Fall 2026 Commencement speaker

Morning- Senator Chapin Rose

Chapin Rose is the Assistant Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate. He grew up in Charleston, Illinois, just a block from the EIU Campus, where his mother was Director of Administrative Services. Charleston is also where he met his future wife, Camille, whose parents were both faculty at Eastern.

An attorney, Rose previously served as an Assistant State’s Attorney and Senior Assistant State’s Attorney in Champaign County, where he prosecuted felony cases and worked in the child support enforcement division. He also previously served as an adjunct faculty member in Eastern Illinois University’s Department of Political Science and is currently a practicing attorney at the firm of Harrington Law LLC.

Rose served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2003 to 2013 before being elected to the Illinois Senate, where he represents the 51st District. He serves as the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is the lead “budgeteer” for his caucus, and has been involved in legislative efforts supporting higher education, agriculture, small businesses, economic development, and job creation.  He also currently co-chairs the Legislative Audit Commission.

Rose was selected for the inaugural class of the Edgar Fellows Leadership Program. Throughout his legislative career, he has received numerous recognitions from groups as diverse as the Illinois Farm Bureau, business organizations, healthcare organizations, and others.  He is very proud to have recently been recognized for his work serving the developmentally disabled by both their statewide advocacy organization and local recognition from the Charleston Transitional Facility.

Rose and his wife, Camille, live in Mahomet and have four children.