Paul Simon (politician)

Paul Martin Simon (November 29, 1928 ? December 9, 2003) was an American politician from Illinois. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1974 to 1985 and United States Senate from 1985 to 1997. He was a member of the Democratic Party. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988. During the campaign, he briefly captured the national attention and was considered a major candidate. This lead to an appearance on the popular television show Saturday Night Live, co-hosting with celebrated singer Paul Simon.

Early Political Years

Simon, the son of a Lutheran minister who was a missionary to China, was born in Eugene, Oregon shortly after his parents were forced back to America following a controversy about what the appropriate Chinese term for God should be. He attended the University of Oregon and Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, but never graduated. He worked as a newspaper editor and publisher of the weekly Troy Tribune in Troy, Madison County, Illinois, eventually building a chain of fourteen weeklies. His activism against gambling, prostitution, and government corruption while at the Troy Tribune forced the newly-elected governor, Adlai Stevenson, to take a stand on these issues, creating national exposure for Simon that later resulted in his testifying before the Kefauver Commission.

Related Topics:
Lutheran - China - Eugene, Oregon - University of Oregon - Dana College - Blair, Nebraska - Newspaper - Troy - Madison County, Illinois - Adlai Stevenson - Kefauver Commission

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Simon served in the United States Army during the Korean War from 1951 to 1953, becoming an intelligence officer. Upon his discharge, he began his political career, serving in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1955 to 1963. As a state legislator, he worked to achieve fiscal responsibility and to expand public utilities in rural parts of the state that did not yet have them. He was also active in promoting Civil Rights, and once hosted an event attended by former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. He did many notable things to promote himself and his causes during these years, including wearing his trademark bow-tie, and successfully proposing that the cardinal be adopted as the state bird.

Related Topics:
United States Army - Korean War - 1951 - 1953 - Illinois House of Representatives - 1955 - 1963 - Civil Rights - Eleanor Roosevelt - Cardinal

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He was one of the youngest elected state legislators in Illinois history (at 26 he was only a year older than Abraham Lincoln had been when he entered the state legislature). When he married Jeanne Hurley Simon on April 21, 1960, she was a member of the state legislature (1957-1961) and it was the first time in Illinois history that two sitting members of the General Assembly were married to each other. She later became a successful lawyer and author, and they had two children together, Sheila and Martin. She died in February of 2000 of brain cancer. In 2001, Simon married Patricia Derge.

Related Topics:
Abraham Lincoln - Jeanne Hurley Simon - Patricia Derge

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He moved to the Illinois State Senate in 1963, serving there until 1968. He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Illinois in 1968 and served from 1969 to 1973. As a Democrat, he served with Republican Governor Richard B. Ogilvie. This remains the only time in Illinois history that the state had a governor and lieutenant governor of opposing political parties.

Related Topics:
Illinois State Senate - 1963 - 1968 - Lieutenant Governor of Illinois - 1969 - 1973 - Republican - Richard B. Ogilvie

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His 1972 campaign to win the Democratic nomination for governor was upset by Dan Walker, who went on to win in the general election.

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