As our community’s first freshman State Representative in over 30 years, Dennis quickly caught the attention of House Leadership and was assigned to the prestigious Transportation and Motor Vehicles, Mass Transit, and Judiciary II (Criminal Law) Committees.

Prior to his election to the Illinois House of Representatives, Dennis was a career prosecutor. Upon his graduation from law school, Dennis was appointed an Assistant Attorney General under then-Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan and was responsible for defending the Illinois Department of Corrections from inmate lawsuits. He later served as an Assistant State’s Attorney for eight years prosecuting violent criminals as a member of his office’s Organized Crime Unit and earned membership in Illinois’ elite Capital Litigation Trial Bar. While a prosecutor, Dennis also educated prospective law enforcement officers as an Adjunct Instructor in Triton Community College’s Criminal Justice Department.

Dennis is a 1986 graduate of York Community High School and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science at Eastern Illinois University in 1990. After serving as a Deputy Addison Township Assessor, Dennis decided to attend law school and was admitted to Valparaiso University College of Law. In the spring of 1997, while still in his third year of law school, Dennis launched a write-in campaign and was elected as a 2nd Ward Alderman in the City of Elmhurst later serving as Vice Chairman of the Development, Planning, and Zoning Committee. In 2000, Dennis was appointed as a Trustee to the Addison Township Board and was elected and reelected in 2001 and 2005. As a Township Trustee, Dennis served as Chairman of the Finance Committee and also of the Airport Issues Committee and was the Board’s Senior Trustee upon his election to the House of Representatives.

Dennis attends Mary Queen of Heaven Parish in Elmhurst and is a member of the Addison, Elmhurst, and Wood Dale Chambers of Commerce. He is a member of the Addison and York Township Republican Committeeman’s Organizations as well as the Justinian Society of Lawyers, and enjoys spending time with his 5-year old son, Zachary.