Roman Pucinski

Roman Conrad Pucinski (May 13, 1919 – September 25, 2002) was an American congressman.

Born in Buffalo, New York, Pucinski attended Northwestern University, John Marshall Law School(Chicago), fought in World War II in the Air Force, and after working in journalism for many years, notably at the Chicago Sun-Times, he became a politician.

Pucinski served six terms in the United States House of Representatives, from January 3, 1959 to January 3, 1973, as a Democrat from Illinois. After his district was chopped up in the redistricting following the 1970 Census Pucinski ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic Nominee for the United States Senate against incumbent Senator Charles H. Percy.

Pucinski later became a Chicago Alderman. Elected from the primarily ethnic white 41st ward on the Northwest Side of Chicago from 1973-1991, Pucinski made an unsuccessful mayoral bid in the 1977 special election that followed the death of Richard J. Daley. While Pucinski had been a Daley loyalist, his run was a maverick bid since the machine had slated Michael Bilandic as Daley's successor. Pucinski sided with the Vrdolyak 29 during Council Wars during the administration of Harold Washington in the 1980s. He also introduced various pieces of legislation, including a resolution that would force an employee vote on Employee Stock Ownership Plans in 1987. In 1984, he supported a redistribution of Community Development Block Grant funds that would have given him 1.3 million dollars to repave streets in his ward. While in congress, he made two important contributions:1. To get black boxes installed on all airlines.2. He was instrumental in founding the American system of community colleges, where everyone had access to receiving education; especially in obtaining marketable skills.

Pucinski's daughter, Aurelia Pucinski followed him into politics. He died in Chicago, Illinois in 2002

External links

* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=P000559 Biographical Data]
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