Peter Breen (Illinois politician)

Peter Breen
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
from the 48th district
In office
January 14, 2015 (2015-Jan-14) – January 9, 2019 (2019-Jan-09)
Preceded bySandra M. Pihos
Succeeded byTerra Costa Howard
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMargie
ResidenceLombard, Illinois
Alma materVanderbilt University (B.Eng.)
Notre Dame Law School (J.D.)

Peter Breen is a former Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives who represented the 48th district from 2015 until 2019. The 48th district included municipalities in DuPage County including all or parts of Lombard, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, and Lisle.[1]

Breen earned his Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame.[2] Prior to election to the Illinois Legislature he was employed as the Vice President and Senior Counsel of the Thomas More Society. He served as a trustee on the Lombard Village Board and served as Lombard's Acting Village President.[2]

Breen defeated six-term incumbent State Representative Sandra M. Pihos in the Republican primary in March 2014 with 56% of the vote.[3] He won the general election against a write-in candidate with about 91% of the vote according to preliminary election results.[4] In 2018, Breen lost reelection to Terra Costa Howard in a year that saw numerous suburban Republicans lose at the polls.[5] In 2020, Breen lost again to Costa Howard.[6]

As of March 2023 Breen is Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation at the Thomas More Society.[7]

Breen represents a Texas man who in 2023 sued his ex-wife's friends that helped with her abortion. Breen says that through this lawsuit, it might also be possible to also sue the manufacturers and distributors of abortion medication.[7][8] Legal scholar Melissa Murray viewed the suit also as an attempt to get the Texas courts to recognize fetal personhood.[9]

  1. ^ "2011 Illinois Representative District 48" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  2. ^ a b "Peter Breen Bio". votebreen.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-12. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  3. ^ Truong, Quan (March 19, 2014) - "Breen Grabs GOP Nod for State Rep in 48th District". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  4. ^ Shields, Evan - "Breen Wins 48th District Election Over Write-In Challenger". Suburban Life, November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  5. ^ Kapos, Shia (November 7, 2018). "WAVE crushes IL GOP — PRITZKER, UNDERWOOD, CASTEN win — BREEN, SCHNEIDER out — HOW DEMS did it". Politico Playbook. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  6. ^ "Illinois State House - District 48 Election Results | USA TODAY". USA Today. 2021-01-17. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  7. ^ a b "Father of Aborted Unborn Child Brings Wrongful-Death Lawsuit" (Press release). Thomas More Society. March 11, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  8. ^ McCammon, Sarah (March 11, 2023). "A Texas lawsuit could have far-reaching implications for abortion pill access". NPR News. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  9. ^ Goldberg, Michelle (2023-03-14). "Opinion | Abortion Opponents Want to Make Women Afraid to Get Help From Their Friends". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-15.