John Curry - 32nd Ward Republican Committeeman

John Curry is the incumbent 32nd Ward Republican Committeeman for the 32nd Ward in the City of Chicago.  He was appointed to that position in 2007 by Cook County Republican Central Committee Chairman Elizabeth Doody Gorman when a vacancy in that position occurred.  In making the appointment, Chairman Gorman noted that John was previously elected to that office in 1996 and 2000.  Therefore, John is now serving his third term as 32nd Ward Republican Committeeman and is seeking re-election to that position in 2008.  The election for that position is in the Republican General Primary Election to be held on February 5, 2008.  (Click on "Voting" to obtain information on early voting, absentee voting, and precinct voting in this election.)  John has been endorsed for re-election by Chairman Gorman.  He has also been endorsed by past Cook County Republican Chairmen Maureen Murphy and Manny Hoffman.  (See "Endorsements" Page)

John's Republican Background

John has been an active national, state, and local leader in the Republican Party for many years.  In so doing, he has made the acquaintance of Republican Presidents, Vice Presidents, Governors, Senators, Congressman, and Illinois Legislators.

In 1990, in consideration of his experience and leadership, John was appointed to the National Board of Directors of the National Young Republican Federation by President Terry Campo of Washington, D.C.

While in college at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, John served as Treasurer of the Illinois College Republican Federation as well as the President of the Northwestern Young Republicans, which won the Midwestern States award for Best Overall Club while he was President.

In addition to serving as Ward Committeeman, John, in the past, has been appointed Republican precinct captain and committeeman in districts where he has lived, and he served as Deputy Township Committeeman for the Lyons Township Republican Organization.  In 2002, John was appointed for two years as Treasurer of the Cook County Republican Central Committee.

John has worked on numerous Republican campaigns throughout his life.  Notably, he was a congressional district coordinator in Illinois in 1980 for Ronald Reagan in his first Presidential campaign.  John was part of the Illinois delegation to both Reagan Inaugurations and to the Republican National Convention in 1988.  John's service to Ronald Reagan as been recognized in his appointment as a Lifetime Associate of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation in Simi Valley, California. 

John later worked in Illinois Lawyers for George H.W. Bush in 1988 and 1992.  John was elected as an alternate delegate pledged to George W. Bush to the 2000 Republican National Convention.  John has also been part of the Illinois delegation to the 1988 and 2004 Republican National Conventions.  He is now also currently a candidate for delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention pledged to former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson, who attended John's law school at Vanderbilt University.

John has worked in the gubernatorial campaigns of James Thompson, Jim Edgar, George Ryan, and State Senator Bill Brady of Bloomington.  He also worked in the U.S. Senate campaigns of Charles Percy, Peter Fitzgerald, Al Salvi, and others.  John worked on the youth campaign in the late Congressman Henry Hyde's first congressional campaign.

John has appeared as a political commentator on the Bruce Dumont radio show, the Tom Roeser radio show on WLS-AM, WBBM-AM News Radio Commentary, and on WTTW's Chicago Tonite.  John has also been a member of the National Republican Lawyers Association for several years, an organization which has been on the forefront of fighting vote fraud.

John's Professional and Civic Background

John is a nationally recognized Chicago lawyer who was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1978.  He is a partner in the law firm of Polisinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus PC, which is a "Top 250 Law Firm" as recognized by the National Law Journal.  John has received the high peer review rating of Lexis Nexis Martindale Hubbell, the foremost attorney rating firm in the United States, also indicating recognition by top attorneys and judges.  John concentrates his law practice in the area of business and commercial litigation.  John has been admitted to the bar of other jurisdictions, including the Bar of the United States Supreme Court.  He is an active member of the American Bar Association, the Ilinois State Bar Association, and the Chicago Bar Association. His law office is located in downtown Chicago, Illinois.  In 2007, John was part of Chicago Bar Association delegation to Dublin, Ireland.

John served as a Trial Lawyer for the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. from 1983 to 1986.  He also served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois from 1981 to 1983 and as a Special Assistant Attorney General for Illinois from 1995 through 1998.

John was a founder of the Chicago Lawyers Division of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy, one of the nation's most notable legal public policy groups headquartered in Washington D.C.  He has been actively involved with the Chicago Division of the Society since its inception.  John was also active with Project LEAP and other efforts over the years to combat vote fraud in Chicago elections.  John has also been a member of the City Club of Chicago and the University Club of Chicago.

John has been a resident of the Bucktown neighborhood for over 12 years.  He resides there with his wife, Jamie Curry, an independent interior designer and a former radio advertising professional.  John has been a supporter of numerous non-profit and charitable organizations and institutions.  He was a member of the Associate's Board of the Lyric Opera of Chicago.  He and his wife have also supported the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony, Wounded Heroes Foundation (for disabled Iraqi War veterans), the Midtown Educational Foundation (with facilities in the 32nd Ward), the American Ireland Fund, St. Mary of the Angels Church (in the 32nd Ward), Old St. Patrick's Church, MS Chicago, and numerous other organizations.  John has been the recipient of several awards, including the President's Gavel by the Illinois State Society of Washington, D.C. and the Order of Constantine by the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

John received his Juris Doctor (law degree) from the Vanderbilt University Law School, which has consistently ranked as one of the top 20 law schools in America.  He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.  He remains a member of the Northwestern University Alumni Association.  John attended high school at St. Joseph's High School in Westchester, Illinois. 

John was born and raised in the City of Chicago.  He is a third generation Chicago Republican, carrying on a family tradition begun by his grandfather, the late Chicago Police Captain William Burke, who worked on the campaign of Illinois Republican U.S. Senator Charles Deneen in the 1920's and who supported the late Chicago Republican Congressman Tim Sheehan.