Larry Rogers | |
|---|---|
 Rogers at a Cook County Board of Review meeting | |
| Member of theCook County Board of Review from the 3rd district | |
| Assumed office December 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Shaw |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1967 or 1968 (age 57–58) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | University of California, Davis (BS) Illinois Institute of Technology (JD) |
Larry R. Rogers Jr. (born 1967/1968)[1] is an American lawyer and politician currently serving as commissioner ofCook County Board of Review from the3rd district since 2004.
Rogers is the son of lawyer Larry R. Rogers Sr.[2] He was raised by his divorced mother, Judith, inCalifornia.[1][3]
Rogers graduated from theUniversity of California, Davis in 1990 with aBachelor of Science inmanagerial economics.[3] He graduated fromChicago-Kent College of Law with hisJuris Doctor in January 1994.[3] While at Chicago-Kent, he received American Jurisprudence Academy Award for Trial Advocacy in 1993.[4] Rogers was admitted to theIllinois Bar on May 5, 1994.[3]
After joining the Illinois Bar, Rogers joined theChicago firm of Power Rogers & Smith, becoming atrial lawyer focused onpersonal injury law.[1][3]
An early success for Rogers came when he volunteered to assist Joseph Power to try the Willis case, which saw a $100 millionwrongful death verdict for the loss of six siblings of the Willis family that were killed in aWisconsin crash. It was reported to be the largest single-family settlement in United States History. The crash in question would lead to a federal investigation that discovered a scheme inside then-Illinois Secretary of StateGeorge Ryan's office in which unqualified truck drivers were given licenses in exchange forbribes. The investigation culminated in George Ryan going to prison.[1][4][5]
Rogers has won numerous multimillion dollar jury awards and settlements.[4] Notable cases which Rogers has tried included a case in which Rogers won $5 million for the estate of an individual killed by a 2004Metra train crash and a 2007medical malpractice lawsuit against theMichael Reese Hospital in which he won $7 million.[1] He has also won settlements fromAmerican Airlines, theChicago Park District, andCook County Hospital among other defendants.[4]
Rogers is now an equitypartner at Power Rogers & Smith.[1][3] His own father is a founding and title partner at the firm.[1][2][6]
Since 2005, Rogers has been recognized as an Illinois Super Lawyer.[3] He hs also received recognition on Leading Lawyers Magazine's list of "top 100 lawyers".[3]
From 2004 to 2005, Rogers served as president of the Cook CountyBar Association, which is the United States' oldest association ofAfrican American lawyers in the country.[3][7] He continues to be an active board member of the association.[3][8]
Rogers has been involved in the American Association for Justice,American Trial Lawyers Association, Association for Professional Development in the African American Community, Illinois State Bar Association, Trial Lawyers for Public Justice.[3][7]
Rogers served as chairperson of the Young Leadership Division of theNational Bar Association from 2001 to 2002.[7] He served as vice chairperson and coordinating counsel of minority fairs for the Chicago Bar Association from 1998 to 1999, and as chairperson of its Young Lawyers Division in 1998.[7]
Rogers was invited to be a member of theInner Circle of Advocates, a 100 member invitation-only group of trial lawyers from across the United States.[3]
On June 5, 2020, Rogers became the president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.[3] He is the association's 67th president.[3] He had been a member of the association since 1993, and had previously served on its board of managers as well as its executive committee.[3] He is only the second African American president of the association, with the first having been his own father, who served as president from 2000 to 2001.[9]
In2004, Rogers challenged incumbentRobert Shaw in the Democratic primary for his3rd district seat on theCook County Board of Review. Rogers, a political novice and first time candidate, had been recruited byJames Meeks andJesse Jackson Jr. to oust Shaw, a political rival of Jackson's.[4] Despite having been considered a political newcomer,[10] Rogers won the Democratic primary, and won the general election, unopposed.
Rogers would win reelection in2008,2012,2014, and2018. With the exception of 2008, he was unopposed in all of these years.
In his first two years on the board, many reforms he proposed were blocked by its other two members, DemocratJoseph Berrios and RepublicanMaureen Murphy. In2006, Rogers supported DemocratBrendan Houlihan's ultimately successful bid to unseat Murphy in her Republican-leaning district.[11]
In August 2010,Chicago magazine made public that documents reveal that Rogers and Houlihan had expressed concern in May 2009 about how Berrios' staff had been processing tax appeals championedPaul Froehlich.[12]
In 2016, an ethics probe was launched to investigate whether Rogers had profited when his law firm sued the county government, which would be in violation of provisions in the county code.[13][14]
In August of 2018,Chicago Tribune exposed that Larry Rogers had taken excessive campaign contributions. The Cook County Ethics Board fined Rogers and demanded that he return $44,800.[15]
In2011, some had urged Rogers to run for mayor, but he ultimately declined to.[1] However, he initially considered running.[16] In October 2010, the Chicago Coalition for Mayor, seeking to find a "consensus" black candidate for mayor, named him andCarol Moseley Braun as the finalists in its search.[17]
From 1997 to 1999, Rogers served on the board of directors of the Robert TaylorBoys & Girls Club of Chicago.[3] He served on the board of directors of Windows of Opportunity from 1998 through 2000, and was elected to serve as the chairperson of its auxiliary board of directors from 1996 to 2000.[3] He served on the board of directors of the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education from 1999 to 2001.[3]
Rogers has been involved in theRainbow/PUSH Coalition and theNAACP.[3]
He has served on the board of trustees for Providence St. Mel School since 2003.[3]
Rogers and his wife Rolanda have four children, son Dominique and daughters Erin, Jordan and Sydney.[18]
At the time he was first elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners, Rogers and his family lived in theHyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.[10]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Larry R. Rogers, Jr. | 148,987 | 50.18 | |
| Democratic | Robert Shaw (incumbent) | 147,900 | 49.81 | |
| Total votes | 296,887 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Larry R. Rogers, Jr. | 518,543 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 518,543 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Larry R. Rogers, Jr. (incumbent) | 323,842 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 323,842 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Larry R. Rogers, Jr. (incumbent) | 573,194 | 88.69 | |
| Republican | Lionel Garcia | 49,680 | 7.69 | |
| Green | Antonne "Tony" Cox | 23,455 | 3.63 | |
| Total votes | 646,329 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Larry Rogers, Jr. (incumbent) | 170,821 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 170,821 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Larry Rogers, Jr. (incumbent) | 584,624 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 584,624 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Larry Rogers, Jr. (incumbent) | 109,750 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 109,750 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Larry Rogers, Jr. (incumbent) | 386,382 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 386,382 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Larry Rogers, Jr. (incumbent) | 228,367 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 228,367 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Larry Rogers, Jr. (incumbent) | 480,701 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 480,701 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Larry Rogers, Jr. (incumbent) | 160,923 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 160,923 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Larry Rogers Jr. (incumbent) | 375,518 | 100 | |
| Total votes | 375,518 | 100 | ||