James Philip

Infobox_State_Senator


name=James Peyton Philip Jr.


state_senate=Illinois
state=Illinois
district=23rd
term=1975 - 2003
preceded=Jack T. Knuepfer
succeeded=Ray Soden
date of birth=birth date and age|1930|5|26
place of birth=Elmhurst, Illinois
date of death=
place of death=
spouse=Nancy
profession=Retired district sales manager
religion=Episcopalian
party=Republican|

James "Pate" Philip (born May 26 1930 in Elmhurst, Illinois), is a Republican from Wood Dale, Illinois. Philip was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1966-1975, and the Illinois Senate from 1975 until his retirement in 2003.cite web |url=http://www.ilga.gov/senate/Senator.asp?MemberID=753 |title=Senator James Pate Philip (R) |date=2007 |accessdate=2008-01-24 |author=Illinois General Assembly] He was known as a highly influential politician in the Illinois state legislature, both for the projects that he successfully passed and blocked in state government and for his often-blunt comments on some issues. Richard S. Williamson, Ronald Reagan's chief of intergovernmental affairs, deemed Pate "one of the most important Republicans in the Midwest".cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:CSTB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB372C663742DF2&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=AA98CDC331574F0ABEAFF732B33DC0B2 |title=Few are neutral about GOP leader Philip |author=Neal, Steve |publisher=Chicago Sun Times |date=1990-01-19 |accessdate=2008-01-16]

Background

Philip is a United States Marine Corps veteran and served from 1950 to 1953. He was a district sales manager for Pepperidge Farm for 38 years and retired in 1992. He is married to Nancy and they have four children. [2002 Illinois Blue Book. [http://www.sos.state.il.us/publications/02bluebook/legislative_branch/senatepresident.pdf Senate President] .] [ [http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1993/ii930313.html Pate Philip Illinois' new Senate president in the limelight] by Jennifer Halperin March 1993 "Illinois Issues"] James "Pate" Philip State Park, located in DuPage County, is named after Philip. [ [http://www.dupageforest.com/education/jamespatephilip.html Forest Preserve District of DuPage County - James 'Pate' Philip State Park] ] Philip received a heart bypass at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital in June 2004. ["Former state Senate president recovering after bypass surgery" "Daily Herald". Chicago, Illinois. Tuesday, June 22, 2004.] Philip's stepson Randy Ramey was appointed to the Illinois House in 2005.

Legislative career

Philip was chosen as the Illinois Senate Minority Leader in 1981 after the death of Dr. David C. Shapiro. Philip had been the assistant minority leader since 1979. [Daily Herald. Chicago, Illinois. Sunday, October 09, 1988. Page 102.] In January 1993, after the Republicans gained a majority in the Illinois Senate, he was elected the Illinois Senate Majority Leader and remained in that role until 2003 when Democrats became the majority. He retired shortly after his unopposed reelection and was replaced by Ray Soden. [cite news |title=Soden sworn in |publisher=The Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) |date=2003-04-27]

Chicago school reform

Philip's oft-repeated pronunciations that giving more money to the Chicago public school systems would be like "pouring money down a rat-hole" helped provide the impetus for what Philip has said is one of his most important accomplishments—instituting a series of reforms that removed power from school boards rife with corruption. The major beneficiary of these reforms was Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, who with Chief Executive Officer of Schools Paul Vallas removed previous money-wasting reformers from their posts and closed a $1.4 billion deficit over four years without the need to request more state funding.cite web |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:CTRB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB426EB77D80FA3&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=AA98CDC331574F0ABEAFF732B33DC0B2 |title=It's too late to cry over spilled milk - it may be hard for Democrats to swallow, but Republican legislators deserve the credit for cleaing up the mess in Chicago schools. Turns out Professor Pate took everyone to school. |author=Dold, R. Bruce |date=1995-08-18 |accessdate=2008-01-26 ] The legislative reforms also challenged the long-standing assertion from Philip's opponents (notably, the Chicago Teachers Union) that Philip harbored a strong dislike for Chicago and its school system.cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:CTRB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0FFECF0D6F8115CE&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=AA98CDC331574F0ABEAFF732B33DC0B2 |title=Philip at head of the class in school deal |accessdate=2008-01-27 |date=1993-11-16 |author=Pearson, Rick |publisher=Chicago Tribune]

