Dan Caulkins is a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 88th district of Illinois, USA. Caulkins assumed office on January 11, 2023. He was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S. and currently resides in Decatur, Illinois, U.S. He is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University.
Before his political career, Caulkins was a business owner. He owned a number of assisted living facilities until retiring in 2015. He has also served on the city council in Decatur, Illinois, from 2005 until 2009 and as a member of the Eastern Illinois University Board of Trustees from 2015 until 2018.
In the 2018 Republican primary, Caulkins defeated Todd Henricks, the Cerro Gordo C.U.S.D. #100 Board of Education president, and Randy Keith, the Piatt County Board chairman. He then defeated Democratic candidate Jen McMillan in the 2018 general election.
As of July 3, 2022, Caulkins was a member of the following Illinois House committees: Cybersecurity, data analytics, and IT committee (HCDA), Energy & environment committee (HENG), Prescription drug affordability committee (HPDA), and Public utilities committee (HPUB).
Caulkins is opposed to legislation based on the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights that would prevent libraries from banning books.
