Biography

Early Years

Tim Johnson was born in Champaign, Illinois on July 23, 1946 to Robert and Margaret Evans Johnson. He spent his childhood in Urbana and graduated from Urbana High School. He attended the University of Illinois, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was honored with the Bronze Tablet, the University's highest undergraduate honor. He was accepted to the University of Illinois College of Law and in 1972 graduated with high honors and was elected to the Order of Coif, the national legal honor society.

Personal

Tim presently resides in Urbana, Illinois. He is the father of nine children and has 11 grandchildren. Professionally, he is a former Urbana lawyer, small businessman, realtor, farm operator and educator. When home from Washington, Tim thoroughly enjoys spending the majority of his time listening to the needs of his constituents whether by phone or by meeting them in person. He extensively travels his eastern Illinois district to visit with students, civic organizations, farm groups and other individuals. Physical fitness is very important to Tim as he works out everyday, routinely combining his walking with calls to constituents. He enjoys sports of all types and frequently attends athletic contests at high schools and colleges around his expansive district, which also allows him to interact with citizens in an informal setting.

Public Service History

In 1971, while still in college, Tim began his long career in public service by winning a seat on the Urbana City Council, representing the same Ward that his father did. In his four years on the city council, Tim demonstrated to people throughout central Illinois that he had a gift for crafting sound policies and taking care of the day-to-day needs of the people he represented. Upon urging by community leaders, Tim decided to run for a seat in the Illinois State Legislature. In 1976, he won a seat in the Illinois House by besting five other Republicans in a tough, but civil, primary. Mr. Johnson held that seat in the Statehouse for more than two decades; he resigned as State Representative from the 104th District on November 13, 2000, one week after being elected to the United States House of Representatives to serve the 15th District of Illinois. Congressman Tim Johnson committed himself to taking his long history of dedicated, quality public service to Washington D.C. to ensure that citizens in the 22 counties of the District have the best representation and service possible from his office. Rep. Johnson takes pride in devoting weekends and breaks to extensively traveling the District, meeting with elected officials, stopping in to restaurants and coffee shops and making numerous phone calls to ensure he stays in touch with those he serves.

Legislative Accomplishments

Now in his fifth term as a U.S. Congressman, Tim Johnson has established a strong record of constituent service. While responding to 15th District residents' needs is a top priority to Tim, he has also been a strong and independent voice on Capitol Hill in creating new farm policy, pushing for lower taxes, bringing federal dollars home to Illinois universities, protecting Social Security, fighting for affordable prescription medication, and voting to protect our environment. He has been a leading advocate for the expansion of bio-fuels use and has paid special attention to the needs of Veterans. Tim will continue his tradition of opposing tax hikes, promoting fiscal responsibility and upholding conservative, common sense values in the United States Congress. Most of all, Tim wants to rekindle the spark in the nation's agricultural economy that is so vital to the health of the region, nation and world.

Relevant Links:

Representative Johnson’s Undergraduate School: University of Illinois
Representative Johnson’s Law School: University of Illinois College of Law