Roman Conrad Pucinski (May 13, 1919 – September 25, 2002) was an American

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

politician from

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 ...

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 ...

. He 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 1959 to 1973 and alderman from the 41st Ward of Chicago from 1973 to 1991. He was considered a longtime leader of

Chicago Polonia Both immigrant Poles and Americans of Polish heritage live in Chicago, Illinois. They are a part of worldwide '' Polonia'', the Polish term for the Polish Diaspora outside of Poland. Poles in Chicago have contributed to the economic, social an ...

and was seen to represent its interests in Washington.

Early and family life

He was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, but moved to Chicago with his family as a child. In 1941, he graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he served in the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

. After the war, he attended John Marshall Law School in Chicago and graduated in 1949.

Career

Pucinski worked in journalism for many years, notably at the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

''. In 1952, he was chief investigator for the Congressional Special Committee which investigated the

Katyn Massacre The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...

. This was of special interest to him as a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

-American. In 1958, Pucinski was elected U.S. Representative from the heavily

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% ...

11th District on the Northwest Side of Chicago. He was re-elected to six additional terms, serving from 1959 to 1973. As a representative, Pucinski pushed for the installation of "black box"

flight recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has ...

s on all passenger airliners and supported federal assistance to

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

s. When congressional districts were redrawn after the 1970

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, Pucinski's district remained solidly Democrat but he was chosen as the Democratic nominee for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

against incumbent Senator

Charles H. Percy Charles Harting Percy (September 27, 1919 – September 17, 2011) was an American businessman and politician. He was president of the Bell & Howell Corporation from 1949 to 1964, and served as a Republican U.S. senator from Illinois from 1967 ...

; he lost in a landslide. In 1973, he was first elected alderman from the 41st Ward of Chicago, which had been part of his old congressional district and was heavily

. Pucinski also served as Democratic Ward Committeeman from the 41st Ward for many years. After 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 Central Committee from 1953 until his death. He has been ca ...

died in 1976, Pucinski ran in the Democratic primary of the special election to succeed him in 1977, even though the Democratic Party had endorsed

Michael Bilandic Michael Anthony Bilandic (February 13, 1923January 15, 2002) was an American Democratic politician and attorney who served as the 49th mayor of Chicago from 1976 to 1979, after the death of his predecessor, Richard J. Daley. Bilandic practiced ...

. Bilandic won, Pucinski was the second-place finisher, and

Harold Washington Harold Lee Washington (April 15, 1922 – November 25, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician who was the 51st Mayor of Chicago. Washington became the first African American to be elected as the city's mayor in April 1983. He served as ma ...

came in third with 11%. During the

Council Wars The Council Wars were a racially polarized political conflict in the city of Chicago from 1983 to 1986, centered on the Chicago City Council. The term came from a satirical comedy sketch of the same name written and performed by comedian and jo ...

of Harold Washington's first term as mayor, Pucinski was part of the

Vrdolyak 29 The Council Wars were a racially polarized political conflict in the city of Chicago from 1983 to 1986, centered on the Chicago City Council. The term came from a satirical comedy sketch of the same name written and performed by comedian and jo ...

opposition bloc. In 1987, he proposed requiring employee voting on any

Employee Stock Ownership Plan Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, E ...

established by a corporation based in Chicago. In 1984, he supported a redistribution of

Community Development Block Grant The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), one of the longest-running programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, funds local community development activities with the stated goal of providing affordable housing, anti-p ...

funds that would have allocated $1.3 million to repave streets in the 41st Ward. The 41st Ward usually voted for Republicans and the aging Pucinski was defeated in his campaign for re-election as alderman by Republican Brian Doherty in 1991.

Death and legacy

Pucinski was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. His daughter Aurelia followed him into law and politics. She eventually left the Democratic Party for its Republican counterpart in 1997, but switched back to the Democrats seven years later. Pucinski died in Chicago in 2002, and his son Christopher in 2006.

References

External links

Biographical Data
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pucinski, Roman 1919 births 2002 deaths Politicians from Buffalo, New York Polish-American culture in Chicago American politicians of Polish descent Military personnel from Buffalo, New York Northwestern University alumni Chicago City Council members Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois John Marshall Law School (Chicago) alumni 20th-century American politicians Catholics from New York (state) United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II