Bill Edley was born March 16 , 1948 in Canton , Illinois . He attended Spoon River College and received his bachelor 's degree in investment finance from University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign . While at the University of Illinois , he was the President of the Young Republicans and affiliated with the Republican Party until Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal shifted his political leanings . From 1974 to 1989 he was owner and president of Automotive Wholesale , an auto parts store in Macomb and Monmouth . In 1985 he became president of the Macomb Area Chamber of Commerce . The next year he managed the race Democrat George Lipper in the 95th district against Republican incumbent Kent Slater . Lipper , who received no outside help , lost . Edley was a delegate pledged to Paul Simon at the 1988 Democratic National Convention
1988 Democratic National Convention
1988 Democratic National Convention
Bill Edley