Biography:
Charles (Chuck) Austin III is a life-long resident of Rock Island. He is currently in his first term as alderman for the seventh ward. Austin was elected to the City Council in 2005 and his term will expire in May of 2009.

A 1967 graduate of Rock Island High School and 1971 graduate of Illinois State University, Alderman Austin received a Bachelor of Science in Education. Alderman Austin went on to receive a Masters Degree in Education from Western Illinois University in 1974 and an Education Specialist Degree from Western Illinois in 1978. Austin retired in 2004 after teaching Mathematics for 33 years at Rock Island High School.

Alderman Austin is active in the community as a member of the Commercial Industrial Revolving Loan Fund (CIRLF), Bi-State Regional Commission, Joint Animal Control Facility, and the Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation (GROWTH).

Alderman Austin has a wife, Ann; two children, Julie and John; a son-in-law, Paul; daughter-in-law, Judi; and a granddaughter, Ella. Austin enjoys taking care of his granddaughter, golf, walking the streets, avenues, and alleys of Rock Island, involvement with the United Way of the Quad Cities, travel, and reading. When asked his favorite things of Rock Island, Alderman Austin replied, “The people! As I walk and talk to the residents of the seventh ward and the city, I find them to be ‘Rock Solid Rock Islanders’ who are proud of their homes and neighborhoods.”