Raymond H. "Ray" LaHood is a Republican politician from Illinois who is currently the United States Secretary of Transportation, having served since 2009. Previously, he represented the Illinois's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for seven terms . LaHood was born in Peoria, Illinois, to Mary A. LaHood , who was of German ancestry, and Edward M. LaHood, a Lebanese American who managed a restaurant. He graduated from Spalding Institute, worked his way through Canton Junior College and Bradley University in Peoria, earning a Bachelors of Science in education and... sociology in 1971. Following graduation, he taught junior high school social studies at public and Catholic schools, and has said that "teaching kids about the constitution and government" stirred his interest in politics. LaHood was director of the Rock Island County Youth Services Bureau and then district administrative assistant for U.S. congressman Tom Railsback, a Moline, Illinois Republican, from 1977 to 1982.
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| Birthdate: | December 6, 1945 |
| Birthplace: | Peoria, Illinois |
| Age: | 66 |
| Education: | Bradley University |
| Religion: | Maronite Church, Roman Catholicism |
| Also known as: | Raymond H. Lahood |