Dave Smith

Before becoming Illinois Family Institute’s executive director in late 2006, David worked at IFI as a senior policy analyst for two years.

From 1996 – 2004, David worked as an aide to a City of Chicago Alderman.  During that time, he was a volunteer decency advocate for the group Citizens for Community Values of Illinois, filing 70 indecency complaints over a period of four years with the FCC against a nationally syndicated radio shock jock based in Chicago.  His efforts resulted in fines totaling $300,000 against the radio station owner.

In 2005 – 2006, David led the Protect Marriage Illinois voter referendum project, filing more than 347,000 signatures at the Illinois State Board of Elections.  Unfortunately, state and county employees discredited almost 70 percent of the names from the Cook County jurisdiction, bringing the final count to less than the required number needed.

David has been interviewed for numerous radio, television and cable programs and newspaper articles on topics such as sex education, broadcast decency gambling, abortion, homosexuality, drug decriminalization and pornography.

An alumnus of the Family Research Council’s Witherspoon Fellowship, Dave graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a B.A. in Political Science in 1998.  He and his wife of 18 years are blessed to be the parents of six young children.