Walter W. Dudycz (born March 11, 1950) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of 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 ...

from 1985 until 2003. Dudycz, a

Ukrainian American Ukrainian Americans ( uk, Українські американці, Ukrayins'ki amerykantsi) are Americans who are of Ukrainian ancestry. According to U.S. census estimates, in 2021 there were 1,017,586 Americans of Ukrainian descent represen ...

was 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 a janitor mother and a factory worker father. He was raised on the West Side of Chicago. Dudycz was a veteran of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and served during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. After the war, he became a

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads t ...

with the

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind ...

. Dudycz was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1984. He was married to Oksana. He had two daughters; one of whom is writer

Valya Dudycz Lupescu Valya Dudycz Lupescu (also known as Valya Lupescu) is a Ukrainian American writer of magic realism and speculative fiction. Background and personal life A second-generation Ukrainian American, Lupescu's writing reflects both her Ukrainian ...

. Dudycz earned a bachelor's degree from

Northeastern Illinois University Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois. NEIU serves approximately 9,000 students in the region and is a Hispanic-serving institution. The main campus is located in the community area of North Park w ...

. In 1990, Dudycz ran for the

United States House of Representatives 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 the ...

against longtime

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 ...

incumbent Frank Annunzio, but lost. After the 2001 decennial redistricting, he chose to retire from the Illinois Senate in 2001. His old district had been dismantled, and he faced the prospect of running against incumbent Democrat James DeLeo, whose district had absorbed most of the Chicago portion of his old district, or incumbent Republican Dave Sullivan, whose district had absorbed much of the suburban portion. He was the last Republican state senator representing a significant portion of Chicago. During the

2008 Republican Party presidential primaries From January 3 to June 3, 2008, voters of the Republican Party chose their nominee for president in the 2008 United States presidential election. Senator John McCain of Arizona was selected as the nominee through a series of primary electio ...

, Dudycz ran to be a delegate to the

2008 Republican National Convention The 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008. The first day of the Republican Party's convention fell on Labor Day, the last day of the popu ...

from Illinois's 9th congressional district for the presidential campaign of former Governor

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusett ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudycz, Walter 1950 births Living people Republican Party Illinois state senators Politicians from Chicago United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Military personnel from Illinois Northeastern Illinois University alumni American people of Ukrainian descent American police detectives Chicago Police Department officers