Daniel Walker

The title of this article is ambiguous. For the Australian biathlete, see Daniel Walker (biathlete) .

Daniel Walker shakes hands at the 1973 Bud Billiken Parade in Chicago

Daniel Walker (born August 6, 1922 in Washington, DC , † April 29, 2015 in Chula Vista , California ) was an American politician . He was the 36th Governor of Illinois from 1973 to 1977 .

Early years and political advancement

Daniel Walker grew up near San Diego , California . After elementary school, he graduated from the US Navy Academy . He participated in both World War II and the Korean War as a naval officer. In the meantime, he studied law until 1950 at Northwestern University . Between 1951 and 1952 he served on a US military appeals court. Early in his political career he was an advisor to Governor Adlai Ewing Stevenson junior . Then he was employed temporarily at the US Supreme Court. In 1972 he ran for the office of governor of Illinois for the Democratic Party . In addition, in the fight for the nomination, he initially prevailed with a populist program against Lieutenant Governor Paul M. Simon . He promised low taxes and increased spending on education. As a corporate law attorney, he had drawn attention in 1971 after wandering Illinois for 116 days visiting farmers.

Illinois Governor

After his election victory over the incumbent Richard Ogilvie , Walker began his four-year term on January 8, 1973. During his tenure in the public service staff were saved. Energy saving measures have also been initiated. At that time, the Sears Tower in Chicago was built as the tallest building in the world at that time. The first state lottery was introduced in Illinois in 1974 under Governor Walker. In the 1976 race riot in Chicago, 33 people were injured. In an elevator accident, also in Chicago, in early January 1977, twelve people were killed and around 200 injured. Walker had a hard time domestically. He was not without controversy within his own party, for example he led a private feud with the mayor of Chicago and chairman of the Democratic Party in Cook County, Richard J. Daley . There was also strong opposition in the Illinois House of Representatives . That more or less led to a political deadlock in Illinois.

Another résumé

Walker ran for re-election in 1976, but failed in the primaries of his own party to Michael Howlett, who was supported by Daley. For this reason he had to resign on January 10, 1977 and took over the management of a savings bank in a suburb of Chicago. In 1987, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for investment fraud, of which he was sentenced to 18 months. The fraud led to the bankruptcy of the bank concerned.

Private

Walker was married three times. He married his first wife, the teacher Roberta Dowese, in 1947. Together with Dowese, Walker has three sons and four daughters. In 1977 Walker divorced and married Roberta Nelson, 14 years his junior. The divorce from his second wife occurred in 1989 while Walker was in custody. Daniel Walker most recently lived with his third wife in Baja California , Mexico .

Web links

• Daniel Walker in the National Governor Association (English)
• Illinois Blue Book History and Election Results, p. 373

Individual evidence

1. ^ Family says former Gov. Dan Walker has passed away
2. ^ The Maverick - Former Illinois governor Dan Walker writes of fall from high office to federal prison . In: North County Times , May 26, 2007. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008.