On May 31, 2001, President George W. Bush designated Edward F. Reilly, Jr. as
Chairman of the United States Parole Commission. After being appointed to the
Commission in 1992, he also served as Chairman from August 14, 1992, until February
4, 1997, when he was designated a member of the National Appeals Board.
Mr. Reilly received a B.A. in political science from the University of Kansas.
Prior to his appointment to the Parole Commission, Mr. Reilly served 29 years
as a legislator in the State of Kansas. He served one year as a member of the
Kansas House of Representatives and then 28 years as a Senator in the Kansas State
Senate. In the legislature, Mr. Reilly served as Assistant Majority Leader, Chairman
of the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs, Chairman of the Senate Insurance
Subcommittee, and Vice Chairman of the Senate Elections Committee. As Chairman
of the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs, which handled most corrections
issues, Mr. Reilly became keenly interested in the area of corrections, probation,
and parole. In 1981, Mr. Reilly chaired the Senate/House Committee that reviewed
the operations of the Kansas Correctional System. This review ultimately led to
major reforms in Kansas Corrections, including increased benefits for correctional
officers, better retention of employees in the corrections system, and the accreditation
of some of Kansas' major correctional institutions.
From 1982 to 1986, Mr. Reilly served as a Commissioner on the National Commission
on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. In 1985, he was appointed a member
of the National Highway Safety Advisory Committee. He has served as an advisory
member of the American Justice Institute on federal and state prisons and as a
member of the Community Liaison Committee of the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth,
Kansas, and the Kansas State Penitentiary, Lansing, Kansas. He has also served
as a member of the State Attorney General's Task Force on Drug Education in Kansas.
Mr. Reilly is a member of the American Correctional Association, the Association
of Paroling Authorities International, the National Criminal Justice Association,
the National Committee on Community Corrections, and the National Association
of Chiefs of Police. As Chairman of the Parole Commission, he served as a member
of the U.S. Sentencing Commission (ex officio) and the National Institute of Corrections
Advisory Board (ex officio). In addition, he has served on a number of Boards,
Committees, and Task Forces relating to issues involving the criminal justice
system.
A native of Leavenworth, Kansas, Mr. Reilly was for thirty years in the field
of real estate insurance and banking. Mr. Reilly served seven years in the Reserve
Officers Training Corps. He has been actively engaged in the International Officers
Program at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, hosting international officers from many
nations attending the Command and General Staff College. He has been an instructor
to these international officers in courses on federal, state, and local government
since 1967.
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