William R. Haine

Haine was born on August 8, 1944, in Alton, Illinois, to Mary Alice Moran and James Delos Hoare. James Hoare converted to Catholicism when he married the Irish-Catholic Mary Alice. In 1959 the family name was changed to "Haine". Prior to the change, the four Hoare sons – Jim, John, Bill and Tom – often came to blows with other boys over their phonetically unfortunate surname.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

William Haine was first encouraged to take up a career in politics and "make history" by Sister Geraldine, an Ursuline nun at St. Patrick's Grade School in Alton.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} After graduating from Marquette Catholic High School in 1963, he earned his B.A. from St. Louis University in History in 1967. In both high school and college, he became involved in local and state politics, including the races of Alton Mayor Clyde H. Wiseman, State Senator Paul Simon and U.S. Senator Paul H. Douglas.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

After college, Haine enlisted in the U.S. Army to serve in Vietnam. He was awarded the Bronze Star{{cite web|url=https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/lawmaker-rips-rauner-on-legionnaires-response-at-vets-home/5a0842a4-75b3-4eb4-81a5-2ee7c135312a|title=Lawmaker Rips Rauner On Legionnaires' Response At Vets' Home|publisher=WBEZ91.5 Chicago|date=20 February 2018|accessdate=4 November 2018}} for Meritorious Service in Combat Operations after his tour as an enlisted army soldier in the First Cavalry Division (Air Mobile) from 1968 to 1969. He was still politically active while overseas, and from Vietnam he filed as a candidate for Alderman of the City of Alton, losing by only a narrow vote despite being unable to campaign.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

After his tour overseas, Haine attended St. Louis University Law School, where he served with distinction{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} on the Board of Editors of the St. Louis Law Review and earned his J.D. in 1974.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} Two professors who mentored him there, Rev. Joseph Aloysius McCallin, S.J., and Dr. George D. Wendell, also encouraged him to pursue a career in politics.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

During his law school years, Haine met Anna Schickel, an undergraduate French major at St. Louis University; they were married on August 7, 1971, in the Grailville Oratory in Loveland, Ohio. Haine and his wife have seven children and 31 grandchildren. They continued to reside in Alton, around the corner from his boyhood home (designed by her father, the artist William Schickel). Haine referred to his wedding as the defining moment of his Catholic faith.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

After law school, Haine worked as an assistant public defender and maintained a small general practice on the side. He later partnered with trial attorney Randall Bono, and it was during their years together that Haine was elected a Madison County Board member and then State's Attorney.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

Already a member of the Madison County Board since 1978, Haine first ran for the office of State's Attorney in 1980. In the Democratic primary he faced former Assistant State's Attorney Dick Allen and incumbent State's Attorney Nick Byron. Though he lost the primary by 313 votes in a county of 260,000, Haine had established a Democratic base with the industrial north end of the county.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} Republican Don W. Weber, a former Assistant State's Attorney, won the general election in the Reagan landslide of 1980.

With new found political clout from the close primary race,{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} Haine became a leader on the County Board and chaired the newly created Metro-East Transit District.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} The area-wide public exposure helped make his 1988 run for State's Attorney a success.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

In 1988, Haine became State's Attorney for Madison County, Illinois, a post he would hold for 14 years. In late 2002, he was appointed to fill the seat of retiring Senator Evelyn M. Bowles.

After serving several months as an appointed Senator, Haine won re-election in 2002. His legislative record has established him as a pro-life, pro-gun and pro-labor legislator.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} Haine was an early supporter of Obama within the Democratic primary for U.S. Senator in 2004.{{Cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/040802/2obama.htm |title=US News |access-date=September 18, 2017 |archive-date=December 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206100640/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/040802/2obama.htm |url-status=dead }} He was the chairman of the Insurance Committee.

Among Haine's most controversial bills was the Medical Malpractice Litigation Reform Act, which was supported by hospitals, doctors and nurses but strongly opposed by trial lawyers, including many of his friends in Madison and St. Clair Counties.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} Haine also was the chief sponsor of the Illinois Methamphetamine Precursor Control Act, the law requiring residents to provide identification when purchasing Sudafed, and limiting their purchases of it. Haine also guided the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act through the Illinois Senate, though it has not yet passed the House.{{cite news| url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/27/medical-marijuana-legisla_n_206482.html | work=Huffington Post | first=Tim | last=Taliaferro | title=Medical Marijuana Legislation Narrowly Passes Illinois Senate | date=May 27, 2009}}

More recently, Haine designed and sponsored a bill to enhance flood protection along the Mississippi River in his district. Now signed into law, the bill created a new tax district that can issue sales taxes to fund the renovation of local levees. The bill was supported by the Majority and Minority leaders, Democrat Emil Jones and Republican Frank Watson.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} Haine has maintained a 100% rating from National Right to Life.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}.

