Eric Leys
| Eric Scott Leys | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Member, Board of Education - Maine Township High School District 207 | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office November 12, 2001 |
|
| President, Board of Education - Maine Township High School District 207 | |
| In office April 11, 2005 – May 7, 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | Edward Mueller |
| Succeeded by | Joann Braam |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 7, 1979 Arlington Heights, Illinois, United States |
| Spouse(s) | none |
| Children | none |
| Residence | Des Plaines, Illinois |
| Religion | Protestant |
| Website | www.EricLeys.com |
Eric Scott Leys (born December 7, 1979), is an American politician. He is currently a member of the Board of Education (a non-partisan, elected office) for Maine Township High School District 207 in Cook County, Illinois, since 2001.
Contents |
[edit] Early life, education and career
Leys was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, the youngest of three children of Rodger Leys, a High School Mathematics teacher (a Maine 207 retiree) and Jeanette Leys (Bolt), a Registered Nurse. Leys was raised in suburban Des Plaines, Illinois where he attended Cumberland Elementary School and Chippewa Junior High School (now Chippewa Middle School), and Maine West High School.[1] Leys was the first graduate of Maine West High School to become an elected school board member in District 207.
Leys showed an early interest in student government at Maine West, where he served as a representative to Class Council and Student Council, and was ultimately elected at the end of his Junior year as Maine West’s Senior Class President.[2] Leys was an active student at Maine West enrolling in advanced placement classes, acting in plays, and competing on the school’s Speech Team, Scholastic Bowl, and Mock Trial teams.
During Leys’ Senior year at Maine West, he represented his fellow students on a number of occasions, making presentations to the Board of Education.[3][4]
Following graduation from Maine West, Leys enrolled in the University of Maryland-College Park and later DePaul University in Chicago and although he has completed some college coursework, he does not possess a college degree.
Leys is currently employed as General Sales Manager at Acura of Libertyville[5] (an Acura automobile dealership) in Libertyville, Illinois, and has worked there since 2001.
[edit] Political Activities
Leys has served as a Director of the Maine Township, Illinois Regular Republican Organization during the 2004-2005 term. Leys has served in various capacities in the Republican Party and in various roles in Republican campaigns dating back to 1994. In 2004, Leys attended the Republican National Convention in New York City as part of the Illinois Delegation Host Committee. Leys was also part of the Illinois Republican Party Delegation to the 55th Presidential Inauguration of President George W. Bush in January 2005.
[edit] Board of Education Service
Leys was elected to his first term on the Maine Township High Schools Board of Education in 2001 in a six-way race. In April 2005, Leys was re-elected to a second term. Upon reorganization of the board following the April 2005 Consolidated Municipal Elections, Leys was unanimously elected President of the Board of Education. At the time of his first election to the school board, Leys was one of the youngest elected officials in the State of Illinois.
In 2009, Eric Leys was re-elected to a third term of service in a contested six-way race that produced mixed results for incumbent board members (Leys and Edward Mueller were retained by voters, Jeffrey Bergen retired from board service, and Marijo Bustos was not retained by voters. Newcomers Eldon Burk and Margaret McGrath were elected to their first terms of service in 2009.)[6] Following reorganization of the school board in May 2009, Leys was named by School Board President Edward Mueller to serve as Chairman of the board's Policy Committee, a role that Leys has held for several years in the past.
During the 2009 election cycle, Leys supported establishing a system of merit pay for District 207's certified staff, producing a white paper titled "Modernizing Teacher Pay in Maine 207".[7] In the days following Leys' announcement of this campaign position on March 18, 2009, the Maine Teachers Association (an IEA-NEA affiliate labor union representing District 207's certified staff) declined to endorse Leys for re-election to a third term on the school board.[8] To support their endorsements, the Maine Teachers Association engaged in voter canvassing efforts in the community that had not occurred in the prior six election cycles.[9] According to filings with the Illinois State Board of Elections, the Maine Teachers Association political action committee ("Maine Teachers Assn PACE"), spent $3,766 on election-related activities in the 2009 election cycle.[10]
Despite failing to secure endorsement of the school district's labor union for certified staff, Leys did receive the endorsement of several local media outlets including the Journal & Topics Newspapers,[11] the Pioneer Press Newspapers,[12] and Daily Herald[13] and a number of local elected officials.[14]
Leys became Chairman of the North Cook Division of the Illinois Association of School Boards in 2009 after serving on the Divisional Executive Board since approximately 2005. Leys has been very active with state association, serving as District 207's delegate to the annual association's Delegate Assembly since 2003. In 2002, he served as Alternate Delegate. Leys is the only currently seated District 207 board member to have received a designation of "Master School Board Member" by the Illinois Association of School Boards. Leys term as Chairman ends in September 2011.
Eric Leys has served as a member of the ED-RED Executive Committee representing District 207 since 2004. ED-RED, "the voice of suburban schools," is an advocacy organization that monitors and actively influences education policy at the Illinois Statehouse, particularly issues that are priorities for our member school districts. ED-RED currently has 97 "member" districts, primarily from Cook County, Illinois.
Leys is a graduate of Maine West High School in Des Plaines, Illinois, one of three large suburban high schools governed by the District 207 Board of Education. In addition to Maine West High School, District 207 also includes Maine South High School and Maine East High School, both in Park Ridge, Illinois.
