Napoleon Harris

Napoleon Bill Harris III[1] (born February 25, 1979) is an American politician and former American football linebacker who has been a member of the Illinois Senate representing the 15th district since 2013. The 15th district stretches from Blue Island in the north, Calumet City in the east, Homewood in the west, Steger in the south, and includes all or parts of Crete-Monee, Dolton, Flossmoor, Glenwood, Thornton, Dixmoor, Markham, Midlothian, Oak Forest, Harvey, Riverdale, and South Holland.[2]

Napoleon Harris
Harris with the Kansas City Chiefs, 2008
Member of the Illinois Senate
from the 15th district
Assumed office
January 9, 2013
Preceded byJames T. Meeks
Personal details
Born
Napoleon Bill Harris

(1979-02-25) February 25, 1979
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationNorthwestern University (BA)
Football career
No. 58, 50, 99
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school:Thornton Township (IL)
College:Northwestern
NFL Draft:2002 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Tackles:481
Sacks:8.5
Forced fumbles:4
Player stats at NFL.com

Prior to his service in the Illinois Senate, he was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for a total of seven seasons with the Oakland Raiders, the Minnesota Vikings, and Kansas City Chiefs at various times.

Early life

Harris grew up in Dixmoor, Illinois. He attended Lincoln Elementary School, Rosa L. Parks Middle School, and Thornton Township High School. He was a tri-star athlete and honor student. His father died his junior year of high school.

Harris was an honors student at Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Illinois and lettered in football and basketball. In football, he posted 23 sacks, 98 tackles, two fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble, two safeties, and one interception and was named the Defensive Player of the Year by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Star Publications, Daily Southtown, and the Hammond Times. Napoleon also averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds on the No. 1 basketball team in the country.

Harris enrolled at Northwestern University, where he played college football for the Northwestern Wildcats. For one year, he was a two sport athlete playing basketball. His complete college career ranked 11th on Northwestern's all-time tackles list with 334. All-Big Ten Conference as a senior after starting all 11 games at defensive end after moving from outside linebacker and ranked fourth on team in tackles with 78.

NFL career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 3 in
(1.91 m)		 253 lb
(115 kg)		 32 in
(0.81 m)		 10 in
(0.25 m)		4.55 s1.60 s2.64 s4.44 s7.15 s34 in
(0.86 m)		9 ft 7 in
(2.92 m)		27 reps
All measurables were taken at the NFL Scouting Combine;[3] see also scouting report

Harris was drafted in the first round of the 2002 draft by the Oakland Raiders, the 23rd overall pick.[4] That year, he started 13 of 16 regular-season games, all three playoff games, and Super Bowl XXXVII for the Oakland Raiders and was named to the Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie team.

In 2005, Harris was acquired by the Minnesota Vikings as part of blockbuster trade which sent Randy Moss to Oakland for the seventh overall pick and a seventh-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. The Vikings used the picks to select wide receiver Troy Williamson and cornerback Adrian Ward. Despite being traded for one of the premier players in the National Football League, Harris did not immediately live up to his potential the following season with the Minnesota Vikings. In that first season with the Vikings, he was hampered with a lingering knee injury and saw limited playing time. However, in the second season he finished second on the team with 96 tackles, 3 interceptions, 3.5 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries in 14 games.

On March 6, 2007, Harris agreed to a six-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs.[5][6] The Chiefs released Harris on October 14, 2008. Just two days after his release from the Chiefs, Harris re-joined the Minnesota Vikings on October 16. Harris started in 5 of the 10 games he played and finished his second stint with the Vikings with 32 tackles and 1 sack, and also scored his first NFL touchdown after returning a fumble 27 yards in week 12 in Jacksonville. Despite a fairly good performance, the Vikings did not hold on to him.

In May 2008, Napoleon appeared on The CW Network series The Game.[7] Harris signed a one-year contract with the Oakland Raiders on August 24, 2009 after the team released cornerback Ricky Manning, but was released five days later.[8]

NFL statistics
YearsTeamGPCOMBTOTALASTSACKFFFRFR YDSINTIR YDSAVG IRLNG IRTDPD
2002OAK158159220.5000000002
2003OAK1610774332.0300000002
2004OAK146147140.0000000001
2005MIN15251871.0000000003
2006MIN145942172.510032071104
2007KC1611682341.5100144403
2008MIN10322481.0010000000
Career1004813461358.5510424611015

Source: ESPN.[9] Abbreviations key:

Personal life

Harris is married with two children. After leaving the NFL, Harris, his wife, and sons where he became the owner of two Beggars Pizza locations.[10]

