[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 137 (Tuesday, September 27, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 27, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     ILLINOIS CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, recently I had the chance to read an 
article on some former Illinois political leaders. The article was 
written by Philip Grant, Jr. It is a concise portrayal of eight members 
of the Illinois congressional delegation from 1945-1984.
  The article highlights eight exceptional leaders. These men not only 
represented their districts and their State well, they were also well 
respected national leaders. They led the country through three major 
global conflicts, difficult domestic and foreign economic times and the 
civil rights movement. These Senators and Representatives helped to 
shape policies and programs during some very uncertain years. Each 
represented a large and diverse constituency and set new precedents 
through the policies and programs they authored. For this, their 
legacies will live on long after their terms expired. I urge my 
colleagues to read the article, ``Illinois Congressional Leaders, 1945-
1984,'' and I ask that it be printed in the Record.
  The article follows:

                 [From the Illinois History, Apr. 1994]

               Illinois Congressional Leaders, 1945-1984

                       (By Philip A. Grant, Jr.)

       On January 3, 1945, the first session of the Seventy-Ninth 
     Congress was called to order. Between the opening ceremonies 
     on that date and the formal adjournment of the Ninety-Eighth 
     Congress on October 12, 1984, the nation was destined to 
     experience a substantial number and wide variety of serious 
     domestic and international problems. It would be the 
     responsibility of the House of Representatives and the United 
     States Senate to propose solutions to many of the awesome 
     challenges facing the United States during the eventful four 
     decades from 1945 to 1984.
       Among the hundreds of congressmen serving between 1945 and 
     1984 were the members of the Illinois delegation. 
     Representing a populous and diverse state near the geographic 
     center of the country, these ladies and gentlemen, like their 
     colleagues from other parts of the nation, would address 
     themselves to the disposition of numerous important bills, 
     resolutions, and treaties.
       Four veteran members of the House of Representatives from 
     Illinois wielded considerable influence on Capitol Hill 
     between 1945 and 1984. These individuals, spending an 
     aggregate total of 145 years in Congress, were Republican Leo 
     E. Allen of Galena and Democrats Adolph J. Sabath of Chicago, 
     William L. Dawson of Chicago, and Melvin Price of East St. 
     Louis.
       Allen, representing a predominantly rural district wedged 
     in the northwestern corner of Illinois, was elected by his 
     constituents to fourteen consecutive terms in the House. A 
     conservative Republican in every respect, Allen was a staunch 
     isolationist on foreign policy questions and a vocal critic 
     of the domestic initiatives of Democratic Presidents Franklin 
     D. Roosevelt and Harry S Truman. Allen served as chairman of 
     the powerful House Committee on Rules between 1947 and 1949, 
     and again between 1953 and 1955. While presiding over the 
     Rules Committee, Allen advocated legislation purposely 
     designed to reverse or drastically curtail the New Deal and 
     Fair Deal economic and social reforms of Roosevelt and 
     Truman.
       In sharp contrast to Allen, Sabath was the spokesman of one 
     of the nation's most densely populated urban districts and 
     compiled a well-documented record as an uncompromising 
     liberal on every issue of consequence. Sabath's forty-six-
     year congressional career paralleled the administrations of 
     eight presidents of the United States. Sabath strongly 
     sympathized with the plight of immigrants, consistently 
     championed the priorities of organized labor, and repeatedly 
     urged passage of bills to promote racial equality and social 
     justice. During twelve of his final fourteen years in the 
     House, Sabath occupied the chairmanship of the Rules 
     Committee. At the time of his death in 1952 Sabath had the 
     distinction of being the senior member of Congress.
       When he entered the house in 1943 Dawson was the only black 
     member of Congress. Reelected by overwhelming margins to 
     thirteen additional terms, Dawson steadfastly supported the 
     policies of Democratic Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, John F. 
     Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson. From 1949 to 1953 and from 
     1955 to 1970, Dawson was chairman of the Committee on 
     Government Operations, a panel having the explicit 
     responsibility of overseeing the executive branch of the 
     government. While heading the Government Operations 
     Committee, Dawson was instrumental in the approval of the 
     Reorganization Act of 1949, the establishment of a cabinet-
