A lifelong resident of Effingham, Illinois, Mr. Glen Bower received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1971. While a student, he was active with the University Honors Program, the Sphinx Club, and the Air Force ROTC. He later graduated from the Chicago Kent College of Law, and shortly thereafter was elected State's Attorney of Effingham County, a position he held from 1976 to 1979. He was elected to the General Assembly and represented the 54th District in the House of Representatives until 1983, when he was appointed Assistant Director and General Counsel of the Illinois Department of Revenue. In 1990, President George Bush appointed Mr. Bower Chairman of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board; he was reappointed to a five-year term in 1992. In January 1998, he was appointed assistant to then-Illinois Secretary of State George Ryan and in January 1999, Governor Ryan appointed him Director of the Illinois Department of Revenue.

Mr. Bower has been a member of the SIU Foundation Board since 1993 and received the SIUC College of Liberal Arts Alumni Achievement Award in 1994. He is active with the Air Force Reserves.