President's Page: Alan Pirtle

Illinois Democratic County Chairman’s Association president Alan Pirtle is originally from DuPage County where he graduated from high school. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University in 1987, he earned his law degree from St. Louis University Law School in 1991.

After marrying a Monroe County native shortly after he graduated from law school, Alan and his wife, Cathy, settled in Monroe County which is located in Southwestern Illinois in the St. Louis metro-east area. They are raising their three school age sons, John, William, and Michael.

After serving as a precinct committeeman for many years, Alan became chairman of the Monroe County Democratic Party in 2004. Monroe County had traditionally been a Republican county, especially in national and statewide elections. Through the hard work and dedication of many people, the Monroe County Democratic Party achieved success under Alan’s leadership. In 2006 a Democratic candidate for governor won for the first time since 1972. All but one of the Democratic statewide candidates also won Monroe County that year.

Democrats in Monroe County built on this success when, for the first time in the county’s history, more of its citizens voted Democrat ballots than Republican in the February 2008 primary election. In fact, Democratic turnout in Monroe County’s 2008 primary increased 182% from six years previous. This was the highest such increase of any Southern Illinois county during the same period.

In April 2008, Alan was elected to the position of president of the Illinois Democratic County Chairman’s Association by the other Democratic county chairmen in the state. Alan’s goals for the ILDCCA are clear: working with Democrats to elect our candidates from the county courthouse to the White House and all offices in between. To accomplish this, he believes the association must be a valuable resource to the state’s many great Democratic county chairmen and must work effectively with other Democratic organizations in Illinois to help Democrats get elected.

Alan practices law in Southern and Central Illinois and Eastern Missouri with the Belleville law firm of Becker, Paulson, Hoerner and Thompson, PC concentrating in personal injury, wrongful death, and other litigation.