Dan Rutherford

Rutherford was born in Pontiac, Illinois. During elementary and high school Dan Rutherford worked at his parent’s pizza restaurant. and attended Pontiac Township High School. Following high school, Rutherford attended Illinois State University. While at Illinois State University, Rutherford was elected Student Body President.

In February 2014, a former employee of Rutherford, Edmund Michalowski, filed a federal complaint alleging that Rutherford had sexually harassed him and had pressured him to do political work on state time. The complaint was filed just a few weeks before Rutherford was scheduled to face off against the other contenders in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Rutherford denied all allegations and charged that they were the work of his political opponent, Bruce Rauner. Rutherford vowed that he would continue on in the race A judge dismissed some of Michalowski's claims, such as Michalowski being forced to do political work on state time and Michalowski re-filed in April 2016, alleging harassment by Rutherford and four others. In November 2017, attorneys for Rutherford and Michalowski agreed that the lawsuit be "dismissed without prejudice", meaning that it could be re-filed.

On June 2, 2013, Dan Rutherford officially announced his candidacy for Governor of Illinois. His running mate was attorney Steve Kim.

On September 12, 2005, Rutherford officially announced his campaign for the office of Illinois Secretary of State. Rutherford faced incumbent Democratic Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, of Jesse White Tumbling Team fame, and Green Party candidate Karen Young Peterson, in the November, 2006 election, but lost to Jesse White.

Following 10 years of service in that body, in 2002, Rutherford was elected to represent Illinois' 53rd district in the Senate. In the Senate, Rutherford served as the ranking Republican for the Financial Institutions Committee and was a member of the Environment & Energy Committee. Senator Rutherford also served on the bi-partisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.

In 1993, Rutherford was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. Rutherford eventually became Assistant Republican Leader.

While on a business trip to Japan in 1984, Rutherford became familiar with the ServiceMaster Company. One year later, he joined the Downers Grove, Illinois-headquartered company as an executive. Rutherford eventually became responsible for expansion of the company's businesses internationally, licensing services in Chile, Brazil, Honduras, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Guam, Venezuela, South Africa, Spain, and a host of other countries. ServiceMaster is a family of service companies with trade names such as ServiceMaster clean, Terminix, Tru-Green Chem Lawn, Merry Maids, American Home Shield, and Rescue Rooter.

Dan Rutherford's public service career began following his graduation from Illinois State University as a legislative assistant in Springfield. In the GOP (Republican) Primary of 1980, Rutherford (then 24 years old) coordinated a congressional district for Governor Ronald Reagan's campaign. Rutherford's work in coordinating that congressional district earned recognition from the Reagan National Campaign and he was subsequently tapped to serve as the Executive Director for the 1980 Reagan-Bush campaign.

Dan Rutherford (born May 26, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 73rd Treasurer of Illinois from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the Illinois State Senator from the 53rd district from 2003 to 2011 and a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1993 to 2003.