Kristopher "Kris" Tharp was an American law enforcement officer and politician serving as a member of 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 the 56th district. He assumed office on July 8, 2022, succeeding Rachelle Crowe.

Early life and education

Tharp was born and raised in

Wood River, Illinois Wood River is a city in Madison County, Illinois. The population was 10,464 as of the 2020 census. Geography Wood River is located in western Madison County on the Mississippi River approximately upstream of downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It is ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in criminal justice administration from

Lindenwood University Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1832 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution wes ...

Career

Tharp began his career as a police officer in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

and

Overland, Missouri Overland is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 15,955 at the 2020 census. History The area south of the King's Road to St. Charles, Missouri, St. Charles was first settled in the ea ...

. He then joined the Madison County Sheriff's Office, serving as a deputy sheriff from 1999 to 2004, detective from 2004 to 2009, and sergeant from 2009 to 2011. From 2013 to 2015, he was an investigator for the Southern Illinois Child Death Investigation Task Force. From 2012 to 2020, he served as a lieutenant in the Madison County Sheriff's Office. In 2019, he was appointed to serve as a member of the Illinois Elder Abuse Task Force. Tharp also served as a supervisor of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis and jail administrator in the Madison County Sheriff's Office. On July 8, 2022, Tharp was appointed to succeed Rachelle Crowe in the

after Crowe was confirmed as a

United States attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

Personal life

Tharp lives in

Bethalto, Illinois Bethalto is a Village (United States)#Illinois, village in Madison County, Illinois, Madison County, Illinois, United States. Bethalto, like the rest of Madison County, is part of the Illinois Metro East portion of the Greater St. Louis metropol ...

, with his wife. He has two adult sons, Kameron and Tyler.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tharp, Kristopher Living people American police officers Law enforcement officials from Illinois Law enforcement officials from Missouri Lindenwood University alumni People from Madison County, Illinois Democratic Party Illinois state senators People from Wood River, Illinois Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly