Ralph Conner is local legislation mananger of the Heartland Institute. He devoted the past 20 years to public service for the municipality of Maywood, a community in the western inner-ring suburbs of Chicago. He served as village president (2001-2005), director of planning and development/building commissioner (1990-1995), and enterprise zone administrator (1989-1995). Mr. Conner studied English, journalism, and business administration and marketing at Southern Illinois University and Roosevelt University.

Mr. Conner has been a popular spokesperson for taxpayers, government reform, school choice, and many other issues. He served as chairman of Illinois Public Policy Caucuses (1994), community outreach director of the Illinois Educational Choice Coalition (1991-1992), and a panelist for the Chicago Conservative Conference (2003). He has often appeared as a pundit on Comcast, WTTW, and the Bruce DuMont show.