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Hynes, Dan

CANDIDATE DETAILS

Affiliation


<-	2009-01-01

Name

Dan Hynes

Address

2020 W. Bradley Pl
Chicago, Illinois , United States

None

Website

http://www.danhynes.com/

Born

July 20, 1968 (55 years)

Contributor

ArmyDem

Last Modifed

RBH
Dec 29, 2012 07:16pm

Tags

Caucasian - Irish - Straight -

Info

In the Chicago neighborhood of Beverly, Daniel W. Hynes was born in 1968. Hynes is the grandson of Irish immigrants who came over from Ireland because the farms of the Irish countryside were no longer enough to provide for a family.

Hynes' grandfather worked at the Dearborn Chemical Plant for forty years to provide for his five sons, including Hynes' father, Thomas. It was then that the Hynes family learned about the American dream. His grandfather was able to raise a family and send his children to college, all of them have done the same for their children. Hynes' father was a public servant in Illinois for many years and for many years his mother, a former school teacher, has owned a small business in Beverly.

When he was first elected in 1998, Hynes became the youngest constitutional officer since World War II. The Chicago Tribune called him one of the most impressive members of a new generation of Democrats coming to prominence in the state.

When he came into office, he did so with the idea that the Comptroller's office could do more than write the state's checks; he rewrote his job description and used his office to advocate for consumers and taxpayers.

Before Hynes assumed office, the state was living beyond its means and using budgetary gimmicks to spend money it did not have. Hynes spoke out on the need for long-term fiscal reform, and major newspapers throughout the state have credited him for being a leading voice for reform in Illinois. Hynes knew that when the state is in poor fiscal health, jobs are eliminated, taxes are raised and services are cut.

As the State Comptroller, Hynes engineered the creation of a Rainy Day Fund, designed to force the state to set money aside so that in an economic downturn, Illinois can provide needed services. When Hynes initiated the project, Illinois was just one of five states in the country without such a fund.

Recently, Governor Blagojevich signed Hynes' Truth-in Budgeting bill, which for the first time in state history, requires the state to recognize and pay all of its liabilities thus enabling more prudent fiscal planning.

Hynes cracked down on corporate corruption in Illinois crafting and successfully advocating for legislation that prohibits deadbeat corporations who owe the state money or are cooking their books from getting state contracts.

In addition, at a time when the state had a budget shortfall, Hynes froze pork barrel spending to push the state to spend money on needed programs like education and health care.

Hynes became the first constitutional officer in Illinois to issue an executive order to enforce prevailing wage laws. After hearing stories in town after town about how working men and women were not paid the prevailing wage, Hynes used his office to change the way business was done in Illinois. The executive order ensures that the prevailing wage rate will be paid and enforced on state-funded projects. To enforce his order, Hynes created the first-ever Prevailing Wage Officer in his office.

Hynes' office also regulates private cemeteries and funeral homes. After holding statewide hearings and receiving input from hundreds of citizens, Hynes spearheaded bi-partisan passage of the most sweeping consumer protection reforms of those industries in 25 years.

In addition, Hynes has toured college campuses statewide to warn against the dangers of excessive credit card use.

Hynes has re-energized the Local Government Division of his office. Under his administration, local government financial reporting compliance has increased from 65 percent to 95 percent. In addition, his office has provided statewide training and assistance to thousands of local government officials, leading several townships to rebate more than $1 million to taxpayers. During his tenure, Hynes has expanded the state's commercial direct deposit program, encouraging state vendors to receive their payments electronically thereby saving money and increasing efficiency.

In 2002, Hynes was re-elected State Comptroller by garnering more than 2 million votes. He won 88 of 102 counties and earned the endorsement of every major newspaper in the state. Before taking office, Hynes was a health care attorney for a Chicago law firm. He married Christina Kerger, M.D., in June of 1999. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Economics, and earned a law degree with Honors from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

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