During a talk radio show early in his campaign for governor, state Sen. Bill Brady was so provocative on the topic of religion in the public schools that the show’s host called him back for more.
The Downstate Republican didn’t mince words.
School boards should be able to order science teachers to teach creationism as an alternative to the theory of evolution, he said. He had no objection if classroom prayers referred to Christian doctrine. In fact, he said, greater religious influence would be good for schools.
“Godly school prayer is important” to offer to students, Brady told talk show host Jim Leach of Springfield’s WMAY-AM. “Bringing God into the classroom through the principles of the Founding Fathers’ design is a good thing.”
The rhetoric wasn’t all that surprising, coming from a candidate who had recently opened a news conference in central Illinois with a prayer.
But word of his comments spread quickly through larger political circles, introducing Brady to a wider audience as an unapologetic social conservative with politics heavily influenced by his religious roots.
Combined with his pro-business voting record, that personal dogma could help Brady overcome his relative shortage of campaign cash. He is vying to win the hearts of the state’s most conservative leaders and their statewide grass-roots networks–and hoping they will help spread his name beyond his Downstate environs.
Brady, 44, has lived and worked in Bloomington all his life, and that is where he is best known.
He played football and wrestled for Central Catholic High School, and as a senior finished fourth in the 185-pound class of the state’s small-school wrestling tournament.
He graduated from Illinois Wesleyan, where he studied politics and economics, joined Sigma Chi fraternity and spent off-hours managing the family lumberyard. He and his wife, Nancy, have two children in college and one in 7th grade, all educated at the private Catholic schools Brady attended.
When Brady jumped into politics in the early 1990s, his last name was already well-known, thanks to his father’s local construction business. The familiarity helped him knock a veteran lawmaker out of his seat in the state House by eight votes and then win re-election three times.
But he fell short in a race for U.S. Congress in 2000, despite being the preferred candidate of U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). During that race, Brady fielded criticism for allowing others to cast House votes for him one day–a common practice among lawmakers when a colleague steps out of the chambers briefly. Brady says he made a mistake in failing to tell people he’d be gone all day and that he didn’t intend for others to cast his votes.
Despite losing his congressional bid, Brady made a comeback by winning a seat in the Illinois Senate in 2002 and winning re-election in 2004.
A 12-year legislator, Brady maintains a modest profile but has shown a willingness to buck leadership. He voted against former Republican Gov. George Ryan’s $12 billion Illinois FIRST program because he thought it was fiscally unwise. (He thought his vote might cost him pork-barrel projects, but he still ended up getting hundreds of thousands of dollars for local roads, a water line and a high school.)
He steadfastly supports conservative causes, including caps on lawsuit damages and tuition tax credits. He opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest.
Brady has proposed amending the state Constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Already maintaining an “A” average from the National Rifle Association, Brady is currently sponsoring a bill to eliminate the state requirement that people receive a state license before purchasing a firearm in Illinois. He devoutly opposes tax and fee increases.
Among supporters, Brady is seen as a heartfelt conservative.
“I like the fact that he is pro-family, pro-life,” said Sherry Farmer, a home schooling parent who attended a recent Brady event in Plainfield. “I do like someone who can say they believe.”
John Parrott Jr., former state chairman of the Christian Coalition, is backing Brady because he does more than talk a conservative game.
“He has a confirmed voting record,” said Parrott. “He’s tried and tested.”
Some of those votes have been tailor-made for his district, which is home to State Farm Insurance. The insurance industry is among his top campaign contributors, and Brady’s own family has an insurance agency.
As a leader on insurance committees, Brady said he has fought every mandate proposed for the industry. He has opposed measures requiring insurers to pay for contraceptives for women, breast cancer screening and longer hospital stays for postpartum mothers.
Colleagues told him those positions were politically unwise, but Brady said he votes that way because it is in keeping with his laissez-faire belief regarding regulation.
“I have a mother, a wife and a daughter. It’s not that I’m against health care for women,” he said. But “we need to make longer-term decisions, not what is going to play well in the press.”
When he’s not at the Statehouse, Brady enjoys hunting doves and pheasants. He says he doesn’t have the patience for deer hunting, joking that his “ADD kicks in” during the long waits that go along with it.
Meanwhile, Brady and his two younger brothers oversee the family enterprises. Among their 21 corporate entities, they have controlling interests in a hotel, an insurance agency, an Amish furniture company and two radio stations.
Their semi-professional football team, known as The Extreme, is set to play its first game in Bloomington in April.
Brady, who estimates his net worth at as much as $8 million, also contributes to the family’s philanthropic entity, the Brady Foundation.
Brady said he is merely a contributor, though records show he is the registered agent and on the original board of directors. A Tribune review showed donations to Catholic churches and other charitable causes, including fundraisers for Bloomington’s St. Joseph Medical Center and Holy Trinity Catholic Church.
Brady says his lifelong faith has a lot to do with his beliefs.
“First of all, I’m a Roman Catholic,” he said. “Some of the social views come from there.”
Beyond that, though, Brady said he relies on his business background to guide his political philosophy.
Said Brady, flashing his trademark camera-ready grin: “I’m a pure capitalist.”
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CANDIDATE PROFILE
Bill Brady
REPUBLICAN
Age: 44
Born in: Bloomington, Ill.
Lives in: Bloomington
Current position: Illinois senator representing the 44th District, first elected in 2002; businessman.
Previous position: Illinois House of Representatives, 1993-2001.
Personal: Married (Nancy) with three children, bachelor’s degree in finance, political science and economics from Illinois Wesleyan University.
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cparsons@tribune.com
rlong@tribune.com
