Greg Brownfield
For State Representative
About Greg
Greg Brownfield is a community volunteer and attorney. He most recently worked as a legal aid attorney in the Carol Stream office of Prairie State Legal Services. Greg has advised hundreds of hard-working people who were pushed into poverty by the economic crisis and is developing resources that will help even more of them find ways to survive until things get better.
Greg grew up in San Pedro, California. He got his union card at age 18 and supported a middle-class lifestyle on one income. He eventually used his union wages, earned on the night shift, to put himself through the nearby California State University at Long Beach. He studied diverse subjects including religion, ethics, and political theory and graduated with a BA in Philosophy.
In 1993 Greg left California and ended his 14 year stint as a union laborer to attend the University of Kansas School of Law in Lawrence, Kansas. During law school, he interned in the Kansas Legislature, making that year’s ethics legislation the subject of his research and writing. Greg was on the Law Review and received highest academic honors for his work in Business Law and Workers Compensation.
After graduation, Greg remained in Lawrence and spent three years specializing in Labor/Employment Law and Education Law. In response to one of his client’s concerns, he used his expertise to draft successful legislation that protects classroom teachers by requiring administrators to inform them about students who have a well-established history of violence.
After moving to the Chicago area in 1999, Greg pursued a traditional law career, culminating in an Associate position with a highly-respected firm that represents school districts and municipalities. In 2004 he decided to put more focus on service, including getting started on various volunteer efforts and beginning his work for Prairie State Legal Services. He has participated in a number of local initiatives and has been active in his church both at the local level and through his church’s regional governing body.
Greg lives in Bartlett with his wife Debbie, an Illinois native who graduated from the University of Illinois, and daughters Olivia and Lindsey, who attend U-46 elementary schools.
