Samuel Harvey Shapiro (born Israel Shapiro; April 25, 1907 – March 16, 1987) was an American politician, the 34th

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 ...

, serving from 1968 to 1969. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Life and career

Born in 1907 in the

Governorate of Estonia The Governorate of Estonia, also known as the Esthonia (Estland) Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire. It was located in the northern Estonia with some islands in the West Estoni ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, he emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at an early age. He graduated from the

University of Illinois College of Law The University of Illinois College of Law at Urbana-Champaign is the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public land-grant research university in Champaign and Urbana, Illinois. It was established in 1897 and offers th ...

in 1929. As a lawyer, Shapiro practiced in

Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. Located on the Kankakee River, as of 2020, the city's population was 24,052. Kankakee is a principal city of the Kankakee-Bourbonnais-Bradley, IL MSA, Kan ...

. Turning to public service, he was elected

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

(county prosecutor) of

Kankakee County Kankakee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 107,502. Its county seat is Kankakee. Kankakee County comprises the Kankakee, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History ...

in 1936. From 1947–1961 he served in the Illinois State House of Representatives, where he took a special interest in mental health issues.Samuel Shapiro, Illinois Governor in 1968
/ref> Shapiro was elected the 38th

Lieutenant Governor of Illinois The lieutenant governor of Illinois is the second highest executive of the State of Illinois. In Illinois, the lieutenant governor and governor run on a joint ticket and are directly elected by popular vote. Gubernatorial candidates select their ...

in 1960 and again in 1964, and took office as governor when the previous governor

Otto Kerner, Jr. Otto Kerner Jr. (August 15, 1908 – May 9, 1976) was an American jurist and politician. He served as the List of Governors of Illinois, 33rd governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968 and chaired the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders ...

resigned to accept appointment to the federal

appellate court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appel ...

. Shapiro thus became the second

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish governor of Illinois (

Henry Horner Henry Horner (November 30, 1878 – October 6, 1940) was an American politician. Horner served as the 28th Governor of Illinois, serving from January 1933 until his death in October 1940. Horner was noted as the first Jewish governor of Illinois. ...

being the first). Illinois thereby became the first state to have had two Jewish governors;

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

have each since elected at least a second governor of the faith. Upon becoming governor, Shapiro ran at once for a full term of his own but was narrowly defeated by Republican

Richard B. Ogilvie Richard Buell Ogilvie (February 22, 1923 – May 10, 1988) was an American attorney and law enforcement officer who served as the 35th governor of Illinois from 1969 to 1973. A wounded combat veteran of World War II, he became known as the ma ...

in the 1968 election. He then returned to private life, although he was called upon several times to serve on special commissions, the most significant of which was a commission to redraw state electoral boundaries in 1981. Shapiro was an alumnus of the

Alpha Epsilon Pi Alpha Epsilon Pi (), commonly known as AEPi, is a college Fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded at New York University in 1913. The fraternity has more than 150 active chapters across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Israel ...

fraternity. From 1984 until his death, he led the effort to establish a permanent headquarters for the fraternity's national offices. As a result, Alpha Epsilon Pi's International Headquarters is dedicated in his honor. Shapiro continued to work as an attorney; his death was discovered when he failed to appear in court for a client and police were sent to his home in Kankakee to investigate. He is buried in

Jewish Waldheim Cemetery Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Forest Park, Illinois Forest Park (formerly Harlem) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. The population was 14,339 at the 2020 census. The Forest Park (CTA station), Forest Park terminal on the Chicago Transit Authority, CTA ...

. The state renamed the Kankakee Mental Health Center in his honor.

References

External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Samuel H. 1907 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century Illinois politicians 20th-century Estonian Jews 20th-century Estonian politicians American people of Estonian-Jewish descent Burials in Forest Park, Illinois Democratic Party governors of Illinois District attorneys in Illinois Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Estonian emigrants to the United States Jewish state governors of the United States Lieutenant governors of Illinois People from Kankakee, Illinois University of Illinois College of Law alumni

Life and career

See also

References

External links