Election 2012: State Sen. Mike Jacobs is his own man

EAST MOLINE – State Sen. Mike Jacobs’ East Moline home is littered with his findings: paintings he admires, old maps and a curio cabinet housing all sorts of different things.

There's a small plate sitting on the shelf of the cabinet that he found during his 2 1/2 years as a garbage collector.

He'd held that job, as well as a few others, while working toward his degrees, though there were gaps as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do.

Right after graduating from United Township High School in East Moline, Jacobs went to the University of Iowa, where he played football until he injured his knee.

So, he headed back to the Quad Cities, where he got a 2-year degree from Black Hawk College.

From there, he moved to Springfield, where his father, the former East Moline mayor, had just become the state senator representing the Quad Cities.

It was 1986, and state Sen. Denny Jacobs, D-East Moline, would hold his seat until 2005. He was succeeded by his son, who became the fourth family member to serve in the Legislature.

Jacobs was used to growing up as the politician's son.

He remembered when his dad ran for mayor in 1972. He was 12 then, and jokes now that he must have knocked on every door in East Moline.

And while his father "cast a broad shadow," Jacobs said, he didn't have any trouble distinguishing himself.

"People that know me know that I have no problem standing on my own two feet," Jacobs said. "People liked my dad. I got a lot of good will."

Perhaps, Jacobs said, his parents trained too well their six children to be independent.

"We all speak our minds," he said.

In high school, he was part of student government and lettered in four sports – baseball, basketball, football and wrestling.

When he got to Springfield, he worked for Senate President Phil Rock and got a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Springfield in 1987.

From there he moved to Pensacola, Fla., where he studied at the University of West Florida, graduating with a master's in political science in 1990.

"They had a program that I was interested in," he said, "and I wanted to get away, too."

He did come back, though, adding that he hated leaving Florida but felt he needed to get back to his family ties in the Quad Cities, where he now lives with his 13-year-old son, Elliott.

Jacobs is in the process of getting a divorce from his wife, Beth Wendt, and Elliott spends part of his time with his father, especially on weekends when Jacobs is back from Springfield.  HIs dad like to cook up breakfast for Elliott and his friends.

While in Florida, Jacobs started his own business called River Research, a public affairs and crisis management firm that handled Secretary of State Jesse White's bid for the office.

From there, he became White's downstate liaison until he was appointed to his father's seat in the Legislature in 2005, winning re-election in 2007.

Jacobs points to his ability to get things done in Legislature, not his father's influence, in the number of bills he's be able to move, even when he was a freshman legislator.

Sitting at the breakfast bar in his kitchen, Jacobs ticks off the dollars he's been able to get for projects in his district, including more than $50 million for Western Illinois University's new riverfront campus.

He thinks he can help with some of the development in the new parts of the 36th Senate District, including the Sterling-Rock Falls area.

The redrawn district takes effect following the election.

He's facing a challenger from within his party, former state Rep. Mike Boland. The two live less than 2 miles from each other in East Moline.

The March 20 primary winner will take on Republican BIll Albracht of Moline in November.