Dahl to resign Senate seat

A new senator will soon occupy the seat to be vacated next week by Granville Republican Senator Gary Dahl.

Dahl, who will be 70 years old on Sunday, said he is resigning Friday, Dec. 10, because it is time for him to move on.

“To spend more time with my family, and get back into my business and salvage that,” he said Thursday of the commercial trucking business, Double D Express of Peru, which he founded after losing his job as a truck driver in the 1980s recession, and Double D Warehouse LLC, of Peru.

There are two years left on his term, which will open in the presidential election of 2012. This will give his replacement a two-year advantage in seeking the full four-year term in his own right. Also, if his replacement is named before the new Illinois General Assembly is seated in January, the new senator will hold several weeks’ seniority over the other new senators chosen in last month’s election.

A 38th Legislative District conservative, Dahl won the seat in 2004 from Democratic incumbent Patrick Welch of Peru, who held the post for 22 years.

Dahl’s replacement will be chosen by vote of the Republican county chairmen in the district, which includes all of Grundy and Putnam counties, and parts of La Salle, Bureau, Kankakee, Will, Iroquois, and Livingston counties.

Accepting applications for the vacancy and naming the new state senator is a statutory procedure that could take up to 30 days, Grundy County GOP Chairman John Hanson noted. The GOP chairman of La Salle County — the largest county in the 38th district — will chair the procedure. La Salle County GOP chairman is Susan Thornton of Ottawa.

Hanson does not have a specific name at present to recommend for the Senate seat.

Dahl said naming his replacement has nothing to do with the upcoming consolidated election in April 2011. Also, that a special election will not be called to fill out his term.

Channahon Village President Joe Cook, the Republican whose name has been mentioned before as showing an interest in the Senate seat, said Thursday he certainly would consider it if the GOP county chairmen approached him.

“Right now, my focus is on my re-election as mayor of Channahon in the spring,” he said Thursday. “I love Channahon, and I’d have to consider whether I can serve Channahon better here as the mayor, or in the state Senate as senator. It’s a thought process I’d have to have. Certainly, the 38th District needs strong representation.”

Morris Republican Sue Rezin, incoming state representative in the Illinois House 75th District in January, is sure there will be much speculation over Senator Dahl’s replacement in the days and weeks to come.

“He’s been one of the best legislators, and he set a good example for many of us who are in office,” Rezin said Thursday. “He took politics out of being a politician.”

No matter who is named to succeed Dahl, the current senator said he is not going to disappear -— that he will still be around to assist the new senator in becoming familiar with the district and state government.

“It’s a huge learning curve to come in and take over the district office from scratch,” he said. “Welch gave me one item — a (partial) map of a community — no files, nothing on the computer.”

Cook was not aware Thursday of Dahl’s resignation until informed by the Morris Daily Herald, but said he was aware the senator wanted to move on.

“There were some frustrations there,” Cook said. “When Gary won the seat, he was certainly a breath of fresh air, without a doubt. He represented the entire district. I got to know him while I was campaigning, and I knew him as my own senator representing this village.”

Cook said he was able to walk into Dahl’s office at any time to discuss issues. Also, Dahl cast the lone vote in the Senate against expansion of the Freedom of Information Act, which, since it went into effect, has cost taxpayers across the state literally hundreds of thousands of dollars, Cook noted.

“It created another bureacracy within state government. Senator Dahl took the lead and stood out as the lone vote against the bill, and I applaud him for that. We hate to see him go, but I can certainly understand his frustration in Springfield. With everything going on, legislators still haven’t taken on the elephant, and that’s the economy of the state,” he said.

Cook typified Dahl as a person who took leadership, and one who crossed political party lines.
"A straight-up guy — a genuine guy. He wasn't a politician, but a businessman, and he should be applauded and congratulated for the positions he's taken and the leadership he's shown," Cook said.

“He showed up for everything. He never once ducked the public. We’d have meaningful conversations, not political in nature, but for the district and for the state.”

Hanson called Senator Dahl a “phenomenal person.”

“One of the best legislators I’ve known,” Hanson added. “His service was unselfish. He certainly had his constituents in mind. They came first. What a guy. He donated all his salary as state senator to charity. He’s a hard person to follow.”