Paul Francis Elward (April 19, 1926August 9, 2009) was an American politician. Paul Elward was 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 ...

, to Daisyann Lenert Elward and Joseph Francis Elward. His brother James J. Elward was a writer and performer. Paul Elward attended St. Ignatius Grammar School and then graduated from Loyola Academy at the age of sixteen. After serving in the US Navy from 1944 to 1946, Elward went on to

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

, where he graduated with Honors in 1947. A noted debater, Elward won numerous collegiate debate competitions and also spoke in the Pan-American Congress of 1947. Elward was President of the

Alpha Sigma Nu Alpha Sigma Nu () is the honor society of Jesuit colleges and universities. Founded in 1915 at Marquette University as Alpha Sigma Tau, it adopted the current name in 1930. The society is open to both men and women of every academic discipline ...

, Jesuit Honorary Society, 1954-1958 Loyola of Chicago. A noted Chicago Democrat along with Mayor

Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Chicago from 1955, and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party from 1953, until his death. He has been called "the last of ...

, Paul F. Elward 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 constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

as the 8th (later the 10th) district's representative in the State Capital

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

. A Roman Catholic, Elward was Pro-Life and Pro-Gun Control. Representing the 8th District, 1957–1966, and 10th District 1967–1969 (remapped district), Elward also held the position of House

Majority Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...

in 1966. He was secretary of the Judicial Advisory Council and Chairman of the Executive Mansion Commission as well as Chairman of the Rules Committee. Elward was also a member of the Legislative Audit Commission. As a delegate to the current (Sixth) llinois Constitutional Convention in 1969–1970, Elward's role included instrumental parliamentary efforts to control aspects of the constitution. Elward was an

Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County The Circuit Court of Cook County is the largest of the 25 circuit courts (trial courts of original and general jurisdiction) in the judiciary of Illinois as well as one of the largest unified court systems in the United Statessecond only in si ...

Judge for over two decades (1970 to 1994). As judge in one of the largest unified court systems in the world, Elward presided over numerous substantive cases. Elward handled an expedited motion call where he disposed of hundreds of old cases. Elward was also recognized in the supreme court decision requiring

OSHA The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established ...

to release documents under subpoena in Marshall v. Elward. Elward held the distinction of having practiced law for over fifty years, and was recognized in a resolution by the City Council of Chicago.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elward, Paul F 1926 births 2009 deaths Politicians from Chicago Loyola University Chicago alumni Illinois lawyers Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County 20th-century Illinois state court judges 20th-century American lawyers Members of Illinois constitutional conventions 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly