Richard B. Ogilvie

Infobox Governor
name= Richard B. Ogilvie


caption=
order=35^th
office= Governor of Illinois
term_start= January 13, 1969
term_end= January 08, 1973
lieutenant= Paul Simon
predecessor= Samuel H. Shapiro
successor=Daniel Walker
birth_date= February 22, 1923
birth_place= Kansas City, Missouri
death_date= May 10, 1988 (age|1923|2|22|1988|5|10)
death_place= Chicago
spouse= Dorthy Shriver
profession= Lawyer and Politician
party= Republican
religion= Presbyterian
footnotes=

Richard Buell Ogilvie (February 22, 1923–May 10, 1988) was an American political figure. He served as the governor of Illinois from 1969 to 1973. A wounded combat veteran of World War II, he achieved notoriety as the mafia-fighting Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois in the 1960s.

Education and Military service

He graduated from high school in Port Chester, New York in 1940. While attending Yale, 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 Bachelor of Laws from Chicago-Kent College of Law. From 1950 to 1950 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. [http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/bb&CISOPTR=33365&REC=17 1969-1970 Illinois Blue Book] ] [ [http://www.nga.org National Governors Association Biography] .]

Pre-Gubernatorial political career

Ogilvie was elected as Cook County Sheriff in 1962 where he served until 1967. He was elected President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and served from 1966 to 1969.

Governor of Illinois

He was elected governor as a Republican in 1968 against incumbent Democrat Sam Shapiro, taking 51.2% of the vote. His lieutenant governor was Democrat and future U.S. Senator Paul Simon, the first and only time that Illinois elected a Governor and Lt. Governor of opposite parties. (However, on least two other occasions there was an acting Lt. Governor from the opposite party. [ [http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/illinois_bluebook/2005_2006/state_local_government_facts/roster.pdf Historical Roster of elected officials, Illinois 2005-2006 Blue Book] (Archibald Glenn and Thomas Marshall)] )

Bolstered by large Republican majorities in the state house, Ogilvie embarked upon a major modernization of 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 the Daniel Walker in 1972, ending his career in elective office.

Post governorship

In 1979, Governor Ogilvie was appointed as Trustee for the Milwaukee Road, a railroad that had entered bankruptcy. He oversaw its sale.

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.

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, is named in his honor. The modern railroad station uses the former C & NW trainshed.

References