| State Senator Rodney Pol, Jr. was elected to fulfill the term of Senator Karen Tallian of Senate District 4 following her retirement from the Indiana Senate in September of 2021. Senate District 4 encompasses portions of Porter and LaPorte counties, including Portage, Chesterton, and Michigan City.
Senator Pol, Jr. was born in East Chicago, Indiana and graduated from Chesterton High School. Pol, Jr. earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from Indiana University - Bloomington, where he also studied political science and music. He earned his law degree from the Indiana University - Indianapolis McKinney School of Law. Senator Pol, Jr. has been a public servant for most of his professional life, working with the Indiana Public Defender's Office to begin his legal career. For the last several years, Pol, Jr. has worked as a City Attorney for the City of Gary, where he has defended, advised, and advocated for the administrations of Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson and Mayor Jerome A. Prince.
As an Americorps Vista member, Pol, Jr. worked with the Twenty First Century Scholars program, where he helped underprivileged students in Porter and Lake County prepare for post-secondary education and enroll into the program. He was a designated Emerging Leader by the Indiana Democratic Party and a member of the Leadership Northwest Indiana program.
Senator Pol, Jr. lives in Chesterton and has two children with his wife, a Duneland School Board Member and Michigan City school teacher. |