John Carl Kluczynski (February 15, 1896 – January 26, 1975) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, representing the 5th district from 1951 until his death from a heart attack in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in 1975.

Early life and career

Born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

to Thomas Kluczynski and Mary Kluczynski, née Sulaski, Kluczynski attended public and

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wor ...

s, and during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

served overseas as a corporal with the Eighth Field Artillery in 1918 and 1919. He worked in the catering business upon returning to Chicago, and served in 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 current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

from 1933 through 1948. In 1948, Kluczynski was elected to the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the I ...

in 1948 where he served until December 1949. He resigned in 1949 to run as candidate for Congress.

Tenure in Congress

Kluczynski was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-second Congress. He was reelected to the twelve succeeding Congresses, and served from January 3, 1951, until his death from a heart attack January 26, 1975, in Chicago. He voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. While in Congress, he served as chairman of the Public Works subcommittee on transportation. He was interred in Resurrection Mausoleum,

Justice, Illinois Justice is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, established in 1911. Per the 2020 census, the population was 12,600. Geography According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Justice has a total area of , of which (or 98.44%) is lan ...

Legacy

The office building at the Chicago Federal Center, known as the

Kluczynski Federal Building The Kluczynski Federal Building is a skyscraper in the downtown Chicago Loop located at 230 South Dearborn Street. The 45-story structure was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and completed in 1974 as the last portion of the new Federal Cente ...

, was named in Kluczynski's honor after his death in 1975. He was a

Polish-American Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83% ...

, active in the life of his community as a member of the

Polish National Alliance The Polish National Alliance ( pol. ''Związek Narodowy Polski'', PNA) is the largest and one of the oldest Polish fraternal organizations in the United States. The original goal was to mobilize support among Polish Americans for the liberati ...

and

Polish Roman Catholic Union of America The Polish Roman Catholic Union of America ("PRCUA") (pol. ''Zjednoczenie Polskie Rzymsko-Katolickie w Ameryce'') is the oldest Polish American organization in the United States. Currently licensed to sell its products in 27 states, it is a frat ...

.Polish Roman Catholic Union Politicians
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kluczynski, John Carl 1896 births 1975 deaths Politicians from Chicago Military personnel from Illinois Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Democratic Party Illinois state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois American politicians of Polish descent United States Army soldiers 20th-century American politicians

Early life and career

Tenure in Congress

Legacy

See also

References