Bill Lipinski | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois | |
| In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | John G. Fary |
| Succeeded by | Dan Lipinski |
| Constituency | 5th district (1983–1993) 3rd district (1993–2005) |
| Member of theChicago City Council | |
| In office 1975–1983 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Potempa |
| Succeeded by | William Krystyniak |
| Constituency | 23rd ward |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Oliver Lipinski (1937-12-22)December 22, 1937 (age 87) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Rose Lipinski |
| Children | 2, includingDan |
| Education | Loras College |
William Oliver Lipinski (born December 22, 1937) is an American politician and lobbyist who was aDemocratic member of theUnited States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2005, representing a district inChicago.[1]
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He was born in Chicago, and was educated atLoras College inDubuque, Iowa. Lipinski served in theUnited States Army Reserve from 1961 to 1967.[2] He was given a patronage job as public administrator with theChicago Park District of the city of Chicago.[1]
In 1975,MayorRichard J. Daley named him as the Democratic committeeman for Chicago's 23rd Ward, in the southwestern portion of the city. In the same year, Lipinski was elected to theChicago City Council as the alderman for the 23rd Ward. Lipinski remained an alderman until he became a congressman in 1983.[3]
In 1982, he challenged incumbent DemocratJohn G. Fary in the primary forIllinois's 5th congressional district, which included most of southwestern Chicago. He won largely by running up the totals in his city council district, and was handily elected in November.
Lipinski became the mentor of futureCity Clerk of Chicago,James Laski, who by 1988 had become chief-of-staff of the joint Democrat Service Office for the city's southwest side, and acted as a personal aide to Lipinski.[4]
Lipinski played an important role in getting federal funding for theCTA Orange Line.[1]
Lipinski was reelected four times from the 5th Congressional District with almost no difficulty. After the 1990 census, however, his district was merged with the3rd district, represented by a longtime friend,Marty Russo. Lipinski defeated Russo in the 1992 Democratic primary, mainly by running up his margins in the Chicago portion of the district—which is virtually coextensive with the 23rd Ward. This all but assured him of a sixth term. He was reelected five more times from this district, facing serious opposition only once, in 1994.
While in the House, Lipinski served on theTransportation Committee; his district includedMidway Airport and also had morerailroad crossings than any other district.[5]
Lipinski was conservative by national Democratic standards. He strongly opposed abortion,[6] and described himself as a staunch conservative on foreign policy.[7] He was a member of theBlue Dog Coalition.
Lipinski endorsedBill Bradley for theDemocraticpresidential nomination in2000.[8]
During the2004 election cycle, Lipinski easily won theprimary election, which practically assured him of a 12th term in Congress. On August 13, 2004, however, Lipinski withdrew his name from the November 2general election ballot, announcing that he would retire at the end of his 11th term, which expired on January 3, 2005. As the 23rd Ward committeeman, he was able to persuade state Democratic party leaders to name his son,Dan Lipinski, aUniversity of Tennessee professor, to replace him on the ballot. The younger Lipinski won all of his reelection bids up until 2020, when he lost his primary election in 2020 toMarie Newman.[9]
In 2007, after leaving the House of Representatives, Lipinski opened a one-man lobbying firm.[10] In its first eight years, the firm was paid $4 million by clients with business before the House Transportation Committee: theChicago Transit Authority,Metra,BNSF Railway, and theAssociation of American Railroads.[1][10] Lipinski was an influential member of the Transportation Committee, and his son served on the committee.[10] This was described as concerning byPublic Citizen; the younger Lipinski said that his father has not lobbied him and has pledged not to do so.[10]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's 5th congressional district 1983–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's 3rd congressional district 1993–2005 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