In February 2011, Haine introduced a proposed Illinois constitutional amendment effectively banning same-sex marriage in the state.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=16&GAID=11&GA=97&DocTypeID=SJRCA&LegID=58185&SessionID=84|title=Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for SJRCA0016|website=www.ilga.gov}} The proposed amendment, which died in a Senate committee, was widely criticized by activists as being "anti-gay".{{Cite web|url=https://www.windycitytimes.com/lgbt/Activists-Anti-gay-state-constitutional-amendment-dead/31248.html|title=Activists: Anti-gay state constitutional amendment dead - Windy City Times News|date=April 6, 2011|website=Windy City Times}}

Haine announced he would not seek reelection to a sixth term on August 16, 2017.{{cite news|url=https://capitolfax.com/2017/08/16/sen-haine-announces-retirement/|last=Miller|first=Rich|title=Sen. Haine announces retirement|date=August 16, 2017|newspaper=Capitol Fax|location=Springfield, Illinois|accessdate=August 16, 2017}} Rachelle Crowe won the election to succeed Haine in 2018.{{cite news|last=Kamp|first=Matt|title=Aud Crowe takes over for Haine in state senate victory over Patton|newspaper=The Telegraph|accessdate=November 24, 2018|date=November 6, 2018|url=https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/Aud-Crowe-takes-over-for-Haine-in-state-senate-13369556.php}}

On May 16, 2019, Governor J. B. Pritzker nominated Haine for a position on the Illinois State Board of Elections for a term beginning July 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2023. The Illinois Senate confirmed Haine unanimously on May 31, 2019.{{cite web|last=Pritzker|first=J.B.|title=AM1010203 Appoint William Haine|date=May 16, 2019|publisher=Illinois General Assembly|accessdate=April 20, 2020|url=http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=1010203&GAID=15&DocTypeID=AM&LegID=121471&SessionID=108&SpecSess=&Session=&GA=101}}

Haine was married to his wife Anna for 50 years. He died at age 77 on August 16, 2021. He is survived by his wife, their seven children, and 33 grandchildren.{{cite web|url=https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/Senator-William-Haine-dead-16390775.php|title=Senator William Haine dead|first=Jill|last=Moon|work=The Telegraph (Alton, Illinois)|date=16 August 2021|access-date=16 August 2021}}{{Cite web|last=Harris|first=Taylor Tiamoyo|title=Longtime Metro East senator, state's attorney dies at 77|date=August 16, 2021 |url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/longtime-metro-east-senator-states-attorney-dies-at-77/article_6ce5b398-37bd-5dbc-bd93-255953b3052a.html|access-date=2021-08-19|publisher=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Gvillo|first=Heather Isringhausen|title=Retired Sen. Bill Haine dies at 77 early Monday morning|url=https://madisonrecord.com/stories/606618582-retired-sen-bill-haine-dies-at-77-early-monday-morning|access-date=2021-08-19|publisher=The Madison / St. Clair Record|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2021-08-16|title=Sen. William R. Haine dies Monday, leaves lengthy, strong legacy|url=https://www.theintelligencer.com/news/article/Sen-William-R-Haine-dies-Monday-leaves-16391312.php|access-date=2021-08-19|website=The Edwardsville Intelligencer|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|first=|date=16 August 2021|title=William "Bill" Haine, former Illinois state senator from Madison County, dies at 77|work=Belleville News-Democrat|url=https://www.bnd.com/news/local/article253528619.html|access-date=19 August 2021}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://my.ilga.gov/Member/Index/1909?tab=1&chamber=S Biography, bills and committees] at the Illinois General Assembly
• By session: [http://www.ilga.gov/senate/Senator.asp?GA=98&MemberID=1909 98th], [http://www.ilga.gov/senate/Senator.asp?GA=97&MemberID=1691 97th], [http://www.ilga.gov/senate/Senator.asp?GA=96&MemberID=1484 96th], [http://www.ilga.gov/senate/Senator.asp?GA=95&MemberID=1284 95th], [http://www.ilga.gov/senate/Senator.asp?GA=94&MemberID=1064 94th], [http://www.ilga.gov/senate/Senator.asp?GA=93&MemberID=874 93rd]
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20111118001544/http://www.senatorhaine.com/ State Senator William R. Haine]}} constituency site
• {{CongLinks | congbio= | votesmart=33504 | fec= | congress= }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haine, William R.}}

Category:1944 births

Category:2021 deaths

Category:County officials in Illinois

Category:Democratic Party Illinois state senators

Category:Military personnel from Illinois

Category:Politicians from Alton, Illinois

Category:United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War

Category:20th-century American lawyers

Category:21st-century members of the Illinois General Assembly