Richard N. Luft (born March 14, 1938) was an American politician. Born in

Pekin, Illinois Pekin () is a city in and the county seat of Tazewell County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located on the Illinois River, Pekin is the largest city of Tazewell County and the second most populous municipality of the Peoria metropolitan area ...

, Luft received his bachelor's degree in political science and his master's degree in public administration from

Sangamon State University The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) is a public university in Springfield, Illinois. The university was established in 1969 as Sangamon State University by the Illinois General Assembly and became a part of the University of Illinois s ...

. From 1975 to 1979, Luft served 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 current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

and was a Democrat. He then 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 the ...

from 1983 until he resigned in 1993. During his legislative tenure, he served on the central committee for the

Democratic Party of Illinois The Democratic Party of Illinois is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the oldest extant state party in Illinois and one of just two recognized parties in the state, along with the Republican Party. It is ...

as one of two committee members from what was then

Illinois's 18th congressional district The 18th congressional district of Illinois covered central and western Illinois, including all of Jacksonville and Quincy and parts of Bloomington, Peoria, and Springfield. It was last represented by Republican Darin LaHood, who took ...

with Shirley McCombs. In May 1993, Luft was appointed commissioner of the Illinois Department of Banks and Trust.'Sen. Luft Named Bank Commissioner,' Chicago Tribune, May 5, 1993 He was succeeded in the Illinois Senate by then-Peoria County Sheriff George Shadid. He had unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for

Illinois Comptroller The Comptroller of Illinois is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Illinois. Ten individuals have held the office of Comptroller since the enactment of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, replacing th ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 – ...

, losing to

Roland Burris Roland Wallace Burris (born August 3, 1937) is an American politician and attorney who is a former United States Senator from the state of Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party. In 1978, Burris was the first African American elected ...

Notes

1938 births Living people People from Pekin, Illinois University of Illinois at Springfield alumni Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Democratic Party Illinois state senators {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-stub