Gary Forby

Gary Forby

Democratic Party

Prior offices

Illinois State Senate District 59

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Contact

Personal website

Gary Forby is a former Democratic member of the Illinois State Senate, representing District 59 from 2003 to 2017. He was appointed to the chamber in 2003. He previously served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2001 to 2003.

Forby's professional experience includes working as an excavating contractor and farmer.

Committee assignments

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Forby served on the following committees:

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Forby served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Forby served on these committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Forby served on these committees:^[1]

Campaign themes

2012

Forby's website highlighted the following campaign themes:^[2]

• Putting Southern Illinois Back to Work

Excerpt: "Gary Forby has worked to balance the budget and improve the region’s economy by revitalizing the Southern Illinois coal industry. ...He continues that same pledge this year by fighting to keep open Tamms Correctional Center, which is facing the chance of closure under the Governor’s budget proposal."

• Bringing Money Back to Southern Illinois

Excerpt: "Gary Forby has worked closely with local mayors to bring taxpayer money back to communities in our District. He helped secure millions of dollars in state grants to replace water lines in Herrin, Benton, Carmi, Pope County, Shawneetown and Zeigler."

• Protecting Southern Illinois Values

Excerpt: "Gary Forby continues to lead the effort to bring concealed carry to Illinois, which would allow properly trained, law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons and defend themselves, and he fought to keep the names of FOID card holders private to ensure their safety."

Concealed carry

From State House News:

In May 2011, Gov. Pat Quinn announced that he would veto the concealed carry bill on which the Illinois Legislature had voted, if it landed on his desk. The bill would allow Illinois residents to carry concealed firearms in public.

That threat held little water because the bill had a lot of support and might win through a supermajority (71 votes in the House and 36 votes in the Senate) of votes from both chambers.

Rep. Brandon W. Phelps said he was trying to find enough support in the House to move the plan over to the Senate. Phelps said he wanted to call House Bill 148 for a vote on May 5, regardless of Quinn's opposition.

"I just think that (Quinn) is wrong," Phelps said. "And you agree to disagree. Sometimes people within your own party disagree with what they say. And I totally disagree with him today."

Under HB 148, Illinois residents 21 and older could apply for permits to carry concealed firearms in public, except for places like schools, churches and inside state government buildings. Applicants would need to pass a written exam, firearms training exercises and background checks.

"About two-thirds of the citizens of our state are steadfastly and strongly opposed to allow private citizens to carry loaded, concealed handguns in public places," Quinn said.

Sen. Gary Forby said the opponents of concealed carry mostly live in and around Chicago and that people downstate, and in other states, support the idea.

"I think all we are doing now, we are really helping the state of Illinois with what they got to do to get a license and stuff," Forby said. "So all you are going to do is put guns in peoples' good hands."

Quinn said the plan may lead to more violence.

"I don't think that's healthy, if you are going to the grocery store," Quinn said. "You bump into somebody accidentally, and they take offense, they can pull out a loaded, concealed handgun to assuage their anger."

Sen. Larry Bomke said the plan would deter violence, because potential burglars would less likely rob homeowners with guns.

"I can only hope that he changes his mind once the bill gets to his desk," Bomke said. "And I feel fairly confident it will. But it will be important that we have enough votes, a supermajority, to override his decision if he chooses to veto the bill."

Rep. Jason Barickman said lawmakers have been working carefully to craft the plan.

“At the end of the day, we certainly would appreciate the governor's support,” Barickman said. “But with him making it clear that he opposes this right, this constitutional right, this right that a mass number of people support. I think that we just have to continue lining up our legislative votes and push forward."

Rep. Norine Hammond hopes that's enough support.

“A lot of people have worked on this very hard — lots of law enforcement input,” she said. “I think it is a very strong bill. And hopefully we could get it passed," she said.

In the end though, Rep. Richard Morthland said it won’t matter what the governor chooses to do with the legislation if there are enough votes.

"There is a last minute roll call being taken just trying to figure out where people are, and how we are doing, and do we have exactly the number of votes we need, how close are we,“ Morthland said. “I think it looks good. Hopefully we will be able to move it this week."^[3]

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

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.^[4]

Dale Fowler defeated incumbent Gary Forby in the Illinois State Senate District 59 general election.^[5][6]

Illinois State Senate, District 59 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dale Fowler	55.15%	53,501
	Democratic	Gary Forby Incumbent	44.85%	43,503
Total Votes				97,004
Source: Illinois State Board of Elections

Incumbent Gary Forby ran unopposed in the Illinois State Senate District 59 Democratic primary.^[7][8]

Illinois State Senate, District 59 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Gary Forby Incumbent (unopposed)

Dale Fowler ran unopposed in the Illinois State Senate District 59 Republican primary.^[9][10]

Illinois State Senate, District 59 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Dale Fowler  (unopposed)

2012

See also: Illinois State Senate elections, 2012

Forby won election in the 2012 election for Illinois State Senate District 59. Forby defeated Fred Kondritz in the Democratic primary on March 20, 2012, and defeated Mark Minor (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Illinois State Senate, District 59, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Gary Forby Incumbent	59.1%	55,502
	Republican	Mark Minor	40.9%	38,435
Total Votes				93,937

Illinois State Senate, District 59 Democratic Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Gary Forby Incumbent	77.7%	12,700
Fred Kondritz	22.3%	3,636
Total Votes		16,336

2008

On November 4, 2008, Democrat Gary Forby won re-election to the Illinois State Senate District 59 receiving 49,552 votes, ahead of Republican Ken Burzynski (46,727 votes).^[15]

Illinois State Senate, District 59 (2008)
Candidates		Votes
Gary Forby (D)		49,552
Ken Burzynski (R)		46,727

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

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Illinois

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 editor@ballotpedia.org.

2017

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.

• Citizen Action Illinois

Legislators are scored on votes on bills that the organization believes show "dedication to social and economic justice as well as protecting Illinois’ consumers."

• Illinois Environmental Council

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.

• Illinois Parents of Adults with Developmental Disabilities

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."'

• Technology and Manufacturing Association

Legislators are scored on their votes on manufacturing issues.

• The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

Illinois Opportunity Project

See also: Illinois Opportunity Project's Legislative Vote Card (2012)

The Illinois Opportunity Project, "an independent research and public policy enterprise that promotes legislative solutions in advance of free markets and free minds," annually releases its Legislative Vote Card, grading all members in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly on the basis of their support of "pro-growth economic policies that increase personal freedom and reign in expansive government."^[18][19]

2012

Forby received a score of 62.50 out of 100 in 2012 for a grade of C- according to the IOP’s grading scale. His score was tied for the 24th highest among all 59 members of the Illinois State Senate included in the Vote Card.^[19]

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.

Forbes and his wife, Angie, have four children.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for Gary + Forby + Illinois + Senate

See also

• Illinois State Senate
• Senate Committees
• Illinois State Legislature
• Illinois state legislative districts

External links

Suggest a link

• Campaign website
• Biography, bills and committees at the Illinois General Assembly
• Profile from Open States

• Summary, biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Profile at Wikipedia
• Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000

Footnotes

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