Richard B. Ogilvie
| Richard B. Ogilvie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 35th Governor of Illinois | |
|
In office January 13, 1969 – January 8, 1973 | |
| Lieutenant | Paul Simon |
| Preceded by | Samuel H. Shapiro |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Walker |
| Sheriff of Cook County | |
|
In office 1963–1967 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 22, 1923 Kansas City, Missouri |
| Died |
May 10, 1988 (aged 65) Chicago |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Dorthy Shriver |
| Profession | Lawyer and Politician |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1942-1945 |
| Rank | Tank Commander |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Richard Buell Ogilvie (February 22, 1923 – May 10, 1988) was the 35th governor of Illinois and served from 1969 to 1973. A wounded combat veteran of World War II, he became known as the mafia-fighting sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, in the 1960s before becoming governor.
Education and Military service
He graduated from high school in Port Chester, New York, in 1940. While attending Yale University, he enlisted in the United States Army in 1942. As a tank commander in France, he was wounded and received the Purple Heart and two Battle Stars. Discharged in 1945, he resumed studies at Yale and in 1947, he earned a Bachelor of Arts majoring in American history. In 1949, he earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law. From 1950 to 1954, he practiced law in Chicago and served as an assistant United States Attorney from 1954–1955. From 1958 to 1961, he served as a special assistant to the United States Attorney General heading an office fighting organized crime in Chicago.[1][2]
Pre-gubernatorial political career
Ogilvie was elected sheriff of Cook County, Illinois' most populous county, in 1962; he served in this position until 1967. While sheriff, he was elected President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and served from 1967 to 1969, when he resigned upon being elected Governor of Illinois. As of 2014, he was the last Republican to serve as the chief executive of Cook County.[1]
Governor of Illinois
In 1968, he was elected governor as a Republican, with 51.2% of the vote, narrowly beating incumbent Democrat Sam Shapiro. His lieutenant governor was Democrat and future U.S. Senator Paul Simon, the only time that Illinois elected a Governor and Lt. Governor of different parties.[1] (However, on least two other occasions there was an acting Lt. Governor from a different party.[3])
Bolstered by large Republican majorities in the state house, Ogilvie modernized state government. He successfully advocated for a state constitutional convention, increased social spending, and secured Illinois' first state income tax. The latter was particularly unpopular with the electorate, and Ogilvie lost a close election to Daniel Walker in 1972, ending his career in elective office.
Post governorship
President Richard Nixon considered Oglivie as a nominee to become Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In 1979, Governor Ogilvie was appointed as Trustee for the Milwaukee Road, a railroad that had entered bankruptcy. He oversaw its sale and reorganization into the Wisconsin Central Railroad.
Oglivie was the publisher of a revived Chicago Daily News in 1979, 18 months after its demise in 1978.
In 1987, he was appointed by then-Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole to chair a committee studying the proposed termination of Amtrak's federal subsidy.
Until his death in 1988, he was a partner in the distinguished Chicago law firm of Isham Lincoln & Beale, one of whose founders was Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln.
Death and legacy
After his death in Chicago May 10, 1988, Governor Ogilvie was cremated and interred in Rosehill Mausoleum, Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago.
The Ogilvie Transportation Center, from which Chicago-area Metra commuter passenger trains leave for destinations on the former Chicago and North Western, now the Union Pacific, is named in his honor. The modern railroad station uses the former C&NW trainshed.
Awards
Richard B. Ogilvie was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State’s highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 1973 in the area of Government.[4]
References
- 1 2 3 1969–1970 Illinois Blue Book
- ↑ National Governors Association Biography.
- ↑ Historical Roster of elected officials, Illinois 2005–2006 Blue Book (Archibald Glenn and Thomas Marshall)
- ↑ "Laureates by Year - The Lincoln Academy of Illinois". The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Seymour Simon |
Cook County Board President 1966–1969 |
Succeeded by George Dunne |
| Preceded by Samuel H. Shapiro |
Governor of Illinois 1969–1973 |
Succeeded by Daniel Walker |
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