Senator David Koehler Contact information

David Koehler is a Democratic politician from Illinois, and has been the Illinois State Senator from the 46th Legislative District since December 2006. The district includes Canton, East Peoria, Fairview, Lewistown, Mapleton, Peoria, Pekin, and West Peoria.

Koehler was born and raised in South Dakota. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yankton College in South Dakota in 1971 and a Masters of Divinity from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio in 1974. From 1972 to 1978, he was a staff member at the National Farm Worker Ministry (NFWM), working in Arizona, Ohio, New York, and eventually at the United Farm Workers La Paz headquarters in Keene, California.

In 1978, he moved to Peoria, Illinois, and became a community organizer and program manager for the Peoria Friendship House, a local charity. He became executive director of the Peoria Area Labor Management Council (PALM) in 1985, and president of its Labor Management Cooperative Health Programs in 1992.

Koehler served on the Peoria County Board from 1982 to 1988, and on the Peoria City Council from 1989 to 1997. While on the city council, he was mayor pro tem for two years. He was elected to the Illinois Senate in November 2006; his predecessor, George Shadid, retired in December 2006, allowing Koehler to take office on December 3, 2006.

In early 2010, Koehler and other lawmakers called for the elimination of the position of Illinois Lieutenant Governor. After candidate Scott Lee Cohen, the Democratic primary winner for Lieutenant Governor, dropped out, Koehler applied to be considered for that seat as running mate in Governor Pat Quinn’s first election campaign after succeeding to the governorship. Sheila Simon was selected by the Democratic State Central Committee instead, and won the election.

Koehler is married with three daughters, two sons-in-law, one daughter-in-law, two granddaughters, and one grandson. He and his wife, Nora Sullivan, live in Peoria, and started the Peoria Bread Company, a bakery, in 2006. Koehler is a retired minister in the United Church of Christ.