Terrance William Gainer (born August 1, 1947) is a former law enforcement officer and was the 38th

Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate The sergeant at arms and doorkeeper of the United States Senate (originally known as the doorkeeper of the Senate from April 7, 1789 – 1798) is the protocol officer, executive officer, and highest-ranking federal law enforcement officer of th ...

and served in that position from January 4, 2007, to May 2, 2014. Before Gainer continued his law enforcement career in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, he was the Republican candidate for

Cook County State's Attorney The Cook County State's Attorney is the District attorney, chief prosecutor for Cook County, Illinois. The State's Attorney oversees the second-largest prosecutor's office in the United States, with over 600 attorneys and 1,200 employees. The off ...

in the 1988 election, losing to then-incumbent

Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh ter ...

Life and career

Born in 1947 in

Evergreen Park, Illinois Evergreen Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. In 2020, the population was 19,943. The village shares a border with Chicago on the north, east, and south sides; while also sharing a border with Oak Lawn on the west side. H ...

, Gainer graduated from St. Benedict's College (now

Benedictine College Benedictine College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College (founded 1858) for men and Mount St. Scholastica College (founded 1923) for ...

) in 1969 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

, and he went on to obtain a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

in management and public service and

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

(J.D.) degree from

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

. Gainer is a decorated

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

who served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, and he served as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

until 2000.Chief of Police, United States Capitol Police Biography.
National Homeland Defense Foundation. Retrieved January 7, 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader required for viewing). He was a lead figure in the

1997 Roby standoff The 1997 Roby standoff, sometimes referred to as "Roby Ridge", was a standoff that occurred over the course of 39 days from September 22 to October 31, 1997, in Roby, Illinois, involving law enforcement and Shirley Allen, a 51-year-old woman r ...

. During his law enforcement career, Gainer served with the

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Chicago City Council. It is the second-largest Law enforcement in the United States#Local, ...

as deputy Inspector General of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, deputy director of the

Illinois State Police The Illinois State Police (ISP) is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Illinois. The Illinois State Police is responsible for traffic safety on more than 300,000 miles of total roadway, including 2,185 miles of interstate highways and ...

and in the

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

before he was appointed as director of the Illinois State Police in the Cabinet of Governor

Jim Edgar James Robert Edgar (born July 22, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 38th governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. A Moderate Republican (modern United States), moderate Republican Party (United States), Republican, he previously s ...

in March 1991. Gainer went on to serve as executive assistant police chief, as second in command of the

Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC), more commonly known locally as the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and, colloquially, DC Police, is the primary law enforcement agency for the Washington, D.C., District ...

under Chief Charles H. Ramsey, beginning in March 1998 and as chief of the

United States Capitol Police The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States with nationwide jurisdiction charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States an ...

from June 2, 2002, to March 3, 2006. In addition, Gainer served as the Director of Emergency Preparedness for The Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington. During his time with the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington, Gainer worked extensively with non-profit organizations (such as hospitals, schools and charities) to help them formulate a coordinated response for emergency preparedness in the Washington, DC metropolitan region. On November 14, 2006, Gainer was appointed by

Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and people of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as chief spokespersons for their respective political parties, holding the ...

Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2 ...

(D-NV) as the

beginning with the

110th United States Congress The 110th United States Congress was a List of United States Congresses, meeting of the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and J ...

. During his time as Sergeant at Arms, Gainer proposed a security fence called the Capitol Gateway be built around the perimeter of the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

, similar to the fence around the White House. The plan was rejected for cost reasons. After the

2021 storming of the United States Capitol On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months after his defea ...

by supporters of President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, a temporary fence was erected where the Capitol Gateway would have been erected to deter further attacks. In March, 2014, Senate Majority Leader

announced that Gainer planned on retiring as Senate Sergeant at Arms, and would be replaced by Senate Deputy Sergeant at Arms Drew Willison.Senate sergeant at arms to retire (The Hill article)
/ref> Willison was made the new sergeant at arms and doorkeeper of the Senate on May 5, 2014.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gainer, Terrance W. 1947 births Living people Sergeants at Arms of the United States Senate United States Capitol Police officers Law enforcement officials from Illinois Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia officers American police chiefs State cabinet secretaries of Illinois Illinois Republicans United States Department of Transportation officials Chicago Police Department officers United States Navy reservists United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War Benedictine College alumni DePaul University College of Law alumni People from Evergreen Park, Illinois United States Navy captains Military personnel from Illinois Candidates in the 1988 United States elections 20th-century American military personnel