Lee A. Daniels is an American politician who is an attorney, distinguished fellow and senior advisor to the President of Elmhurst University, and former Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. Daniels practiced law from 1967 until he retired in 2006 from the Chicago law firm of Bell Boyd & Lloyd, where he was an equity partner. He previously had been an equity partner at Katten Muchin & Zavis from 1982 to 1991 and Daniels & Faris from 1967 to 1982. Daniels served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 46th District from 1975 to 2007, was Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1997, was Republican Leader from 1983 to 2003 and served as Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois from 1971 to 1974. In February 2007 he founded Lee Daniels & Associates, LLC, a consulting firm for government and community relations. He serves on the board of directors for Inland Real Estate Income Trust, Inc., Oak Brook, Illinois, and the board of trustees at Kite Realty Group Trust, Indianapolis, Indiana. Daniels serves as a member and chairman of the board of directors of Haymarket Center, a nonprofit drug and alcohol treatment center in Chicago. He recently served as chairman of the College of DuPage Presidential Search Committee. He previously served on the Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare board of trustees, Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare board of governors, and the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital Foundation board. Other boards Daniels has served on include Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust, Inc., the Suburban Bank and Trust Company of Elmhurst board of directors, Elmhurst Federal Savings and Loan Association board of directors, and the DuPage Easter Seals board of directors. Daniels is a graduate of the University of Iowa and earned a law degree from UIC John Marshall Law School. He has received numerous honors, including an honorary Doctorate of Law from Elmhurst College, where he serves as a distinguished fellow. In 2008 Elmhurst College renamed its Computer Science and Technology Center "Daniels Hall." On September 27, 2011, Senate President John Cullerton appointed Daniels to a two-year term as a public member on the Illinois Advisory Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependency. The sixty member council advises the executive branch on ways to encourage public understanding and support of department programs; proposed rules and licensure; and formulation and implementation of the comprehensive state plan for intervention, prevention, and treatment of alcoholism and other drug abuse and dependency. Daniels is married to Pamela Daniels. They have 5 children and live in Elmhurst, Illinois.