Other achievements

James Philip is credited for blocking Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley's proposal for an airport near Lake Calumet in the early 1990s. On May 21, 1992, the Illinois Senate defeated a bill to endorse an agreement between Daley and Illinois governor Jim Edgar, 24-23. Philip led a group of Republicans in arguing that the Lake Calumet airport would be far more expensive and take more time to build than one in Peotone, then regarded as an alternate site for the airport. The new airport would have replaced Midway Airport, which was falling into disrepair.cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:CSTB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB373B5B8A9C408&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=AA98CDC331574F0ABEAFF732B33DC0B2 |author=Neal, Steve |title=Lake Calumet airport on shaky ground |publisher=Chicago Sun-Times |date=1992-06-01 |accessdate=2008-01-25] As a result of the vote, in 1996 Mayor Daley announced the Midway Airport Terminal Development Program. [cite web | url =http://www.thetracon.com/MidwayHistory.htm| title = Early History/Post O'hare history| publisher =The Tracon | date = 2007-04-06]

Philip's legislative stances on crime have been mixed. With backing from the gun lobby representing downstate hunters, Philip fought to reduce the penalty for illegal possession of firearms to a misdemeanor.cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:CSTB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB4244A2CB377D4&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=AA98CDC331574F0ABEAFF732B33DC0B2 |title=Ryan, Philip at odds over gun-law penalty |author=McKinney, Dave |date=1999-12-11 |publisher=Chicago Sun-Times |accessdate=2008-01-27] However, he also fought to expand the death penalty to apply to all convicted murderers. The proposed legislation he endorsed also proposed mandatory 10–year prison sentences with no chance of parole for using firearms in a "safe retail zone", defined as shopping malls, strip malls and commercial districts with more than three stores. Philip expressed a preference for expanding this portion of the law to all gun-related crimes, not just safe retail zones. State's attorneys in the six-county Chicago metropolitan area agreed with Philip's stance on gun crimes, but were mixed with regards to changes in the death penalty.cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:CSTB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB4211DAAE59CFC&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=AA98CDC331574F0ABEAFF732B33DC0B2 |title=Senate president plans legislation allowing execution in all murders |publisher=Chicago Sun-Times |author=Carr, Rebecca |date=1993-02-04 |accessdate=2008-01-26]

In June 1984, Philip, then the Republican minority leader of the Illinois House of Representatives, helped push through legislation authorizing the construction of a tollway, Interstate 355, then referred to as simply the DuPage Tollway. cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:CTRB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0FF63074C2D99424&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=AA98CDC331574F0ABEAFF732B33DC0B2 |title="Sox, DuPage batting stadium idea around" |author=Chicago Tribune |publisher=Chicago Tribune |date=1985-01-29 |accessdate=2008-01-11]

Controversy

Philip has also been known for making numerous controversial comments on various topics throughout his career. Many, including former Illinois gubernatorial candidate Dawn Clark Netsch, labeled him as both holding and vocally expressing racial prejudice. However, Philip himself has said that he is not racist, saying "When you criticize minorities, whether you're right or wrong, their reaction is it's a racist remark."cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:ADHB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F7DA21243B0C998&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=AA98CDC331574F0ABEAFF732B33DC0B2 |title=What will Philip's legacy be? Some say state senator will be known for his blunt comments |author=Patterson, John |publisher=Chicago Tribune |date=2002-12-06 |accessdate=2008-01-16]

Electoral history

*2002 Race for Illinois Senate — 23rd district
**Unopposed

*1998 Race for Illinois Senate — 23rd district
**James "Pate" Philip (R), 31,347
**Rita Gonzalez (D), 13,961 [ [http://www.elections.state.il.us/ElectionInformation/VoteTotalsList.aspx?officeid=1280 Illinois State Board of Elections ] ]

*1994 Race for Illinois Senate — 23rd district
**Defeated Keith Petropoulos (D)

*1990 Race for Illinois Senate — 23rd district
**Defeated William C. Kaiser (D)

References