Simon, Paul Martin

▪ 2004

      American politician and educator (b. Nov. 29, 1928, Eugene, Ore.—d. Dec. 9, 2003, Springfield, Ill.), had a long career in public life that was highlighted by two terms as a U.S. senator (1985–97) and a brief run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988. Sporting his trademark bow tie and horn-rimmed glasses, he blended his liberal social outlook with fiscal conservatism and forged a reputation for honesty and forthright integrity. Simon entered the University of Oregon at age 16, transferred to Dana College, Blair, Neb., a year later, and at age 19 left school to buy and run a struggling weekly newspaper in Troy, Ill. Through the paper he fought against illegal gambling interests and organized crime, a crusade that attracted the attention of Democratic Party leaders interested in reform, and in 1954 he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. Simon was elected a state senator in 1962, and in 1968, although a Republican was elected governor, he was elected lieutenant governor—the only time in Illinois history that the two offices had been split between parties. He was defeated in the primary when he ran for governor in 1972, however, and taught college journalism for two years, but in 1974 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, in which he served five terms before entering the Senate. As a senator he counted a balanced budget, job creation, reduction in violence on television, adult literacy, and federal loans for college students among his major concerns and was a firm believer in the government's power to solve social problems.

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