Trump's intelligence director pick Ratcliffe was born in Mount Prospect, grew up in Palatine
U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe, President Donald Trump's choice to serve as his next director of national intelligence, might represent the Dallas area on Capitol Hill, but the third-term Republican congressman's roots lie in the Northwest suburbs.
Ratcliffe was born in Mount Prospect and grew up in Palatine, his Communications Director Rachel Stephens confirmed Monday.
His family, which includes five older siblings, moved from the area to downstate Carbondale in 1977 after his father, Robert H. Ratcliffe, was named dean of continuing education at Southern Illinois University.
John Ratcliffe later graduated from Carbondale Community High School, according to the Southern Illinoisan newspaper.
He went on to earn a bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1987 and a law degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Before winning election in 2014 to represent the 4th District of Texas in Congress, Ratcliffe, 53, was U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas and mayor of Heath, Texas, from 2004 to 2012.
Heath is a town of about 8,700 located on the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard about 25 miles northeast of Dallas.
In a Twitter post Sunday, Trump announced Ratcliffe as his selection to replace Dan Coates as director of national intelligence.
The nomination must be confirmed first by the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee and then the full Senate.