Growing up the oldest of three children, Keith Gray took the lessons he learned from his father, a printer, and his mother, a waitress, and turned them into action at an early age. Taught to value honesty, innovation, and persistence, Keith earned a reputation as a hard worker and an unrelenting can-do leader.
After attending the Illinois Institute of Technology, Keith co-founded an environmental testing company at the age of 23. The company started with just two employees but quickly expanded to provide jobs to more than 120 individuals and families. In 2005 Keith acquired his second company, Integrated Lakes Management, a firm specializing in natural area restoration and water monitoring. Today the company employs 15 full-time professionals and an additional 15 seasonal workers.
Keith’s experience in the private sector gives him a clear understanding of the challenges facing families and businesses in our struggling Illinois economy. Rising taxes and increased governmental fees on employers undercut Illinois’ economic competitiveness by limiting capital investment and restricting job creation. Keith knows that families continue to suffer today as personal incomes shrink and long-term savings dry up. Contributing factors, such as rising motor fuel prices, utility bills, and food costs, have made it more difficult for families to save and invest in the future.
Additionally, with two decades in environmental science, Keith brings to the Illinois Senate a unique perspective on the environmental challenges dominating our economic, cultural, and political discourse. His research and investment in environmental management resulted in two patents and stronger resource conservation. Keith is a strong supporter of environmental preservation and restoration to ensure our children and future generations inherit a cleaner, safer planet.
In 2001, Keith took his private sector experience and applied it to a distinctly different challenge. Frustrated with rising property taxes and the growing perception that parents were paying a premium for average test scores, Keith ran successfully for the Rondout School Board District 72 on a reform agenda calling for more accountability and higher standards. Keith has since been re-elected to his second term, outpacing his opponents and receiving the highest number of votes.
Serving on the Rondout School Board has provided Keith a window into the Illinois education system. It has given him irreplaceable insight on how we better equip our children to succeed in high school, college and compete for jobs in our increasingly global economy. Keith has been an outspoken advocate for increasing after-school opportunities for our children, including expanding athletic opportunities and providing additional funding for drama and music programs.
Keith’s service on the board has been defined by fiscal responsibility. Faced with a recent vote to increase the Lake County sales tax by ballot referendum, Keith was a firm no vote. In fact, Keith has never voted to increase taxes on families because he is convinced that fiscal discipline can reduce administrative expenses and move more dollars into the classroom.
Keith is running for the State Senate because Springfield is failing us. Partisan quarrels have replaced real results on issues like ethics reform, tax relief, and a new capital program.
We deserve better.
Keith does not intend to win this election just on the back of a failing government. Instead, Keith will prove to voters that he can solve the challenges facing our families and communities and make the changes we expect. Keith’s vision is to hold down taxes, grow jobs, reform education, increase accessibility to affordable health care, and limit the influence of lobbyists in Springfield.
Keith graduated from Wheeling High School in 1979. He has been married to his wife, Debbie, for 22 years, and together they have two children, Emily, 16, and Erin, 14. The Grays reside in Mettawa.
