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La Shawn K. Ford is a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 8th District since 2007. He is currently a real estate entrepreneur, founder of Ford Desired Real Estate. Born to an unwed teenage mother in the Cabrini-Green housing projects in Chicago, never knowing his father, and adopted by his grandmother at birth, La Shawn K. Ford started his life with few material advantages. Growing up in the Austin and Englewood communities in Chicago, he attended Catholic elementary and high schools by the hard work, tenacity and love of a supportive family and community. Ford learned the value of hard work and made money for his family by shoveling snow, mowing lawns, collecting bottles and cans for recycling, and stocking produce in the local grocery store. Being a good student, Ford became the first in his family to attend a four-year college when he entered Niles College Seminary and then Loyola University Chicago, where he played on the basketball team and earned a Bachelor of Science in Education with a minor in Political Science. For six years, Ford taught elementary school social studies and coached basketball in the Chicago Public Schools. As a licensed Real Estate Broker, he founded his own real estate business, Ford Desired Real Estate. He is an Illinois Licensed Insurance Agent and continues to be licensed as a teacher. He is the proud father of his daughter, Tia. Because of his drive to increase social justice and address disparities in areas such as jobs, education, health, increasing opportunities for ex-offenders, small business development and housing, Ford ran for state representative, but lost in 1998 and 2000. However, Ford remained persistent, and was elected in 2006. He was re-elected in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014. Representing a diverse district, which includes the West Side of Chicago and the western suburbs, Ford has seized the opportunity to work hard on issues for all of Illinois. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2012. A common theme in Ford’s work is working for social justice, and in the 96th General Assembly Ford authored and passed House Resolution 468 with bipartisan sponsorship urging that social justice be the guiding principle in decision-making in the House of Representatives. Currently Chairman of the Small Business Empowerment & Workforce Development and Restorative Justice Committees, Ford has had significant success passing legislation which has become law in Illinois in areas as diverse as: Creation of the African American Employment Plan Act; Expansion of sealing of criminal records for certain Class 3 and 4 non-violent offenses; Expansion of HIV screening; Protecting the privacy of students who have HIV; Helping people use their LINK cards at farmers’ markets; Lowering the compulsory school age to 6 years; Established a micro-loan program for qualified ex-offenders who are establishing their own businesses; Made law that not less than 10% of state contracts be awarded to small businesses; Established the Small Business Empowerment & Workforce Development Task Force; Established the Violence Prevention Task Force; Established Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act; Established Right to Privacy in the School Setting Act; Established the Council on Responsible Fatherhood; and passing a Resolution urging Congress to amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to make all its provisions permanent, among many others. Ford’s State Employment Application Act (Ban the Box) passed both Houses in a previous General Assembly, and the intent of the law has been established by the governor by Administrative Order. Rep. Ford’s office sends out job listings daily to thousands of people. He has received several awards, including Archdiocese of Chicago “Christifideles” and “Augustus Tolton” awards; Safer Foundation Carre Visionary Award; Illinois Farm Bureau Activator Friend of Agriculture award; One of Chicago’s Top 40 Game Changers by the Urban Business Roundtable; and Small Business Advocate Award by Small Business Advocacy Council. He is the founding Committee Chairman of Illinois State Troop 606 of the Boy Scouts for boys on the West Side of Chicago. In 2014, Ford was elected Community Representative on the Local School Council (LSC) of George Rogers Clark Elementary School. He serves on many Boards of Directors, including Austin Chamber of Commerce, Advisory Board for a Children’s Museum in Austin, Loretto Hospital, Fathers Who Care, Peace Corner, External Advisory Board for Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children, and the Governing Board of West Suburban Medical Center. On November 29, 2012, Ford was indicted on charges of bank fraud alleging he provided misleading evidence to obtain a $500,000 extension on a line of credit. The charges state he used the money for personal expenses rather than rehabilitating an owned property, as stated in the loan documentation. On August 4, 2014, all 17 felony counts of bank fraud and false information against Ford were dropped by federal prosecutors in exchange for his pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor income tax charge, and Ford's trial was removed from the federal docket. ==Campaign contributions== In the past decade, Representative Ford has received $16,350 in campaign contributions from labor unions. This sum includes:〔("Candidate Summary - La Shawn K. Ford" ), National Institute on Money in State Politics, 2 Dec 2012〕 * $3,000 from AFL-CIO * $2,650 from AFSCME * $200 from Illinois Education Association * $2,500 from the Illinois Federation of Teachers * $7,000 from the Chicago Teachers Union * $1,000 from Service Employees International Union 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「La Shawn K. Ford」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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