Title: Deputy General Counsel for Public Safety (Retired)
Company: State of Illinois Office of the Governor
Location: Alto Pass, Illinois, United States
Mark R. Warnsing, retired deputy general counsel for the state of Illinois Office of the Governor, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Lawyers for dedication, achievements, and leadership in government.
Growing up in Illinois, Mr. Warnsing found himself inspired by Abraham Lincoln, who had served as a state legislator there. Though Mr. Warnsing had initially considered pursuing a career as a veterinarian, he instead found himself following Lincoln’s path and becoming a lawyer. After graduating from law school, he first expected to become an agricultural lawyer, drawing on his experience growing up on a farm. However, Mr. Warnsing ended up discovering an opportunity to be the first assistant state’s attorney in a small Illinois county’s two-person office in 1982. From there, he was recruited to join the Illinois State Senate’s judiciary committee on criminal law.
After leaving the state’s attorney’s office, Mr. Warnsing devoted 10 years to serving as legal counsel for Republicans on the criminal law committee in the Illinois State Senate. During this time, he gained a great degree of insight into how state politics operated and learned how to draft legislation for new laws. In 1995, Mr. Warnsing accepted the role of assistant legal counsel for Jim Edgar, who was Illinois’ governor at the time. During his time in the governor’s office, he focused on public safety, seamlessly transitioning into working with the next governor, George Ryan.
Becoming the Illinois Office of the Governor’s deputy general counsel for public safety in 2001, Mr. Warnsing was appointed to the Illinois Prison Review Board, where he assisted in overseeing decisions related to parole, inmate discipline and early release. After several years in that position, he was offered a two-month contract to work alongside former Illinois Senate staff members in rewriting the Illinois criminal code. Recognizing the importance of this task, Mr. Warnsing accepted the assignment, which soon ballooned into a massive five-year process. He collaborated closely with Republicans and Democrats, solidifying his role as a trustworthy source of legal knowledge who could find common ground and bridge the gap between competing factions within the government.
After seeing the new criminal code through to a final bill that passed and was accepted into law in 2011, Mr. Warnsing was appointed as the deputy director of the Illinois Legislative Reference Bureau. Serving there until his retirement in 2018, he aided politicians and their legal counsel in drafting legislation, with his office producing an average of more than 27,000 documents for every two-year session. Throughout his professional life, Mr. Warnsing garnered a reputation for commitment even in the face of grueling hours. He often worked 12- to 15-hour days, including weekends, but always put in his full effort no matter how exhausting the workload.
Mr. Warnsing’s performance in the field was born of his academic journey. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in agriculture from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1977. Subsequently, Mr. Warnsing earned a Juris Doctor from Drake University Law School in 1982. He credits his success to his adaptability and willingness to take on multiple roles, a skill that he learned while working on his family’s farm in his youth.
In addition to his achievements in the legal field, Mr. Warnsing is a dedicated husband. His favorite hobby for relaxing is fishing. Since retiring from full-time work in 2018, Mr. Warnsing has remained lightly active in the legal field. He briefly took on additional government contracts and continues to occasionally accept select pro bono work for cases and legal matters that he is passionate about.
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