David Koehler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theIllinois Senate from the 46th district | |
| Assumed office December 3, 2006 (2006-12-03) | |
| Preceded by | George Shadid |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1948-12-16)December 16, 1948 (age 76) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Nora Sullivan |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence(s) | Peoria, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Yankton College (BA) United Theological Seminary (MDiv) |
| Profession | Minister (retired) |
David Koehler (born December 16, 1948) is aDemocratic politician from Illinois, and has been theIllinois State Senator from 46th Legislative District since December 2006. The district includes parts ofPeoria,Tazewell,Woodford, andMcLean Counties.
Koehler was born and raised inSouth Dakota. He graduated fromYankton College in South Dakota (Bachelor of Arts, 1971) andUnited Theological Seminary inDayton, Ohio (Master of Divinity).[1]
He was a staff member at the National Farm Worker Ministry (NFWM) from 1972 to 1978 working in Arizona, Ohio, New York, and eventually at theUnited Farm Workers La Paz headquarters in Keene, California.[1][2]
He moved toPeoria, Illinois in 1978,[2] and became a community organizer[clarification needed] manager and for the Peoria Friendship House, a local charity. He became executive director of the Peoria Area Labor Management Council (PALM) in 1985, and president of its Labor Management Cooperative Health Programs in 1992.[1][2]
His wife is Nora Sullivan.[1] They live in Peoria,[2] and started Peoria Bread Company, abakery, in 2006.[3]
Koehler is a retired minister in theUnited Church of Christ.[4]
Koehler was on thePeoria County Board from 1982 to 1988, andPeoria City Council from 1989 to 1997.[1][5] While on the city council, he was mayorpro tem for two years.[2]
Koehler was elected to theIllinois Senate in November 2006; his predecessor,George Shadid, retired in December 2006, allowing Koehler to take office in on December 3, 2006.[6][2] He was re-electeduncontested in 2010.[7][8]
In early 2010, Koehler and other lawmakers called for the elimination of the position ofIllinois Lieutenant Governor.[7] After candidateScott Lee Cohen, the Democratic primary winner for Lieutenant Governor, dropped out, Koehler applied to be considered for that seat as running mate in GovernorPat Quinn's first election campaign after succeeding to the governorship.[7][9]Sheila Simon was selected by the Democratic State Central Committee instead,[10] and won the election.
During the96th Illinois General Assembly, Koehler was thechair of the Local Government Committee and of the Subcommittee on Fertilizers and Chemicals (of the Agriculture and Conservation Committee).[11] He is also Vice-Chair of the Energy Committee.[12] In the97th General Assembly, he was once again chair of the Local Government Committee and chair of vice-chair of the Energy Committee.[5]
Saying he had a good team and was pleased by the results, Sen. Koehler defeated his Republican opponent for a second four-year term in the Nov. 2012 general election, Peoria-area businessman and developer Pat Sullivan, by a margin of 39,149 to 31,684 — or a 55 percent to 45 percent margin, with Tazewell County unable to provide complete results late Tuesday. His priorities are pension reform and tax code changes, civil unions, passing of concealed carry, and containing the budget and a backlog of unpaid bills.[13]
Koehler was reelected to a fourth term in 2016. In 2018,J. B. Pritzker appointed Koehler to Powering Illinois’ Future transition committee, which is responsible for infrastructure and clean energy policies.[14] He defeatedMary Burress in the 2020 general election, winning a fifth term in the Illinois State Senate.[15]
As of July 2022, Senator Koehler is a member of the following Illinois Senate committee:[16]
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Dave Koehler | 32,873 | 58.61% | Ernie Russell | 23,209 | 41.39% | |||
| 2010 | Dave Koehler | 43,474 | 100% | no candidate | |||||
| 2012 | Dave Koehler | 45,054 | 54.18% | Pat Sullivan | 38,104 | 45.82% | |||
| 2016 | Dave Koehler | 70,854 | 100% | no candidate | |||||
| 2020 | Dave Koehler | 47,492 | 53.89% | Mary Burress | 40,634 | 46.11% | |||
| 2022 | Dave Koehler | 38,672 | 58.07% | Desi Anderson | 27,924 | 41.93% |
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