in the general election to Democratic challenger

Lane Evans Lane Allen Evans (August 4, 1951 – November 5, 2014) was an American attorney and politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1983 until 2007, representing the 17th District of Illinois. Eva ...

by 6%.

Post-Senate career

McMillan again ran against Evans in 1984 but lost by 14%. In 1988, McMillan then attempted a political comeback by running for an open seat in 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 ...

, but was defeated by Democratic candidate

Bill Edley Bill Edley (born March 16, 1948) is an American businessman and Democratic politician from Illinois. Early life Bill Edley was born March 16, 1948, in Canton, Illinois. He attended Spoon River College and received his bachelor's degree in invest ...

in the Republican leaning district. McMillan joined the faculty of

Monmouth College Monmouth College is a Private college, private Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbyterian Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Monmouth, Illinois. It enrolls 727 students in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science de ...

in 1989, and by 1994, McMillan was a professor of economics at

. In 2005, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of Western Illinois Economic Development Authority by the Monmouth County Board. In 2019, McMillan retired from teaching.

References

1942 births Living people People from Macomb, Illinois People from McDonough County, Illinois University of Illinois alumni Monmouth College faculty Republican Party Illinois state senators People from Bushnell, Illinois {{Illinois-statesenator-stub