Dale Righter
Dale A. Righter (born August 23, 1966) was a Republican member of the Illinois State Senate, representing District 55. He was first elected to the chamber in 2002 and left office in 2021. He previously served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1997 to 2003.
Biography
Righter earned his bachelor's degree in accounting from Eastern Illinois University in 1988, and his J.D. from St. Louis University in 1991. His professional experience includes working as an attorney and part-time college instructor.[1]
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Righter was assigned to the following committees:
- Appropriations II Committee
- Appropriations I Committee
- Committee of the Whole
- Executive Appointments Committee
- Senate Executive Committee
- Senate Human Services Committee
- Senate Insurance Committee
- Assignments Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Appropriations I |
| • Appropriations II |
| • Assignments |
| • Committee of the Whole |
| • Executive Appointments |
| • Human Services |
| • Veterans Affairs |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Righter served on the following committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Appropriations II |
| • Assignments |
| • Criminal Law |
| • Environment and Conservation |
| • Human Services |
| • Revenue |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Righter served on the following committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Appropriations I |
| • Committee of the Whole |
| • Criminal Law |
| • Executive |
| • Judiciary |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Righter served on these committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Assignments |
| • Committee of the Whole |
| • Energy |
| • Executive, Ranking Minority Member |
| • Executive Appointments |
| • Redistricting, Ranking Minority Member |
| • State Government & Veterans Affairs |
| • Administrative Rules |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Righter served on these committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Executive |
| • Executive Appointments |
| • Higher Education |
| • Judiciary |
| • Public Health |
| • Administrative Rules |
Issues
Senator Righter has worked to expand the Illinois Freedom of Information Act for increased government accountability, advocated for the greater use of ethanol and other renewable fuels, and worked to legislate better newborn screening to take advantage of increased medical technology.[1]
Medicaid
The Illinois Senate approved a Medicaid measure projected to save $800 million during the next five years.
House Bill 5420 would move half of the state’s 2.8 million Medicaid participants into “coordinated” or managed care between 2011 and 2015. This is a far stretch from the 195,000 participants who now are assigned to a primary “medical home.”
Lawmakers had to tighten the $14 billion state-federal health care system in December and were still hashing out the details in early January 2011.
“This is probably not a bill that any one of us on this committee would write. But that’s the nature of compromise,” said State Sen. Heather Steans. “I think where we are and what we’re going to see, though, is something that really does put the state and our Medicaid system in a much better place down the line.”
In 2014, low-income single adults will be eligible to enroll for the federal option, so all states are slated with the task of working out their end of the details. State Sen. Righter said the proposal will return the “struggling” program to a safety net for the poor, instead of a catch-all for the potentially ineligible.
“It’s struggling for the people who need it the worst,” he said. “We’re talking about the people who are on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder, the people for whom access is a truly critical issue. The people who aren’t mobile. People who can’t drive two hours and take a day off because it’s not a big deal to make sure that their child can get to a medical provider.”[2]
Raising lawmaker salaries
In May 2011, Illinois Senate lawmakers entertained a bill, SB2467, which included an “additional amounts per year” for select lawmakers: committee chairmen and committee minority spokesmen and spokeswomen. Sen. Dan Kotowski sponsored the measure.
The lump-sum appropriations in the proposal would increase pay for Senate committee chiefs by 14 percent. House committee bosses would see a 47-percent jump in pay. The increases were on top of the base $67,836 annual salaries that all lawmakers earn. Committee and leadership posts bring extra pay. In other words, more taxpayers’ money would be funneled into extra pay for select lawmakers, said Righter.
“So there’s some games being played here,” said Righter, a member of the Senate Executive Committee. “And sometimes that’s the way things happen — like this — is because (Democrats) want to do it before anyone really sees it.”
However, Kotowski said this move would restore the public’s good faith and trust to the government.
“We’re basically changing the existing law, to require legislators to work 12 days without getting paid,” he said. “That’s very, very, important, and that’s going to lead to reduction in salaries across the board this year and a total of saving $1.2 million for taxpayers.”
Lawmakers do want the public to notice when they cut their own pay, Righter and Kotowski said.
