Arthur A. Telcser (January 17, 1932 – November 26, 1999) was an American pharmacist and politician. Born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Telcser received his degree in pharmacy from

UIC College of Pharmacy UIC Retzky College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois Chicago is one of the oldest pharmacy schools in the US and the oldest unit of the University of Illinois system. History Established in 1859, the UIC Retzky College of Pharmacy sta ...

and then owned Wilart Drugs, a pharmacy business, in Chicago. He joined the Republican Party in 1954 and was active with the

Young Republicans The Young Republican National Federation, commonly referred to as the Young Republicans or YRNF, is a 527 organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization ...

. In 1966, Telcser was elected to the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

as one of three representatives from the 11th Legislative District. He quickly rose to legislative leadership becoming House Majority Whip in 1969. He would go on to be appointed to other leadership positions; Assistant Majority Leader in 1973; Assistant Minority Leader in 1975; Minority Whip in 1977; Assistant Minority Leader in 1979 and Majority Leader in 1981. During his legislative tenure, Telcser was a resident of the Lake View neighborhood. He briefly served as the

Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives The Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives is seventh (behind the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, and President of the Senate, respectively) in the line of succession to the office of ...

. In 1983, Telcser then worked in the Illinois Secretary of State office under

George Ryan George Homer Ryan (February 24, 1934 – May 2, 2025) was an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Secretary of State of Illinois from 1991 ...

. In 1998, after Ryan was elected

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its we ...

, Telcser joined his transition team. Telcser had Parkinson's disease and died at his home in Chicago of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on November 26, 1999.'Arthur Telcser, 67, Legislator, Ryan Aide, Chicago Illinois, Rick Pearson, November 27, 1999

Notes

, - , - , - , - , - 1932 births 1999 deaths Politicians from Chicago University of Illinois Chicago alumni Businesspeople from Chicago Speakers of the Illinois House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American pharmacists 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-Republican-stub