|
Donald L. Totten was appointed to the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) Board of Directors for a second time representing suburban Cook County. He replaces outgoing RTA Director Patrick V. Riley. He will rejoin the Board at the July 29th meeting at 9 a.m. at the RTA’s office.
Totten was first appointed to the RTA Board back in 1990 also representing suburban Cook County, and he served on the Board’s Administrative and Planning Committees.
Totten spent 15 years in the engineering and business fields before being elected to the Illinois Legislature in 1972. He also served as assistant to the director of the Department of Transportation for the State of Illinois. Additionally, Totten served as president of a firm specializing in government relations, management and political consulting.
During his tenure in the Illinois General Assembly, Totten served on the Appropriations, Transportation and Revenue Committees, and was the chief sponsor of the Taxpayers Rights Amendment, a constitutional amendment to limit state taxes. Totten served eight years in the Illinois House of Representatives and two years in the Illinois Senate.
Totten founded the American Legislative Exchange Council and served as their national chairman. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Conservative Union, former vice-chairman of the National Council of State Legislators, vice-president of the National Tax Limitation Committee and chairman of the Illinois Tax Limitation Committee. He is the recipient of the Illinois Conservative Union’s 1977 “Legislator of the Year” award.
During President Ronald Reagan’s era, Totten was appointed to his transition team in the Office of the President-Elect and would later be appointed by the president to the International Joint Commission, a body that handles U.S. and Canadian affairs.
Totten is a 50-year resident of the northwest suburbs. He and his wife, Joyce, have three children.
|
