Former Cook County state’s legal professional candidate Clayton Harris III will take over as chief of employees to House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch on Thursday, the speaker’s workplace confirmed Tuesday.
Harris, who narrowly misplaced to Eileen O’Neill Burke within the Democratic major for state’s legal professional this spring, replaces Tiffany Moy, who has served as Welch’s chief of employees since 2021.
The speaker additionally introduced that Isabel “Izzy” Dobbel, political director of the Chicago Federation of Labor, will be part of his workplace later in January as deputy chief of employees.
Welch in a press release stated Harris and Dobbel will proceed efforts to enhance and modernize the speaker’s workplace.
“I look ahead to all that we are able to accomplish collectively within the 104th General Assembly and past,” Welch stated.
As a candidate for state’s legal professional, Harris stated she favors a “balanced” method to public security. O’Neill Burke, who had positioned herself as harder on crime, was higher funded within the major to succeed Kim Foxx, the outgoing high prosecutor.
Harris has beforehand relied on his expertise in administration and authorities and as a black man residing on town’s south facet. In the state’s legal professional race, he had the assist of the Cook County Democratic Party and the Chicago Teachers Union.
Harris grew to become an assistant state’s legal professional in 1999 and beforehand stated it was “tiring to see solely black males constantly come into the system.”
He labored with Mayor Richard M. Daley’s workplace beginning in 2003 and later as common counsel on the Chicago Department of Transportation.
Harris’ function with Welch will not be his first time working an workplace: He beforehand served as chief of employees for the Illinois Department of Transportation and as deputy chief of employees for Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a job he held on the Blagojevich period was arrested and accused of political corruption.
Blagojevich’s chief of employees was additionally arrested, and Harris later took that job, though he stated he was not a political supporter of Blagojevich.
Harris has a regulation diploma from Howard University.
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