Illinois gaming commission obama

Reid was born in in Searchlight — "a town with more than a dozen brothels and no church," as described by Schumer. Reid's childhood home lacked running water, and Searchlight lacked a high school; Reid would stay with relatives 40 miles away in Henderson in order to attend school.

At 19 years old, he eloped with his wife Landra. Capitol Police. He returned to Nevada, where he soon began his political career. Reid served in the Nevada Assembly, as lieutenant governor and as chairman of the state's gaming commission before turning to Congress.

After four years as a representative, he was elected to the U. Senate in Over three decades in the Senate, Reid developed a reputation as a savvy tactician with an unrivaled ability to turn out votes. He served as Senate Majority leader from until In that time, he shepherded landmark Democratic legislation including the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul bill, the massive stimulus package and the Obama presidency's most signature piece of legislation, the Affordable Care Act.

But his humility was rooted in his strong values from a humble childhood rising from Searchlight to the spotlight, and becoming one of the most celebrated and consequential Senate leaders in decades," said Pelosi.

Over the course of three hours, speakers told colorful stories about Reid one after another — how he once asked to be dropped off in the middle of the Nevada desert for a marathon training run; how he kissed the TV after Democrats retook the Senate in ; or how, upon seeing a speech draft in which he was refer to himself as a "former boxer," he crossed out the word "former.

Reid's five children — daughter Lana and four sons, Key, Josh, Leif and Rory — remembered a loving father who wrote meaningful letters to his children for birthdays, graduations or simply because he was bored while listening to a speech on the Senate floor. He didn't like phonies. He didn't like grandstanding.

He was proud of the fact that he didn't own a tuxedo," said Obama. In his eulogy, Obama described coming to the Capitol as a junior senator from Illinois in , where he felt daunted by the apparent differences between himself and Reid — their age, skin color, political leanings, even taste in music "I didn't know what kind of music he liked, but I figured he didn't listen to Jay-Z," Obama said.

But in Reid's background from a poverty-stricken family in the small town of Searchlight, Nev. But there were also signs of significant personal warmth for people facing challenge and tragedy. Natalie Ravitz, a former chief of staff to conservative media magnate Rupert Murdoch, recalled Reid comforting her at a particularly trying time.

She was working for Sen. Paul D. That same day, Reid invited Ravitz for a private conversation during which the two shared stories about Wellstone. Reid had falsely accused Romney on the Senate floor of not paying taxes for years, though Romney later released proof that he had paid millions in and Sirhan Sirhan, RFK assassin, denied parole.

Scientists might've finally found a moon beyond our solar system. Load Error. Harry Reid, former Senate majority leader, dies at He was urged to run for student body treasurer his junior year, and it would be the first election he would win. He was elected student body president his senior year with the help of classmate Reynaldo Martinez, later his campaign manager, who would stick with him for much of his political career. But first there was a short-lived boxing career in Cedar City in southern Utah, and then a fistfight with his future father-in-law before he and Gould eloped and were married by a Mormon bishop — even though neither were of that faith yet.

On it, in bright yellow stitching, it read, 'We can. We will. We must. That changed after Reid enrolled at Utah State University on his way to becoming a lawyer. Reid said he was drawn to Mormonism because of the kindness with which many church members treated him when he was enrolled at Basic High.

And I always remembered that. As a Democrat, he was in the minority among the Mormon population. He recalled when LDS leaders and the church bankrolled Proposition 8 in California, which denied marriage rights to gay couples. He spent some time in Henderson working as a lawyer in the s before deciding to run for a seat in the Nevada Legislature.

Two years later, he would experience one of the darkest days of his life, one which started out with one of his biggest highlights. Reid, who had fought a couple of dozen fights during his brief pugilistic career in southern Utah in his 20s, got to meet Ali before the fight. The two spoke for 90 minutes, and Reid said he felt like a kid meeting an idol. They gave life everything they had. But no child should be raised the way I was raised. In , after a single term as lieutenant governor, he decided to run for the U.

Senate against Paul Laxalt, the former governor. In , O'Callaghan asked him to head the gaming commission. Reid said he always carried a gun and that his office in Las Vegas was regularly evacuated for bomb threats. He was asked to remain on the commission in , but Reid declined and ran for Congress — a victory.

Because Nevada only had one representative at that time, Reid was invited to caucus with the California Democrats and, over the years, forged a relationship with the state party and became friends with Nancy Pelosi, the chair of the California Democratic Party at the time of Reid's election. Pelosi was first elected to Congress from San Francisco in After two terms in the House, Reid ran for the Senate after Laxalt announced he would retire in He first came to Washington as a strong advocate of gun rights and opponent of abortion but moved left on those issues, for example, especially as he ascended into leadership posts and during the Obama presidency.

Tom Daschle of South Dakota lost his seat in Reid became Senate majority leader in when Democrats took control as the Iraq war sapped support for President George W. Bush and the Republican Party.