Redd F. Griffin (December 3, 1938 - November 20, 2012) was a prominent member of the community of

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 26th-most populous municipality in Illinois, with a population of 54,318 as of the 2020 census. Oak Park was first se ...

. He served as a member of the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in ...

from 1980 to 1983, representing the state's 21st legislative district, which included Oak Park and neighboring areas. He was a leading supporter of several local organizations in the Oak Park area, and for many years served as a trustee of

Shimer College Shimer Great Books School ( ) is a Classic_book#University_programs, Great Books college that is part of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Prior to 2017, Shimer was an independent, accredited college on the south side of Chicago, or ...

Early life and education

As a child, Griffin lived on the grounds of the

Chicago-Read Mental Health Center Chicago-Read Mental Health Center (CRMHC, often called simply Read) is a state-run inpatient JCAHO-accredited facility, located in the community of Dunning, Chicago, Dunning, northwest of Chicago, Illinois. In 1965, as a community alternative to ...

, then known as the Illinois State Mental Hospital, where his father was superintendent. He commuted from there to Oak Park to study at the Bishop Quarter Junior Military Academy. Griffin attended high school for two years at the

Oak Park and River Forest High School Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRF) is a public four-year high school located in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. It is the only school in Oak Park and River Forest District 200. Founded in 1871, the current school building ope ...

. In 1954, he left high school to attend

, a small

Great Books A classic is a book accepted as being exemplary or particularly noteworthy. What makes a book "classic" is a concern that has occurred to various authors ranging from Italo Calvino to Mark Twain and the related questions of "Why Read the Cl ...

college then located in

Mount Carroll, Illinois Mount Carroll is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,479 at the 2020 census. History Mount Carroll began life as a mill town around 1841. In 1843, a referendum moved the county seat fro ...

, where he enrolled through the school's early entrance program. He attended on a scholarship from the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

, which funded the early entrance program during this period. Griffin left Shimer in 1958 to work in production at

WTTW WTTW (channel 11) is a PBS member television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by not-for-profit broadcaster Window to the World Communications, Inc., it is sister to commercial classical music radio station WFMT (98.7 FM). ...

, Chicago's public television station. He returned to Shimer in 1959, graduating with an AB degree in 1960. Griffin subsequently studied at the postgraduate level at

Chicago State University Chicago State University (CSU) is a Historically black colleges and universities, predominantly black (PBI) public university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It includes an honors program for undergraduates and offers bachelor's and master ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, and Columbia College of Chicago. He served in the

Army Security Agency The United States Army Security Agency (ASA) was the United States Army, United States Army's signals intelligence branch from 1945 to 1977. The Latin motto of the Army Security Agency was ''Semper Vigilis'' (Vigilant Always), which echoes the ...

from 1961 to 1964. There he founded "Das Tor," an organization dedicated to improving understanding between Americans and Europeans.

Political career

Griffin was a lifelong member of the

United States Republican Party The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is a Right-wing politics, right-wing political parties in the United States, political party in the United States. One of the Two-party system, two major parties, it emerged as t ...

. In 1960, as a member of 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 ...

, he co-chaired a committee dedicated to commemorating the 100th anniversary of the nomination of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

for the presidency. Griffin first took political office as a trustee of Oak Park Township in

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...

. He was appointed to the Illinois General Assembly upon the death of Rep. Vincent Molloy in 1980, won election that same year, and served as a member of the state's 81st and 82nd General Assemblies. As a member of the Illinois General Assembly, Griffin sponsored legislation dealing with local issues, including a resolution calling for a study of violence on mass transit.

Nonprofit and educational work

Griffin was a member of the faculty of

Triton College Triton College is a Public college, public community college in River Grove, Illinois. History Junior College District 300 was voted into existence in a referendum in March 1964. In March 1965, a second referendum was passed approving the purch ...

River Grove, Illinois River Grove is a village in Leyden Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,612 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. History Just as nearby Elmwood Park and Oak Park are named after thei ...

from 1997 to 2012, where he taught philosophy. Griffin was deeply involved in the study of the local history of Oak Park. In an interview conducted with the local Oak Park newspaper a few months before his death, he said that "I want to keep the continuity with the past alive." He served as a founding trustee of several key local organizations in Oak Park, including the

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

Home and Studio Foundation, the Hemingway Foundation, and the Oak Park Visitors Center. He also served on the board of the

Illinois State Historical Society The Illinois State Historical Society (ISHS) is a private sector organization, organized as a nonprofit, that edits and disseminates public knowledge of history throughout the U.S. state of Illinois. It was founded in 1899. History and functions T ...

, and also as a trustee of his alma mater

. Griffin contributed to a 1999 Japanese edited volume on Hemingway titled ''Heminguwei no jidai : tanpen shosetsu o yomu''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Redd People from Oak Park, Illinois Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Shimer College alumni Writers from Illinois 1938 births 2012 deaths 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly