Napoleon Harris Represents Chicago’S 9Th Ward and Cites As a Role Model Harold Washington, Who in 1983 Was the First African American to Be Elected Mayor of the City
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Our occasional series profiling legislators Backstories and their personal journeys to the statehouse Illinois Senator Napoleon Harris represents Chicago’s 9th Ward and cites as a role model Harold Washington, who in 1983 was the first African American to be elected mayor of the city. Courtesy Napoleon Harris ILLINOIS continues to focus on “enacting legislation was a first-round draft pick of the Oakland that helps communities grow, change and Raiders and went on to play seven seasons Napoleon Harris get stronger.” at linebacker for the Raiders, the Minne- Harris, 39, grew up in the hardscrabble sota Vikings and the Kansas City Chiefs. Napoleon Harris cherishes his role as towns of Dixmoor and Harvey—both are Throughout his playing career he always the legislative voice of Chicago’s 9th Ward just south of Chicago—where his mother, found time to return to Harvey—working and the demographically diverse string of a hair stylist, struggled to make ends meet out at his old high school, spending time small cities and townships to the south- after his father died. An honor student and with neighborhood kids and opening a west, in which he has deep roots. standout athlete in high school, Harris had pair of Beggars Pizza restaurants, along “This south-suburban area is a hidden scholarship offers from all over the coun- with a summer job-training program. gem that a guy like myself, with help from try but chose Northwestern University for After Harris retired from professional others, can turn around,” he says. Elected its highly rated communications pro- football in 2009, he and his wife, Nicole, without opposition to his third term in gram—plus its proximity to his family. a nurse, decided to put down roots in his the Illinois Senate in 2018, Harris says he Following his senior year in 2002, Harris hometown. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 | STATE LEGISLATURES | 27 “I’ve never been in favor of term limits. … Besides, I’m not ready to retire.” Harris says that, growing up, he found a ing in the [General] Assembly for the next strong role model in Harold Washington, 30 years. I’m looking at making way for the who in 1983 was the first African Ameri- next generation of leaders. New people can to be elected mayor of Chicago. “He and new ideas are essential.” was commanding, intelligent, illuminat- ing—a man of real quality who did so —Suzanne Weiss much for people,” Harris says. “I looked at him and thought, if he can do it, so can I.” In 2012, Harris, a Democrat, was MISSOURI elected to an open seat in the Illinois Sen- ate. Among the first bills he successfully Wayne sponsored was one providing new protec- tions for high school athletes, including concussion protocols, and catastrophic Wallingford accident insurance for students injured As a newly elected member of the Mis- during high school athletic events. souri General Assembly, Wayne Wall- Over the years, he has played a key role ingford was asked which committees he in advancing legislation on urban flood- wanted to serve on. “‘All of ’em,’ I said, and ing, K-12 school disciplinary policies and I was only half-joking,” he recalls. community banks. He chairs the Sen- Nine years later, Wallingford’s appetite ate Agriculture Committee and serves for the nuts and bolts of legislative work— on committees handling commerce and digging into issues, holding hearings, in- economic development, telecommu- troducing bills, moving them forward—re- Wikipedia nications, insurance and pensions, and mains undiminished. Harris during his playing days with the Kansas City transportation. Indeed, rather than giving it all up next Chiefs, in 2008. Harris says his biggest frustration is year, when he is term-limited out of the “not being able to get things done quickly, Senate, he’s decided to restart the clock by “YOU KNOW, IN FOOTBALL, mostly because of partisan politics. You running for what will be an open House know, in football, it’s X’s and O’s, every- seat in his southeast Missouri district. IT’S X’S AND O’S, EVERYTHING’S thing’s accounted for, and you can see the “I’ve never been in favor of term limits. fruits of your labor. The nature of politics You just lose so much when people are ACCOUNTED FOR, AND YOU is different—everything takes longer. So I forced to move on—knowledge, experi- ence, institutional memory, the relation- CAN SEE THE FRUITS OF YOUR put a lot of focus on getting people to talk to one another.” ships you’ve built up,” says Wallingford, a LABOR. THE NATURE OF He is particularly proud of having spon- Republican who over the course of his life sored a recently enacted requirement that has been a career Air Force officer, a col- POLITICS IS DIFFERENT— all public postsecondary