Rodger A. Heaton is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the Central District of Illinois from 2005 to 2009.

Rodger Heaton
United States Attorney for the Central District of Illinois
In office
2006–2009
Appointed byGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byJan Paul Miller
Succeeded byJames Lewis
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
Alma materUniversity of Illinois (B.A.)
Indiana University (J.D.)
ProfessionAttorney

Early life and career

edit

Heaton was raised in Lexington, Illinois. He attended University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and Indiana University Maurer School of Law. He joined the U.S. Department of Justice in 1989.[1] During the Whitewater controversy, Heaton took part in the successful prosecution of Jim Guy Tucker.[2]

United States Attorney

edit

He was appointed the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois; the area's top law enforcement official.[1] He was chosen out of a field that included Rick Winkel and Darin LaHood.[3] In 2009, Heaton resigned and was succeeded by the First Assistant U.S. Attorney in an acting capacity.[4] President Barack Obama appointed James Lewis as the new U.S. Attorney for Central Illinois in a permanent capacity.[5]

State government

edit

In 2015, Bruce Rauner appointed Heaton his homeland security advisor and the Illinois Director of Public Safety. In 2017, he was promoted to Governor Rauner's Chief of Staff. He was Rauner's fourth Chief of Staff in three years.[6] Heaton would go on to serve as Chief of Staff for the remainder of Rauner's time in office.[7] On April 8, 2022, Governor J. B. Pritzker appointed Heaton to one of nine vacancies on the Illinois Prisoner Review Board and Heaton was confirmed by the Illinois Senate the next day. His term runs from May 1, 2022, to January 20, 2025.[8]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Erickson, Kurt (October 7, 2006). "Rodger Heaton appointed U.S. attorney for Illinois Central District". Herald & Review. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  2. ^ Reeder, Scott (January 12, 2007). "U.S. Attorney for Central Illinois is 'smart, and hasn't made any enemies'". The Dispatch–Argus. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  3. ^ Kacich, Tom (November 28, 2005). "At least four want to be U.S. attorney". The News-Gazette. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  4. ^ Scobell, Beverly (ed.). "U.S. Attorney Resigns in Central Illinois". Illinois Issues. 35 (10). University of Illinois Springfield. ISSN 0738-9663. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  5. ^ Schoenburg, Bernard (August 8, 2010). "New U.S. attorney faced jail in '60s civil rights struggle". The State Journal-Register. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  6. ^ Finke, Doug (October 7, 2017). "Former U.S. attorney Rodger Heaton named Rauner's chief of staff". The State Journal-Register. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  7. ^ Romack, Janice; Lawler, Michael (February 20, 2020). "State of Illinois Office of the Governor Compliance Examination For the Two Years Ended June 30, 2019" (PDF). West & Company LLC and the Illinois General Assembly. p. 1. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  8. ^ Pritzker, J.B. (April 8, 2022). "Appointment Message 102-0386". Letter to Illinois Senate. Retrieved April 8, 2022.