James R. Reilly (January 31, 1945 – April 4, 2022) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives.
[1] During his freshman term his duties in the General Assembly included: Minority Spokesman, State Government Committee; Vice Chairman, Joint Committee on Administrative Rules; Member, Appropriations II and Elementary and Secondary Education Committees, and Commission on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.
After a staff reorganization, Reilly was named Deputy Governor with a portfolio including budget development and legislative negotiations.
After Governor Jim Edgar's Chief of Staff Kirk Dillard left the administration to run for the Illinois Senate seat of retiring incumbent Thomas McCracken Jr., Reilly became Edgar's Chief of Staff.
[3] Reilly died on April 4, 2022, at Saint Joseph Villa assisted facility in Chicago, Illinois.