Jim Dodge Breakfast

Jim Dodge

Jim is rare combination of private sector executive with decades of elected public service. 

In 1989, at age 26, Jim became the youngest elected official in Orland Park history when he defeated a 14-year Democrat incumbent village clerk who all local pundits thought was unbeatable. Jim was re-elected in 1993 with 71% of the vote and in 1996 was appointed trustee to fill a vacancy. He would later be selected by his peers to be Mayor pro Tem.

Earlier in life, Jim learned discipline and teamwork as a Sergeant in the Illinois Army National Guard, serving in two units, the 178th Infantry Regiment and the 44th RAOC.

As a member of the Orland Park Board of Trustees, Jim Dodge has been a leader in one of the fastest growing and economically vibrant communities in Illinois.

His simultaneous 30 years of both private sector and public sector experience make Jim uniquely qualified to be Illinois State Treasurer. He knows how to grow a local economy, and he has experienced the first hand, negative effects that tax increases and burdensome regulations have on jobs and economic growth.

Jim grew up on the southwest side of Chicago, in the Brighton Park neighborhood. He graduated from Kelly High School in 1980 and then worked his way through DePaul while working at the local White Castle.

Jim is married and has two children.