“But not this, the increasing the stipend (proposal), because it kind of makes it look like, ‘OK you’re taking it out of your pocket over here, but you’re going to shove your other pocket full,’” Righter said. “That’s what it looks like, like the outset that they’re trying to do here.”[3]
Presidential preference
2012
Dale Righter endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[4]
Redistricting
During discussions about the redistricting process, Sen. Righter criticized a legislative maneuver referred as a shell bill. A shell bill is essentially a placeholder for latebreaking proposals. In May 2011, there was a chance the map would be placed in a shell bill and fast-tracked to a vote, possibly before the deadline at the end of the month.
"Putting shell bills in position like this is positioning the Democrat majority to be able to put a map out there, let it sit there for an hour, and blow it out of the General Assembly in less than a day," said Righter.[5]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2020
- See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2020
Dale Righter did not file to run for re-election.
2016
- See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Illinois State Senate were held in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was November 30, 2015.[6]
Incumbent Dale Righter ran unopposed in the Illinois State Senate District 55 general election.[7][8]
| Illinois State Senate, District 55 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican |  Dale Righter Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections | ||
Incumbent Dale Righter defeated Mike Parsons in the Illinois State Senate District 55 Republican primary.[9][10]
| Illinois State Senate, District 55 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Dale Righter Incumbent |
68.39% | 26,108 | |
| Republican | Mike Parsons | 31.61% | 12,067 | |
| Total Votes | 38,175 | |||
2012
- See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2012
Righter won election in the 2012 election for Illinois State Senate District 55. Righter was unopposed in the Republican primary on March 20 and was unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[11][12][13]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dale Righter Incumbent |
100% | 78,776 | |
| Total Votes | 78,776 | |||
2010
- See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2010
Righter won re-election to the 55th District Seat in the Illinois State Senate against Josh Weger.[14]
| Illinois State Senate, District 55 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Dale Righter (R)
|
51,569 | 71.87% | ||
| Josh Weger (D) | 20,189 | 28.13% | ||
The election took place on November 2, 2010. Righter ran unopposed in the Republican primary election on February 2nd.
2006
On November 7, 2006, Republican Dale Righter won re-election to the Illinois State Senate District 55. He ran unopposed receiving 57,705 votes.[15]
| Illinois State Senate, District 55 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Dale Righter (R)
|
57,705 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Illinois scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2020
In 2020, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 8 to May 23.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills that "help or hinder Illinois citizens with developmental disabilities access more included lives in their homes and communities."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2019, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 9 through December 31.
|
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2018, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 8 through May 31.
|
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2017, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 11 through May 31. There were also special sessions. The 1st special session was June 21-July 6. The 2nd special session was July 26-July 31. During the 3rd special session, the Senate met on August 13, and the House met on August 16. The 4th special session was on August 28-29. There was a veto session from October 24-November 9.
|
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 13 through May 31.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 14 through December 7 (extended session).
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 29 through June 2.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 9 through May 31.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2012, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 11 through May 31.
|
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Righter has two children.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for Dale + Righter + Illinois + Senate
See also
- Illinois State Senate
- Senate Committees
- Illinois State Legislature
- Illinois state legislative districts
External links
- Summary, biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Profile at Wikipedia
- Dale Righter on Facebook
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 IL State Senate Biography
- ↑ "Senate passes ‘bold’ Medicaid reform; measure heads to House," Illinois Statehouse News, January 5, 2011
- ↑ "Illinois lawmakers hush-hush about pay raise in the budget," Illinois Statehouse News, archived May 24, 2012
- ↑ Mitt Romney for President, "Mitt Romney Announces Support of Illinois Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno and Five State Senators," March 13, 2012
- ↑ "Dems on redistricting defensive," Illinois Statehouse News, May 22, 2011
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election and Campaign Finance Calendar," accessed November 30, 2015
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate list: General Election - 11/8/2016," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election results, General election 2016," accessed December 15, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate Filing Search," accessed January 3, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election Results: GENERAL PRIMARY - 3/15/2016," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate List," accessed December 5, 2011
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed May 14, 2014
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, “Official Vote - November 6, 2012 General Election,” accessed December 31, 2012
- ↑ Illinois Board of Elections, "2010 Illinois General Election Results," November 2, 2010
- ↑ Illinois Senate election results for 2006
- ↑ Citizen Action Illinois, "99th General Assembly Legislative Scorecard 2016," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ Illinois Parents of Adults with Developmental Disabilities, "2016 Illinois Community Living Report," accessed July 11, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
Illinois Senate District 55 2003–2021 |
Succeeded by Darren Bailey (R) |
