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| Affiliation | Independent |
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| Name | Lawrence J. Morrissey |
| Address |
Rockford, Illinois , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | [Link] |
| Born |
September 04, 1969
(54 years)
|
| Contributor | ev |
| Last Modifed | ev
Jan 14, 2015 01:54pm |
| Tags |
Caucasian - Married - Catholic - Straight -
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| Info | Lawrence J. Morrissey was elected Mayor of Rockford on April 5, 2005 at the age of 35. Morrissey's course to the Mayor's office followed an unconventional path. He ran and was elected as an independent candidate. Morrissey held no political office prior to the Mayor's office, but he had been active in numerous grass-roots organizations and neighborhood groups.
Born and raised in Rockford's northeast side, Morrissey is the son of Joseph A. Morrissey and Josephine (Matranga) Morrissey. Mayor Morrissey's mother, Josephine, has been a life-long Rockford resident. She and Mayor Morrissey's father spent the first 9 years of their marriage living on Rockford's Southwest side and moved to the Northeast side shortly before Mayor Morrissey was born.
Mayor Morrissey grew up on Rockford's Northeast side with his brother, Bill, and sister, Eileen, and he graduated from Boylan Catholic High School in 1987, where he finished in the top 10 of his class. He went on to graduate from the University of Notre Dame, Magna Cum Laude, in 1991, and he received his law degree Cum Laude from the University of Illinois in 1995.
Morrissey began his legal career in Chicago where he practiced civil litigation. He returned to Rockford in the summer of 1997 to practice in the family firm, Morrissey Law Offices. Shortly after returning to Rockford, Mayor Morrissey became involved in numerous community activities. He was president of the Downtown River District organization and a member of the Southwest Rockford neighborhood group, SWIFTT. Mayor Morrissey also was a charter member of a grass-roots transportation advocacy group, the Greater Rockford Transportation Coalition, where he has advocated for smart-growth transportation solutions including bringing passenger rail service back to Rockford. Morrissey was also a past board member of the Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce, the Rockford Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau, and the Goodwill Industries/Abilities Center. Mayor Morrissey was also appointed as a founding member of the Winnebago County Crime and Public Safety Commission.
Prior to becoming Mayor, Morrissey's professional career involved practicing law in the area of civil litigation and leading his family's urban real estate development efforts. He is professionally licensed to practice law in both State and Federal courts in the State of Illinois and he has been a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois Bar Association, Congress for the New Urbanism, the International Council of Shopping Centers, and the Midwest High Speed Rail Coalition.
Morrissey was unsuccessful in his first bid for Mayor in 2001, but that campaign was a foundation for his successful campaign in 2005 where he captured eleven of fourteen wards and won by a decisive 14-point margin. Mayor Morrissey's agenda for the City of Rockford includes a strong emphasis on job creation through improving Rockford's education system, improving public safety, and making core investments in Rockford's infrastructure; what he refers to as the three R's: roads, rail, and riverfront development. Mayor Morrissey has an aggressive and inclusive leadership style, working through neighborhood groups and inviting public participation to improve the City of Rockford.
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