McHenry Times

Illinois state Sen. Craig Wilcox represents the 32nd State Senate District and is pursuing a second term.

During his current four-year term, Wilcox has served as Minority Spokesperson for the Veterans Affairs and Local Government Committees, as well as a member of the Energy and Public Utilities, Financial Institutions, Human Rights, Labor, State Government and Transportation Committees.

Wilcox served 24 years in the Air Force, retiring in 2013 as a colonel, according to his biography.

Born in 1967 in El Paso, Texas, Wilcox eventually moved to and grew up in Essex Junction, Vermont, where his parents still reside in his childhood home, his District website states. He attended college at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and earned a bachelor’s in electrical engineering. Today, Craig, his wife Janice, and their three kids live in McHenry, where they have resided since 2013.

Wilcox served on the McHenry County Board from 2016 to 2018, was elected to the Illinois Senate in 2018, and is running for re-election. Wilcox and Janice own The Thoughtfulness Shop and My Little Bow Peeps Shop, two retail stores on the historic Woodstock Square.

In the Air Force, Wilcox served as a combat communications engineer, acquisition officer, joint staff officer in the Pentagon, chief of staff to the European Command Operations director, and as a group commander supporting Air Force One. He also led units in combat operations with tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Wilcox earned two Bronze Stars, the Legion of Merit, and many other awards.

Wilcox also served on the board of directors for the Veterans Network Committee (VNC) which provides Honor Flight trips to Washington D.C. for combat veterans. He is also a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion in McHenry, and a delegate to the McHenry County Veterans Assistance Center.

District 32 includes all or parts of Antioch, Bull Valley, Cary, Crystal Lake, Fox Lake, Ingleside, Johnsburg, Lake Villa, Lakemoor, McHenry, McCullom Lake, Ringwood, Spring Grove, Trout Valley, Volo, Eastern Wonder Lake, and Woodstock, according to ZipDataMaps.