Harmon was born and raised in Oak Park where he attended St. Giles Grade School. He graduated from St. Ignatius High School on Chicago's West Side, Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and the University of Chicago. After law school, Harmon served in Springfield on the House legal staff. Harmon is a partner at the Chicago-based law firm Burke, Burns & Pinelli.
Political career
In August 2000, Don Harmon was nominated by members of the Democratic Party of Oak Park to fulfill the term of former Illinois Senate President Phil Rock as Oak Park Democratic Committeeman. He was then elected to his first full term as Committeeman in 2002 and has since been re-elected in 2006 and 2010. In 2010, Harmon was elected to serve as the Suburban Vice-Chair of the Democratic Party of Cook County.
Illinois Senate
First elected in the fall of 2002, Harmon served alongside then-State Senator and now former U.S. President Barack Obama. In the State Senate, Harmon voted for a bill that allows government to charge citizens for Freedom of Information Act requests. Critics of the bill argued it weakens the public's ability to receive information from the government. The bill passed with dissenting votes from Democrats and Republicans. Harmon introduced legislation to legalize sports betting in Illinois. The bill "would allow wagering on professional and collegiate sports," according to one report. Harmon sponsored legislation creating the Illinois Early Learning Council to create policy recommendations regarding the education of children from birth to age five. The result of that effort was the Pre-School for All program implemented throughout the state. He also authored the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003 to prohibit discriminatory policies by state, county or local governments, and to preserve for Illinois citizens civil rights protections eroded by recent U.S. Supreme Court Decisions. Additionally he helped pass legislation to eliminate two obsolete taxing districts-the Cook County Tuberculosis Sanitarium District and the Cicero Township Trustee of Schools saving taxpayers millions of dollars.
Committee assignments
In the 99th General Assembly, Harmon served as the Chair of the Executive Committee as well as the Executive Committee's Subcommittee on Election Law. In the 101st General Assembly, Harmon is Vice Chair of the Executive Committee. He is the Vice Chair of the Assignments Committee and Chair of the Judiciary Committee.
Controversy
On September 24, 2019, federal authorities raided the offices of State SenatorMartin Sandoval. Among the documents seized were documents from Harmon's law firm, Burke, Burns & Pinelli. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that his firm "represents numerous government agencies in the Chicago region, including the Village of Lyons, where the mayor is Chris Getty. The Lyons village hall and Getty’s private insurance offices were visited Sept. 26 by federal agents." When asked about the raided documents, Harmon responded, "I have absolutely no idea to what that refers." Sandoval resigned from the Illinois Senate on November 27, 2019. In 2017, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Harmon's dual role as legislator and as an attorney handling state clients. A 2012 report alleges that Harmon refused to answer questions connected to his law practice. In 2019, another report by the Chicago Sun-Times highlighted the relationship between Harmon's firm and clout-heavy lobbyist Frank Cortese. Cortese is a close affiliate of convicted Teamsters boss John Coli. The Sun-Times revealed that Cortese set up a lobbying business "with the help of a clout-heavy law firm of Burke Burns & Pinelli, whose attorneys have donated heavily to Madigan’s campaigns over the years. Among the partners at the firm: state Sen. Don Harmon, who is vying to replace the retiring Cullerton as Illinois Senate president."