institutions in lege professor and a corporate executive. the state offer a course in African Ameri- “Besides, I’m not ready to retire.” EVERYTHING TAKES LONGER.” can history. “Education is the only way we A native of Geneva, Ill., Wallingford, can combat negative stereotypes seen on earned a bachelor’s degree in business Senator Napoleon Harris, Illinois the news, social media and in movies,” he and completed an officer-training pro- says. “It should be a priority for our uni- gram at the University of Nebraska. In versities to offer a course that teaches stu- 1970, he was sent to Thailand for what dents about our culture and the contribu- would be the first of five deployments tions we’ve made to society.” during the Vietnam War, serving as a In 2016, Harris made an unsuccessful navigator aboard the B-52 Stratofortress, run for the Democratic nomination for a long-range strategic bomber, for more the U.S. Senate seat that Tammy Duck- than 300 missions. worth went on to win. Will he run again On one of the last of those missions, for higher office? “It’s always a possibility, his plane was hit by antiaircraft flak and if the opportunity presents itself,” he says. limped back to base with nearly 700 holes “I do know that I don’t see myself stay- in the fuselage. “The plane got the Purple 28 | STATE LEGISLATURES | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 “I’ve never been in favor of term limits. … Besides, I’m not ready to retire.” “I’VE NEVER BEEN IN FAVOR OF TERM LIMITS. YOU JUST LOSE SO MUCH WHEN PEOPLE ARE FORCED TO MOVE ON— KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, INSTITUTIONAL MEMORY ... BESIDES, I’M NOT READY TO RETIRE.” Senator Wayne Wallingford, Missouri Courtesy Wayne Wallingford; below, Wikipedia Above, Wallingford with his wife, Susan. Below, Wallingford, a career Air Force officer, served as a navigator on a B-52 Stratofortress, like this one, for more than 300 missions during the Vietnam War. Heart. The crew members didn’t. I liked it that way,” he says. In 1985 he was offered a position as professor of aerospace science at South- east Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, a picturesque Mississippi River town where he and his family decided to settle down. In 1990, Wallingford returned to com- bat, serving six tours as an intelligence officer in Iraq during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He retired in 1993 at the rank of lieutenant colonel, having earned 47 medals, including the Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross. For most of his life, Wallingford says, he had only a passing interest in politics. But a business acquaintance’s suggestion that fore running for—and winning—an open tice reform to transportation to public em- he think about running for office piqued Senate seat. ployee retirement funding. He currently his interest. In 2010, Wallingford was Wallingford has racked up a solid legis- chairs the Commerce, Consumer Protec- elected to the Missouri House of Repre- lative record, successfully sponsoring ma- tion, Energy and Environment Committee, sentatives, where he served one term be- jor bills in areas ranging from juvenile jus- serves on four other standing committees NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 | STATE LEGISLATURES | 29 Courtesy Robert Lee Dickey Robert Lee Dickey, from left, his son, Lee, and his father, Robert “Mr. Bob” Dickey, enjoying the fruit of their labor—Dickey Farms peaches. and several study panels, and in 2018 was Girardeau city councilman. “It’s not going Southeastern Farmer of the Year Award. elected assistant majority floor leader. to be easy, I know,” he says. “But that’s He describes serving in the state House Three of his biggest victories have come OK—I’m up for it.” of Representatives for the past eight years in the last two legislative sessions: a $100 as “one of the most rewarding experiences million road and bridge reconstruction —Suzanne Weiss of my life.” His legislative work in areas package, a bill raising the age of those con- ranging from early-childhood education sidered adult offenders from 17 to 18 and to rural economic development has given the establishment of a state funding mech- GEORGIA him the opportunity to “help make Geor- anism for 911 emergency services—which gia a better place to live—and you can’t Missouri was the only state in the nation beat that.” not to have done over the years. Robert Lee Agriculture, politics and public service At 73, Wallingford shows no signs of are in Dickey’s blood. His great-grandfa- slowing down. In addition to his legisla- Dickey ther—who began cultivating peaches in tive duties, he is the “chief people officer” Legislating is a lot like farming, says the heavy clay soil of central Georgia in (aka HR director) for McDonald’s south- Robert Lee Dickey III, who knows a 1897—served in the state legislature, as east Missouri operations and serves on thing or two about both.