Doug Kane

In 1983, Kane became the executive director of the EPTOW Coalition, a joint effort between Illinois Railroads Association, the Taxpayers' Federation of Illinois, the League of Women Voters of Illinois and the Illinois Environmental Council, to create a user fee for truck drivers to cover the costs of repairs resulting from an increased weight limit.^[6] He also served as Deputy Auditor General for a time in the 1980s.^[7]

In the 1986 congressional election, Kane successfully ran for the Democratic nomination as a write-in candidate before opting not to be a candidate in the general election. Local party leaders appointed James Dawson, a member of the Tazewell County Board, to be the nominee.^[8] In 1992, Kane ran for the Illinois Senate against State Representative Karen Hasara to represent the newly drawn 50th district which included Sangamon and Menard counties as well as the eastern half of Cass County.^[9][10]

In 1995, Kane and his wife Kathleen Vinehout moved to Alma, Wisconsin to pursue farming. In 2006, Vinehout was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate.^[11] In 2014, Kane was elected to the Buffalo County, Wisconsin Board of Supervisors and is the chairman of the board.^[12] He served for a time on the school board in Alma, Wisconsin.^[13]

Kane is an economist and President of Program Analysis Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in economic and public policy issues. One of his current clients is the Office of Management and Budget of the State of Illinois that sought his help with the economic effects of the gross receipts tax.^[14][15]

Kane's book Our Politics: Reflections on Political Life was published in 2019 by Southern Illinois University Press.^[16] It describes the travails of public office and the political, economic, and social forces that shape political decision-making. He publishes weekly articles on the blog View from a Distance.^[17]