From Lawbreaker to Lawmaker in Illinois : Reform: Freshman legislator’s criminal record spanned more than 20 years, including four behind bars. He says his past and comeback help him represent those in tough neighborhoods.

Coy Pugh has stolen a car, shoplifted, run with a gang, packed unregistered guns, possessed heroin and jumped bail.

All of those things, he said, make him a better state legislator.

“People in my community know what I’ve done after prison, the accomplishments I’ve made . . . how easy it is for black men to end up in prison and how hard it is for them to overcome,” said Pugh, a freshman Democrat from Chicago.

He said his criminal past and comeback make him an ideal choice to represent people living in tough Chicago neighborhoods.

Pugh, 41, first acquired a police record at age 16 and it stretched for more than two decades. He served four years behind bars. As a convicted felon, Pugh was allowed to run for state office after completing his last sentence.

His past was no secret during the election in Chicago, but few state lawmakers knew before he was elected last fall.

Rep. Thomas Homer, a fellow Democrat and chairman of the Judiciary Committee on which Pugh serves, said he has been impressed with Pugh’s work.

“He’s been a really thoughtful, contributing member of the committee,” Homer said.

The former gang leader sees no conflict in sitting on the committee that deals with crime bills. He said his experiences help him bring a sense of fairness to the committee.

“Mistakes are what you are talking about, and we are all imperfect,” he said. “It’s been my experience that laws are written to govern the actions of the lesser class of people. People really don’t make laws to govern their own actions.”

Pugh said his first run-in with the law was for pitching pennies. He was 16 and spent the night at a police station.

A year later, in 1969, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail and two years on probation for stealing a car. A string of shoplifting convictions followed.

Next came convictions for unlawful use of guns, drug possession and pimping--the only part of his record Pugh disputes. He said he wasn’t pandering, just trying to pick up a woman at a bar.

In 1984, after leaving the Joliet Correctional Center on parole from two drug possession sentences, he decided to turn his life around: “My actions were bordering on insanity.”

Pugh became an aide to former state Rep. Anthony Young, now a Cook County circuit court judge. He earned a degree in urban studies from Northeastern University and owns a contracting company that employs formerly homeless people.

Pugh survived a five-candidate primary by only 385 votes after a community newspaper published his criminal history. He easily won election in Chicago’s heavily Democratic 10th House District.

Young said Pugh is an ideal role model for gang members who think they can’t quit the criminal life.

“He gives them a little hope,” Young said. “You can be anything you want to be if you want to put your mind to it.”