About Leader Tom Cross
Tom Cross is serving his eighth term in the General Assembly as theDistrict 84 State Representative.
First elected in 1992, his current district (determined by redistrictingin 2002) includes northeastern Oswego township in Kendall County,portions of Troy and Wheatland Townships in Will County,Plainfield Township in Will County, and 5 precincts in NapervilleTownship in DuPage County.
Tom practices law with Mahoney, Silverman, and Cross in Joliet.Prior to his affiliation with this firm, he practiced private law afterserving 8 years as a prosecutor in the Kendall County State'sAttorney'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 recognized for his legislative efforts by a wide variety of state and local groups. Amongstate groups are the Illinois Healthcare Association, the Illinois States Attorneys Association, theIllinois Library Association, the Illinois Chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business,the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the Illinois Credit Union League, the Illinois Drug EnforcementOfficers Association, the Illinois Chiefs of Police Association, the Illinois chapter of AARP, and theIllinois State Farm Bureau.
Recently, Cross sponsored and was the chief architect behind thenew "Ethics Law" in Illinois. This law, widely seen as the mostcomprehensive ethics measure in the United States, was theculmination of over 2 years of work within the House RepublicanCaucus. Leader Cross lead the way with discussions on ways tochange the way government is conducted in Illinois and to restorethe public's trust in its elected officials.
Cross lead the initiative and was committed to working on a plan toensure that state government is run at the highest level of honor, integrity and principle. The bill wassigned into law in December of 2003.
In addition to this legislation, Cross has spearheaded efforts to require members to participate in ethicstraining, completely separate political and legislative operations and hire the caucus' own ethics officerto answer any ethics questions that House Republicans may have.
At the local level, Tom has been commended by the Will Grundy Medical Society, the Will andKendall Farm Bureaus, Senior Services, the Oswego School District, the Plainfield Park District, andthe Fox Valley YMCA, as well as other local community and civic groups.
Tom has been especially active in legislative efforts affecting his major concerns: crime, families,seniors, agriculture, and government accountability. He maintains an active district office andencourages his constituents to call or drop by whenever they need assistance or just want to make acomment.
Tom's election as Republican Leader for the Illinois House gives him an opportunity to bring hiscollegial style to the forefront. He believes that all members should be part of the decision-makingprocess. He is confident that the group as a whole can create better ideas than one person alone. Healso is convinced that restoring confidence in government officials should be a top priority for allelected officials.
Tom has been active in his community, serving in the past on boards for the YMCA, Rush CopleyMedical Center, Kendall County Mental Health Board, and the Kendall County Foundation. Hebelongs to the Plainfield, Shorewood, and Oswego Chambers of Commerce and the Oswego OptimistClub.
He and his wife, the former Genie Hovater, live in Oswego with their two children. They belong to theOswego Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist.
