Meet Chris
Chris Lauzen has served in the Illinois State Senate since his election in 1992. During his years of service, Senator Lauzen has championed the issues that matter to families and businesses. His vision for government is based on his abiding faith in the capacity of people to see the good beyond the horizon and the discipline to make the journey.
Senator Lauzen has brought to the Illinois Senate and will bring to Kane County Chairman, his leadership experience of teaching 300 accountants how to go into business for themselves as President of Comprehensive Accounting Corporation. During his five years at Comprehensive’s Home Office, the number of franchise offices tripled to 450 nationwide, the pre-tax profit doubled, and the network served over 22,000 small business owners. Chris and his wife, Sarah, later purchased a Comprehensive Accounting franchise, growing the Geneva, IL business from scratch to managing the books and tax preparation for more than 200 small businesses in just 4 ½ years.
When Senator Lauzen was elected to the Illinois State Senate, he joined what became known as the “Fab Five”: a celebrated crop of young conservative senators: Peter Fitzgerald, Patrick O’Malley, Steve Rauschenberger, and Dave Syverson. Since the beginning, Senator Lauzen has held two main legislative priorities: cut wasteful government spending and create a business climate in Illinois where the private sector can maintain and create jobs paying higher wages.
Senator Lauzen has helped to author landmark pieces of legislation. “Truth in Budgeting” required the state to eliminate a second set of books, so that Illinois taxpayers can see the same numbers as the New York bankers do. Senator Lauzen has helped to lead the effort for Pension Funding Reform in these difficult times. He also sponsored the largest employment tax decrease in the past 19 years which kept over $250 million of excess unemployment insurance in the Illinois economy.
Senator Lauzen remains focused on some of the toughest challenges we face: property tax reform, education funding, and public pension funding. He has a proven record in Springfield as a financial expert who fights for those who send their hard-earned tax dollars to Springfield.
Currently, Senator Lauzen serves on the Pensions Committee & Committee of the Whole, Appropriations I and II, and the Revenue Committee, where he is the ranking Republican Spokesman on tax and fiscal policies. He serves as Co-Chairman of the Legislative Audit Commission. Senator Lauzen has been honored by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce with the “Champion of Free Enterprise” award and the NFIB “Guardian of Small Business” award.
Born and raised in Aurora, Illinois, Senator Lauzen earned his B.S., with honors, from Duke University, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) awarded by the University of Illinois. Senator Lauzen and his wife of 30 years, Sarah, are the parents of four boys: Ted, Elliot, Hans, and Robbie. Ted graduated with honors from Duke University and is a Capt. in the United States Marine Corps, a pilot, flying helicopters and was recently married to Sarah Burris. Elliot, a Harvard honors pre-med graduate, earned a MS in Biomedical Engineering at USC and is now working in the field of investment banking with emphasis in healthcare. Hans graduated from USC and is an officer in the US Navy currently on Tour in the Pacific Ocean onboard the USS Kidd. Rob graduated from West Aurora High School and attends Dartmouth College where he is studying engineering and playing Varsity football.