[edit] State Senate Speculation
On July 1, 2005, state Senator David Sullivan surprised the local political establishment in Chicago's heavily Republican-dominated northwest suburbs in announcing that he would not seek reelection in 2006 and in fact would resign within the following months. Political maneuvering began immediately with Leys named prominently among a crowded field that included local committeeman Mark Thompson, Des Plaines Mayor Tony Arredia, Arlington Heights Mayor Arlene Mulder, and Elk Grove Township Clerk Cheryl Axley.
The Chicago Tribune reported on September 6, 2005 that Leys was one of three "favorites" to succeed state Senator David Sullivan, who had announced his resignation effective September 12, 2005.
On September 17, 2005, Republican committeemen of the 33rd State Senate District met, and Cheryl Axley received the appointment. Cheryl Axley served the unexpired portion of David Sullivan's term and sought election to a full term in November 2006, when she was defeated by Democrat Dan Kotowski. Leys considered challenging Kotowski in the November 2008 election cycle, but instead Republican Mike Sweeney opposed Kotowski and was defeated. Kotowski's second term of service expires January 2013.
[edit] Future political prospects
The appointment of Cheryl Axley to the state Senate seat notwithstanding, local newspapers such as the Daily Herald and the conservative online publication the Illinois Leader continued to suggest that Leys would be a candidate in the 2006 Republican primary for the state Senate seat. The Journal & Topics local newspaper had reported on September 14, 2005 that Leys formed an exploratory committee to investigate a potential candidacy for the Illinois State Senate.
It was widely reported (see: Des Plaines Journal, Mount Prospect Times) in October 2005 that Leys had agreed to withdraw his candidacy for Illinois State Senate for the March 2006 Republican Primary in order to support newly appointed Senator Cheryl Axley.[15] In the November 2006 General Election, appointed Senator Cheryl Axley was defeated by Democrat Dan Kotowski.[16] In 2006 and 2007, while President of the District 207 Board of Education, Leys invited (on separate occasions) both Axley and Kotowski to board meetings where addressed the board on active legislative matters.
Leys' present term on the Maine Township High Schools Board of Education expires in April 2013.
[edit] Personal Life
Leys, who was raised in Des Plaines, Illinois, purchased a home in Des Plaines in 2004 in the Moehling Farm subdivision, and continues to reside there.[17] Leys is unmarried and has no children.
[edit] Electoral history
| 2009 Consolidated Election results in Maine Township 207 Board of Education (4 seats elected)[18] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Non-partisan | Margaret C. McGrath | 12,817 | 22.23% | |
| Non-partisan | Eldon E. Burk | 9,203 | 15.96% | |
| Non-partisan | Marijo G. Bustos √ | 7,127 | 12.36% | |
| Non-partisan | Edward B. Mueller √ | 11,158 | 19.36% | |
| Non-partisan | Jerry T. Kellogg | 8,474 | 14.70% | |
| Non-partisan | Eric Scott Leys √ | 8,870 | 15.39% | |
| Totals | 57,649 | 100% | ||
[edit] External links
- Maine207.org
- Journal & Topics Newspapers: Leys Expresses Interest In State Senate Run - September 14, 2005
- Journal & Topics Newspapers: Leys Keeps One Eye On Future While Joining Axley - October 19, 2005
- EricLeys.com - About Eric
- District 207 website - Meet the Board
[edit] References
- ^ EricLeys.com – About Eric; accessed 14 May 2011
- ^ High Beam Research archive of 8 April 2001 Daily Herald article “School memories are fresh for new board member”; accessed 14 May 2011
- ^ Board Asked To Drop Id Badges (Chicago Tribune) 4 February 1998; accessed 14 May 2011
- ^ High Beam Research archive of 9 April 1998 Park Ridge Herald-Advocate article “Student lobbies to end badges”; accessed 14 May 2011
- ^ Acura of Libertyville – Meet the Staff; accessed 14 May 2011
- ^ Results of 2009 School Board elections; accessed 13 November 2009
- ^ Modernizing Teacher Pay in Maine 207 by Eric Scott Leys (Eric Leys' Facebook page); accessed 13 November 2009
- ^ District 207 Teachers Endorse (MTA Website); accessed 13 November 2009
- ^ School Board Canvassing (MTA Website); accessed 13 November 2009
- ^ Maine Teachers Association PACE Semi-Annual report dated 9 June 2009 (Illinois State Board of Elections); accessed 13 November 2009
- ^ Elect Mueller, Leys, Bustos, Burk/McGrath In Dist. 207 (Journal and Topics Newspapers); accessed 13 November 2009
- ^ Endorsements: Mueller, Bustos, Leys, Burk for District 207 (Park Ridge Herald-Advocate); accessed 13 November 2009
- ^ Bustos, Leys, Mueller, Burk for Maine Township 207 schools (Daily Herald); accessed 13 November 2009
- ^ Public Officials Support Eric Leys for re-election; accessed 13 November 2009
- ^ Forget the Analysis; Here's the Latest Gossip (Russ Stewart); accessed 10 May 2011
- ^ Dan Kotowski sweeps to victory in 33rd Senate (Park Ridge Herald-Advocate); accessed 10 May 2011
- ^ BlockShopper Chicago; accessed 14 May 2011
- ^ "Suburban Cook County Election Results". Cook County Clerk's Office. 07 April 2009. http://results.cookcountyclerk.com/summary.aspx?eid=040709. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