Illinois Senate

In 2011, after Illinois State Senator James Meeks announced his retirement, Harris chose to run to succeed him in the 15th district on a platform of creating economic growth for the district.[10] He won the 2012 primary with a plurality of the vote against two opponents,[11] and ran in the general election unopposed.[12]

As of July 2022, Senator Harris is a member of the following Illinois Senate committees:[13]

  • (Chairman of) Appropriations - Personnel and Procurement Committee (SAPP-SAPP)
  • Appropriations - Revenue and Finance Committee (SAPP-SARF)
  • Appropriations - Government Infrastructure Committee (SAPP-SAGI)
  • Appropriations Committee (SAPP)
  • Commerce Committee (SCOM)
  • (Co-chairman of) Critical Energy Infrastructure and Grid Reliability (SENE-ECEI)
  • Energy and Public Utilities Committee (SENE)
  • Executive Committee (SEXC)
  • Executive - Cannabis Committee (SEXC-SEOC)
  • (Chairman of) Executive - Tobacco Committee (SEXC-STOB)
  • Health Committee (SHEA)
  • (Chairman of) Insurance Committee (SINS)
  • Pensions Committee (SPEN)
  • (Chairman of) Redistricting - South Cook County (SRED)
  • Subcommittee on Public Health (SHEA-SHPH)

While a member of the Illinois Senate, Harris has run for higher office on two occasions. In 2013, Harris ran for the congressional seat vacated by Jesse Jackson Jr.,[14] but dropped out after two months, endorsing Robin Kelly.[15] In 2015, he announced his candidacy in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in 2016.[16] He would come in third place, losing to Tammy Duckworth, who would go on to win the general election.

After the death of longtime Thornton Township Democratic Committeeman Frank Zuccarelli, Harris defeated State Representative Thaddeus Jones for the position.[17]

Electoral history
Illinois 15th State Senate District Democratic Primary, 2012[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Napoleon Harris 10,172 43.64
Democratic Donna Miller 8,209 35.22
Democratic Patricia "Pat" Mahon 4,928 21.14
Total votes 23,309 100.0
Illinois 15th State Senate General Election, 2012[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Napoleon Harris 73,762 100.0
Total votes 73,762 100.0
Illinois 15th State Senate General Election, 2014[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Napoleon Harris (incumbent) 49,577 100.0
Total votes 49,577 100.0
Illinois U.S. Senator (Class III) Democratic Primary, 2016[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tammy Duckworth 1,220,128 64.38
Democratic Andrea Zopp 455,729 24.05
Democratic Napoleon Harris 219,286 11.57
Total votes 1,895,143 100.0
Illinois 15th State Senate General Election, 2018[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Napoleon B. Harris III (incumbent) 59,332 100.0
Total votes 59,332 100.0

References
  1. "Illinois General Assembly – Senator Biography". ilga.gov. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  2. Veeneman, Drew. "Map of 15th District" (PDF). precinctmaps.com. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  3. "NFL Draft News".
  4. "2002 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  5. Teicher, Adam. Chiefs agree to terms with free-agent LB Harris The Kansas City Star, March 6, 2007.
  6. Chiefs agree to terms with UFA LB Napoleon Harris Archived March 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine KCChiefs.com, March 6, 2007.
  7. "The Game: Season 2, Episode 19. I Got 99 Problems and My Chick Is One (11 May 2008)". IMDb. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  8. Jerry McDonald post, Twitter, August 29, 2009
  9. "Napoleon Harris Stats". ESPN. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  10. Jensen, Sean. "Napoleon Harris Seeks Illinois Senate Seat to put Dixmoor Back in the Game". Daily Herald. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  11. "GENERAL PRIMARY – 3/20/2012 15TH SENATE". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  12. "GENERAL ELECTION – 11/6/2012 15TH SENATE". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  13. "Illinois General Assembly - Senator Committees". ilga.gov. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  14. "Former NFL linebacker to run for Jackson Jr.'s seat". The Hill. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  15. Pearson, Rick (January 31, 2013). "Harris drops out of race for Jackson Jr. seat". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  16. Miller, Rich (November 17, 2015). "Question of the Day". Capitol Fax. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  17. Slowick, Ted (August 19, 2022). "Sen. Napoleon Harris unifies rivals in new role for Thornton Township Democrats". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  18. "Election Results 2012 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  19. "Election Results 2012 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  20. "Election Results 2014 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  21. "Election Results 2016 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  22. "Election Results 2018 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
Illinois Senate
Football
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