Meet Harry

I grew up in Crest Hill, IL and attended Richland Grade School then Lockport Township High School. My mother, Carol Benton, worked for 36 years at the VA as an administrative assistant. My father, Harry James Benton Jr, worked for the Wall Street Journal as a pressman. Both sides of my family raised their families on union wages and benefits (Mailers, Teamsters, Ironworkers, Laborers, and Millwrights), along with military service and benefits. I grew up working in soup kitchens with my father, and volunteering through church to bring meals and gifts to veterans with my mother. I learned the value of giving back to the communities that shaped me to become the man I am today, and I am always ready to lend a helping hand to all of my neighbors when they are in need.

When I was 17 years old, my mother, 58, had a surgery induced stroke resulting in memory loss and never walked again. She was facility dependent, needing around-the-clock care. With no one willing to take on a university hospital in litigation, my father spent most of his savings, refinanced all the equity out of their home, and dissolved his retirement to pay for her medical bills and nursing homes.

At 19 years old, in November 2006, I moved out with my girlfriend, now wife Erin, to start our life. Shortly after, my father went on medical disability from work, so I worked two jobs to help my father pay the bills along with my own. We found that it was cancer attacking his bones and spreading rapidly, something that could have been prevented had his physician sent him for the right tests. I took an unpaid medical leave, giving up my savings to help take care of my father, in home hospice care. He passed June 13th, 2007, at age 60. Shortly after, I became my mother's legal guardian until her passing December 7th, 2010, at age 64. She came down with pneumonia, her body was breaking down and lungs collapsing, but the hospital refused to surgically treat her and I was forced to carry out her DNR.

I married my high school sweetheart, Erin Benton, in 2011 when I was 24 and we bought a home in Plainfield in 2012, where we planted our roots and planned to raise our family. I then became part of the community, becoming a board member of my Homeowners Association, and began to come up with solutions to problems within our community. 

My wife and I began trying for a baby, and after struggling for over a year, almost two, we decided to seek help. We met with a fertility specialist who determined we needed to begin fertility procedures. After all the emotional and financial stress, along with the painful procedures my amazing wife battled through, we were blessed with our beautiful daughter Evelyn. A couple years later, we were blessed with our wonderful son Harrison.

In 2019, I ran and won my election for Plainfield Trustee. As Trustee, I was a champion and outspoken voice for government transparency, supported local small businesses, meaningful economic development, and held the line on taxes while also fighting to lower them while improving local infrastructure.

Since becoming your State Representative in 2023, I have focused on serving my community, not the wants of special interests. That’s why I’ve sometimes bucked my party’s leaders and opposed tax increases, supported cracking down on hidden “junk fees”, and delivered property tax relief.

As a proud Democrat, I have protected women’s reproductive rights and taken on the insurance and drug companies to lower healthcare costs. I look forward to earning your support again this fall!