Springfield Office: Senator 38th District 121A Capitol Building Springfield, IL 62706 (217) 782-8287 District Office: 904 Shooting Park Road Peru, IL 61354 (815) 223-3747 (815) 223-8446 FAX

Years served: 1983 - Present
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Senator Patrick D. Welch, D-Peru, was born December 12, 1948. He attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC), where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government.

Following graduation from SIUC, Senator Welch attended the Illinois Institute of Technology/Kent College of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctorate degree. Shortly after graduation, he was admitted to the Illinois Bar. Senator Welch practices law in Peru, IL. He has one son.

Senator Welch was first elected to serve as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1976 and was subsequently elected delegate to the National Convention in 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000. He was also elected Democratic State Central Committeeman in 1978, becoming the youngest person ever elected to that post at the time. He has since been reelected to the State Central Committee in 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002. Senator Welch is the former chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party Rules Committee and the Credentials Committee. In 1994, he was the Democratic Party Chairman of the Platform Committee.

In 1982, he was elected to the Illinois State Senate from the 38th Senate District. During his first term, Senator Welch was named Vice-Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations (II). Senator Welch is now an Assistant Majority Leader.

For the 93rd General Assembly, Senator Welch was named Chairman of the Senate Appropriations (II) Committee. He is a member of three other Senate committees: Appropriations (I), Revenue and Environment & Energy. He also serves on the Economic and Fiscal Commission.

Welch has a strong record of securing millions of dollars for a variety of desperately needed northeastern Illinois road, bridge and quality-of-life infrastructure improvements. He has been a leader in assisting economic development through local park improvements, riverfront development grants, and water and sewage system improvement grants.

During the 91st General Assembly, Welch sponsored and passed a law to increase the registration requirements on convicted child sex offenders. An unnoticed loophole in Illinois' original Sex Offender Registration Act, which Welch co-sponsored in 1996, did not require convicted sex offenders to register with authorities in counties where they were employed. Welch's legislation changed the law to ensure that offenders not only register in the counties where they reside, but also in counties where they are employed.

Today, Welch continues his efforts - both in his local district and in Springfield - to spearhead environmental protection measures to ensure that Illinois' lands, air and waterways are kept clean for future generations.

In 1988, Senator Welch received national recognition and was awarded the "Best Bet Award" from the National Center of Environmental Alternatives for his sponsorship of the Groundwater Protection Act. He has earned many other awards. They include Illinois Public Action Council's Outstanding Legislator of 1985 Award; the Northern LaSalle, Bureau and Putnam Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO Legislators Award; and the 1995 Statesman of the Year given by the Service Employees International Union.

In 1990, he was awarded the Legislator of the Year Award from the Illinois Rehabilitation Facilities Association, Inc. In October 1991, he was awarded the "FRIEND OF THE ENVIRONMENT" award from the Illinois Environmental Council. In April 1992, he was given the Activator Award from the Illinois Farm Bureau. In 1995, he was named a "Friend of Agriculture" by the Grundy County Farm Bureau, and in 1999 he was awarded the "Silver Plow Award" by the Will County Farm Bureau. Most recently, Welch was presented with the Illinois Bankers Association's "Legislator of the Year" award for 2001.

Among the major policy bills that have been sponsored by Senator Welch are the Illinois Groundwater Protection Act (1987), the English Fluency Act (1990), the Energy Conservation Finance Authority (1992) and the White Goods Disposal Ban (1992).