     level Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and 
     the creation of a mayor-council form of municipal government 
     for the District of Columbia.
       First elected to Congress while serving in the United 
     States Army in 1944, Price altogether remained in the House 
     for forty-four years. Price, as Chairman of the Committee on 
     Standards of Official Conduct (Ethics) from 1967 to 1974, had 
     the unpleasant task of conducting investigations into 
     allegedly improper behavior of certain members of the House. 
     Between 1975 and 1984 Price chaired the Committee on Armed 
     Services, a unit having overall jurisdiction over the 
     Pentagon. In the latter capacity Price guided to passage 
     legislation terminating the American military presence in 
     Vietnam and determining the extent of research and 
     development of such weapons as the B-1 Bomber, the M-X 
     Missile, and the Trident Submarine.
       Also attaining genuine prominence in national affairs 
     between 1945 and 1984 were four members of the United States 
     from Illinois. They were Democrats Scott W. Lucas of Havana 
     and Paul Douglas of Chicago and Republicans Charles H. Percy 
     of Kenilworth and Everett M. Dirksen of Pekin.
       Lucas, after completing two years as chairman of the 
     Illinois Tax Commission, had initially been elected to the 
     House of Representatives in 1934. Promoted to the Senate in 
     1938, Lucas was conspicuously involved in the legislative 
     process during World War II and the early postwar period. 
     Lucas was Assistant Majority Leader (Whip) from 1947 to 1949, 
     and Majority Leader from 1949 to 1951. As floor leader, he 
     assumed primary responsibility for the Democratic Party's 
     legislative agenda, including bills affecting housing, social 
     security, federal aid to education, and minimum wage; the 
     authorization of a Fair Employment Practices Commission 
     (FEPC); and the ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty 
     (NATO).
       Prior to his election to the first of three Senate terms in 
     1948, Douglas for more than a quarter of a century had been a 
     professor of economics at the University of Chicago. Douglas 
     was an issue-oriented liberal Democrat. As a longstanding 
     member of the Committee on Banking and Currency, Douglas was 
     closely identified with such key measures as the Housing Acts 
     of 1961 and 1965, the Area Redevelopment (Depressed Areas) 
     Act, and the Truth-in-Lending Bill. And, as chairman of the 
     Joint Economic Committee, from 1955 to 1957, 1959 to 1961, 
     and 1963 to 1965, Douglas engaged in sustained attempts to 
     devise programs to stimulate economic growth.
       Percy, who defeated Douglas in the 1966 Senate election, 
     was regarded as a moderate Republican. While generally in 
     accord with the positions of his party. Percy argued 
     against the continuation of the Vietnam War, supported 
     enactment of open housing legislation, and opposed the 
     confirmations of two of Republican President Richard M. 
     Nixon's Supreme Court nominees. Between 1981 and 1984 
     Percy was chairman of the prestigious Committee on Foreign 
     Relations. During his tenure on the Foreign Relations 
     Committee. Percy dealt with such major issues as the 
     Panama Canal Treaty, the strategic arms limitation 
     agreements (SALT), the nuclear freeze resolutions, and the 
     role of the United States in resolving the complex 
     difficulties plaguing the Middle East and Central America.
       A member of the House of Representatives from 1933 to 1949, 
     and the United States Senate from 1951 to 1969, Dirksen 
     polled more popular votes than any other congressman in the 
     history of the State of Illinois. Noted for his pragmatism 
     and flexibility, Dirksen was an outstanding orator and a 
     skilled legislative strategist. As Senate Republican Leader 
     between 1959 and 1969, he loyally and effectively supported 
     the policies of G.O.P. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and 
     Nixon. Furthermore, Dirksen, while serving on the Committee 
     on the Judiciary, helped to shape three amendments to the 
     Constitution, contributed to passage of five meaningful civil 
     rights bills, and reviewed the qualifications of eleven 
     appointees to the United States Supreme Court.
       Both Democrats and Republicans were included within the 
     ranks of the eight aforementioned congressman from Illinois. 
     Obviously retaining the confidence of their constituents, 
     these gentlemen emerged victorious in 104 of 107 races for 
     seats in the House and Senate. Designated to hold positions 
     of leadership in their respective political parties and 
     chairing such organs as the Senate Foreign Relations 
     Committee; the House Rules, Government Operations, and Armed 
     Services Committees; and the Joint Economic Committee, the 
     eight Illinois congressmen individually and collectively 
     reflected great credit on their state and nation between 1945 
     and 1984.

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