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Home | Office Holder | Mike Frerichs
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Frerichs lives with his wife, Laura, in Champaign. Upon graduating from Rantoul Township High School, Frerichs attended Yale University and received his BA in 1995. Frerichs was a teacher from 1995-1997. Frerichs ran against former State Representative Timothy V. Johnson, but lost. In 2000 Frerichs was elected to the Champaign County Board and reelected in 2002. He was appointed to Champaign County Auditor by the County Board in 2002 and was elected to that office in 2004. In 2005, Frerichs announced he would run for the 52nd Legislative District seat that includes most of Champaign County and Vermilion County. In what eventually became the second most expensive legislative race in Illinois history, Senator Frerichs was elected as the first Democratic State Senator to represent East Central Illinois since 1936. Senator Frerichs is noted as both the youngest and tallest State Senator in Illinois. At 35, he is one of the youngest elected leaders in Springfield today. And, at 6 feet, 8 inches, he is one of the tallest legislators in Illinois history. (Abraham Lincoln was only 6 feet, 4 inches tall.) Senator Frerichs also serves on his local volunteer fire department, on the board of a local non-profit nursing home, and is a member of the Urbana Rotary Club. After Governor Rod Blagojevich was removed from office by the State Senate, Frerichs moved to have the former governor barred from ever holding office again in Illinois. This motion, like the vote to convict and remove Blagojevich, carried unanimously. Shortly after the revelation of the University of Illinois clout scandal, it was revealed that Laura Frerichs had been given a position at the university College of Business, leading some to question the role that Frerichs used as state senator and member of the committee that oversees IL education to help acquire the job for his wife. |
