About Tom Cross

Tom Cross is serving his Eighth term in the Illinois General Assembly as the District 84 State Representative.

First elected in 1992, his current district includes northeastern Oswego Township in Kendall County, portions of Troy and Wheatland Townships in Will County, Plainfield Township in Will County, and part of Naperville Township in DuPage County.

In 2003, Tom's peers in the Republican caucus elected him Republican Leader for the Illinois House giving him an opportunity to use his collegial style to engage all members in the decision-making process. In his first year as Republican Leader, Tom and the Republican caucus pushed the General Assembly toward meaningful ethics reform aimed at restoring the public's confidence in government officials.

This legislative session, Tom is pushing an aggressive legislative agenda to create jobs and protect Illinois families. Tom is calling for the General Assembly to finally pass a much needed Capital Plan after six years of neglect to improve Illinois' aging infrastructure, roads, bridges, schools, and mass transit systems. When implemented, this Capital Plan is expected to reenergize Illinois' economy and create over 200,000 high paying jobs.

Tom has also been aware of the recent home foreclosing crisis affecting many Illinois families and has proposed legislation to combat foreclosures by mandating that lenders give borrowers a final mortgage restructuring option prior to foreclosure and create the Foreclosure Prevention Task Force to create awareness and look into further solutions to the foreclosing crisis.

One of Tom's highest priorities has always been the lowering of taxes, and this legislative session is no different. Tom is pushing ground breaking legislation to provide much needed property tax relief to Illinois seniors and is also advocating for a State Sale Tax Holiday on Memorial Day Weekend to coincide with the planned delivery of the Federal Government's economic stimulus checks. Furthermore, to control government spending, Tom is pushing for a constitutional amendment to require a 3/5th majority vote by the General Assembly to increase taxes and fees.

Tom has also been mindful of the needs of the business community by spearheading a grassroots effort to enact medical malpractice reforms to keep good doctors working in Illinois. He also initiated comprehensive jobs packages and tort reforms to help existing employers thrive while attracting new jobs to our communities. Tom also supported landmark workers' compensation reforms that will improve benefits for labor while lowering cost for employers.

Over the past three years, he has led the fight against egregious raids of the state's public pension systems to fund increased state spending and has successfully blocked several job-killing tax increases proposed by the current administration.

Tom is pushing legislation to protect our children on social networking websites from sex offenders. Recently Tom has passed legislation to keep children safe from sexual predators while visiting internet sites including MySpace and Facebook.

He has also worked with fellow House Republicans to introduce legislation that will allow electronic surveillance for violators of an order of protection. House Bill 6325 sponsored by State Representative Suzie Bassi creates the Cindy Bischof Domestic Violence Electronic Surveillance Law.

The legislation allows judges to make the decisions whether electronic surveillance is appropriate based upon the circumstances of each case. The monitoring would provide both law enforcement and the victim with updated information on the offender's whereabouts.

Tom practices law with Mahoney, Silverman, and Cross in Joliet. Prior to his affiliation with this firm, he practiced private law after serving 8 years as a prosecutor in the Kendall County State's Attorney's Office.

Tom is a graduate of Yorkville High School and Illinois Wesleyan University. He received his J.D. from Cumberland Law School in Alabama.

Tom has been active in his community, serving in the past on boards for the YMCA, Rush Copley Medical Center, Kendall County Mental Health Board, and the Kendall County Foundation. He belongs to the Plainfield, Shorewood, and Oswego Chambers of Commerce and the Oswego Optimist Club. Tom currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

He and his wife, the former Genie Hovater, live in Oswego with their two children. They belong to the Oswego Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist.