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The supreme executive power of the state is vested in the Governor who succeeded to the duties of the territorial Governor in 1818. Under all four state constitutions the Governor has been given the power to appoint, upon Senate confirmation, executive branch officers whom he can also dismiss without Senate approval. Every state constitution further has empowered the Governor to require reports from all executive officers, including other elected officials; to issue reprieves, commutations, and pardons; and to act as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces, except when they are under federal service, and in that capacity to commission their officers.
The Governor also has the authority to convene special sessions of the General Assembly and is required to report to it on the condition of the state at the beginning of each session and at the end of his term of office. The Governor's legislative role is more fully described in the administrative history of the General Assembly
(RG 600.000).
Over the years the General Assembly has expanded the duties of the Governor to include such responsibilities as negotiating loans for the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal (L. 1826, p. 23); issuing state bonds and settling claims on internal improvements as ex officio Fund Commissioner from 1843 to 1876 (L. 1843, p. 147); issuing proclamations (L. 1861, p. 19), warrants for extraditions of fugitives (Rev. L. 1827, p. 232), and rewards for the apprehension of criminals (L. 1819, p. 254); restoring citizenship rights to convicted criminals (L. 1871, p. 294); and entering into reciprocal agreements with other states and the federal government (L. 1835, Spec.
Sess., p. 168).
The Governor's responsibilities expanded throughout the nineteenth century and were codified in 1917 into nine new executive departments (L. 1917, p. 2). To carry out the Governor's executive policies the Civil Administrative Code of 1917 created the Departments of Agriculture, Finance*, Labor, Mines and Minerals, Public Health, Public Welfare*, Public Works and Buildings*, Registration and Education*, and Trade and Commerce.* Since 1917 the following code departments have been created by separate legislation: Conservation, Purchases and Construction*, Insurance, Public Safety*, Revenue, Aeronautics*, Personnel*, Financial Institutions, Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, Children and Family Services, Public Aid, Business and Economic Development*, General Services*, Local Government Affairs*, Corrections, Law Enforcement*, Transportation, Aging, Veterans' Affairs, Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Nuclear Safety, Human Rights, Central Management Services, Commerce and Community Affairs, Employment Security, Energy and Natural Resources, Lottery, Professional Regulation, Rehabilitation Services, the Emergency Services and Disaster Agency*, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, and the Illinois State Police. The directors of these departments, as well as those of numerous nondepartmental boards and agencies, are appointed by the Governor and are required to report annually to him. The Constitution of 1970 further extended the Governor's authority by granting him the power to reorganize these agencies or to reassign their functions through executive order.
- These departments no longer are in existence.
Many records of the Governor are required by law to be filed with the Secretary of State and are so listed with RG 103.000. In addition the Governor's correspondence from 1809 to 1905 also was filed with the Secretary of State although no statutory provision required it. This practice ended in 1905 and these series, described in RS 100.001 and RS 101.001 through RS 101.024, have been treated here as more properly records of the Governor rather than of the Secretary of State. For a fuller discussion of the provenance of these records see Margaret C. Norton, "The Archives of Illinois," Illinois Libraries,
XXI, no. 9 (September 1939), 14-16.
101.001
SHADRACH BOND CORRESPONDENCE. 1818-1822. 0.25 cu. ft. Partial index, 1818-1820.
Correspondence concerns such topics as the salt industry, state bank loans, public land, Cahokia township, criminal proceedings, the transmission and exchange of laws and resolutions with other states, the Indiana boundary, and the Wabash River. Incoming letters include those from private citizens, presidential electors, U.S. congressmen, and General Land Office administrators. Outgoing letters include those to county officials, legislators, judges, bankers, administrators in other state governments, and officers in the U.S. Army or in the Illinois militia.
Many of these letters have been calendared, indexed, and published by Evarts Boutell Greene and Clarence Walworth Alvord, eds., The Governors' Letter-Books, 1818-1834, in Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, IV (Springfield, 1909), 1-31.
101.002
EDWARD COLES CORRESPONDENCE. 1822-1826. 0.25 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence concerns such topics as seminary and public lands, Bond County, internal improvements, state banks, the Illinois and Michigan Canal, the Wabash River, boundary disputes, extraditions, the silkworm and salt industries, elections, and the transmission and exchange of resolutions and laws with other states. Incoming letters mostly are from national, state, or local government officials. Outgoing letters include those to state and county officials, businessmen, surveyors, administrators and governors in other states, and federal officials (e.g., Presidents; congressmen; Army officers; Secretaries of War, State, and Treasury; and the Commissioner of the General Land Office).
Many of these letters have been calendared, indexed, and published by Evarts Boutell Greene and Clarence Walworth Alvord, eds., The Governors' Letter-Books, 1818-1834, in Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, IV (Springfield, 1909), 32-115.
101.003
NINIAN EDWARDS CORRESPONDENCE. 1826-1830. 0.25 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence concerns Indians, state militia, public land, the Illinois and Michigan Canal, surveys, state bank investigations, and extraditions. Incoming letters include those from businessmen interested in building canals; the Superintendent of Indian Affairs; U.S. Army officers, especially those in the Office of Indian Affairs and in the Engineer Department; the Commissioner of the General Land Office; the President; and the Secretary of War. Outgoing letters include those to the Illinois Secretary of State, Auditor of Public Accounts, state's attorneys, governors of other states, bankers, military officers, and U.S. congressmen.
Many of these letters have been calendared, indexed, and published by Evarts Boutell Greene and Clarence Walworth Alvord, eds., The Governors' Letter-Books, 1818-1834, in Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, IV (Springfield, 1909), 116-157.
101.004
JOHN REYNOLDS CORRESPONDENCE. 1830-1834. 0.75 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence concerns the Black Hawk War, saline and seminary lands, Wabash River, Indiana, northern Illinois boundary, Illinois and Michigan Canal, roads, state loans, court cases, pardons, appointments, Governor Shadrach Bond's contingency fund, and the Secretary of State's duties. Incoming letters include those from land surveyors; the Commissioner of the General Land Office; U.S. Army officers; War, State, or Treasury Department officials; governors of other states; county officials; and legislators. Outgoing letters include those to Indian agents, mounted rangers, sheriffs, bankers, road or canal commissioners, contractors, the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, the Illinois Attorney General, and the President.
Many of these letters have been calendared, indexed, and published by Evarts Boutell Greene and Clarence Walworth Alvord, eds., The Governors' Letter-Books, 1818-1834, in Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, IV (Springfield, 1909), 161-264.
101.005
WILLIAM LEE DAVIDSON EWING CORRESPONDENCE. November 1834-December 1834. 0.1 cu. ft. Partial calendar.
Correspondence comprises incoming letters generally from county officials resigning posts, applicants asking for appointments, candidates complaining about elections, and citizens offering recommendations for job seekers or submitting petitions to have a canal dug between Lake Michigan and the Illinois River. The correspondents addressed their letters to either Governor Reynolds or Governor Duncan, not realizing that the former had resigned on November 17, 1834, and that the latter would not become Governor until December 3, 1834.
101.006
JOSEPH DUNCAN CORRESPONDENCE. 1834-1838. 0.25 cu. ft. Partial calendar.
Correspondence concerns jobs, pardons, resignations, extraditions, the state militia, military supplies, school funds, stone quarries, canals, railroads, salt mines, public lands, the Bank of Illinois, Indian warfare, hospitals, the kidnapping of Negroes, fugitive slaves, and the role of Christianity in government. Incoming letters are from private citizens, military officers, the Adjutant General, surveyors, lawyers, financiers, and railroad executives. File also includes a small amount of outgoing correspondence to the Secretary of War and the Illinois Secretary of State.
101.007
THOMAS CARLIN CORRESPONDENCE. 1838-1842. 0.25 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence concerns financing the Illinois and Michigan Canal, bonded indebtedness, British bank failures, the General Assembly, public lands, and the establishment of a hospital in Chicago. The correspondence contains militia lists, military requisitions, appointment requests, transmissions of laws and resolutions between state governments, and recommendations for job seekers. Correspondents include bond agents underwriting canal construction, bankers, U.S. senators, commissioners of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, legislators, county officials, and military officers.
Some of these letters have been calendared, indexed, and published by Evarts Boutell Greene and Charles Manfred Thompson, eds., Governors' Letter-Books, 1840-1853, in Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, VII (Springfield, 1911), 5-37.
101.008
THOMAS FORD CORRESPONDENCE. 1842-1846. 0.25 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence mainly concerns state finances and the Mormon settlement. The former includes information about taxation, the Illinois and Michigan Canal, state bank loans, internal improvements, state debt, and school funds. The material about Mormons includes a Nauvoo Legion officer list (names and dates commissions received), and a report to the Adjutant General about legion officers scheduled for commissions. The correspondence also concerns milk sickness among cattle, fugitive slaves, extraditions, public lands, Governor Ford's family affairs, and his projected history of Illinois. Incoming letters frequently are from state creditors demanding payments, job applicants, officials directing canal construction, military officers submitting reports, and railroad officials executing contracts. Correspondents include legislators, bond agents, governors and officials in other states, special commissions, lawyers, county officials, and the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury.
Some of these letters have been calendared, indexed, and published by Evarts Boutell Greene and Charles Manfred Thompson, eds., Governors' Letter-Books, 1840-1853, in Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, VII (Springfield, 1911), 38-128.
101.009
AUGUSTUS CHAPLIN FRENCH CORRESPONDENCE. 1846-1853. 1.5 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence chiefly concerns the Illinois and Michigan Canal, railroads, and other internal improvements; state debt; bond agents; school funds; geological surveys; the dam and harbor at St. Louis, Missouri; public lands; taxation; insane asylums; Quincy House sale; and the Washington National Monument. Other common topics in the letters are law enforcement and military affairs such as extraditions, regulators in Massac County, redress of grievances, soldiers stationed at Nauvoo, suspension of banishment decrees, and pardons. Incoming letters include those from private citizens; out-of-state mayors, governors, or other government officials; bond agents; accountants; the State Geologist; the Illinois Secretary of State; military officers; railroad and canal executives; and county officials. Outgoing letters are usually to financiers, administrators, canal engineers, state creditors, the president of the Bank of the United States, Illinois legislators, bankers, U.S. Presidents, and judges.
Some of these letters have been calendared, indexed, and published by Evarts Boutell Greene and Charles Manfred Thompson, eds., Governors' Letter-Books, 1840-1853, in Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, VII (Springfield, 1911), 131-384.
101.010
JOEL ALDRICH MATTESON CORRESPONDENCE. 1853-1857. 1 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence mainly concerns state debt, canals, railroads, bonds, agriculture, lead mines in Hardin County, city charter revisions, slavery, abolitionist activity, and public lands. Other significant subjects concern judicial cases and Missouri border troubles. The correspondence also contains resolutions concerning slavery drawn up at mass meetings; a Springfield contractors' specifications for building the first State Arsenal; an 1852 industrial census of Quincy listing population, products stocked in stores, farm animals sold, and steamboat arrivals; and an 1852 census of Ottawa describing the town's transportation facilities and natural resources and listing the type and quantity of products clearing the Illinois and Michigan Canal at Ottawa, the type, number and value of manufacturing establishments, the numbers of hotels, publishers, schools, banks, churches, other public buildings and civic organizations, and 1850 population figures. Incoming letters include those from private citizens, members of the Illinois House of Representatives, building committeemen of the Illinois State Hospital for the Insane at Jacksonville, bond agents, and U.S. State Department officials. Outgoing correspondence includes communications to the State Geologist, county clerks, and lawyers.
A small number of these letters have been calendared, indexed, and published by Evarts Boutell Greene and Charles Manfred Thompson, eds., Governors' Letter-Books, 1840-1853, in Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, VII (Springfield, 1911), 63-64, 247-248.
101.011
WILLIAM HARRISON BISSELL CORRESPONDENCE. 1857-1860. 0.25 cu. ft. Partial calendar.
File contains primarily incoming correspondence concerning applications, petitions, and recommendations for political jobs, especially the Commissioner of Deeds position. The correspondence also includes discussions about landowners, land patents, swamp lands, the Illinois and Michigan Canal, slavery, extraditions, the Dred Scott decision, and new militia companies. The letters usually are from private citizens, county officials, bondholders, lawyers, military officers, New York financiers, out-of-state government officials, and the Illinois Secretary of State.
101.012
JOHN WOOD CORRESPONDENCE. 1860-1861. 0.1 cu. ft. Partial calendar.
File contains only incoming correspondence which concerns cattle diseases; state banks; pleas for pardons or for government employment, particularly judgeships and the Commissioner of Deeds position; recommendations; and resignations. Correspondents primarily include private citizens, state's attorneys, out-of-state government officials, Illinois county officials, and lawyers.
101.013
RICHARD YATES (1815-1873) CORRESPONDENCE. 1861-1865. 1 cu. ft. Partial calendar.
Correspondence chiefly concerns matters relating to the conduct of the Civil War such as home protection, battles, weapons and supplies, the Board of Army Auditors, hospital boats, war charities, Southern sympathizers, "rebels," and "traitors." Other letters have to do with the administration of civilian government such as prisons, pardons, requisitions for the return of fugitives, insane asylums, education, commissions and appointments, issuance of land patents, the state constitution, and the Illinois and Michigan Canal. Scattered throughout the file are letters about Governor Yates's vetoes, personal charities, and family. Incoming letters include those from legislators, General Land Office administrators, private citizens, lawyers, out-of-state government officials, soldiers' wives pleading for assistance, and state's attorneys. Outgoing letters include those to military officers, U.S. War Department officials, bankers, doctors, and judges. The correspondence also contains lists of recipients of railroad passes issued by Governor Yates.
101.014
RICHARD JAMES OGLESBY (1st term) CORRESPONDENCE. 1865-1869. 3 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence concerns problems arising from the Civil War such as Confederate cotton in Indian territory, slavery and abolition, efforts to provide relief for destitute "colored" people, soldiers' pay, deserters, military camps and hospitals, arms borrowed from the federal government, battlefield burials, Antietam and Gettysburg National Cemeteries, the Lincoln Monument, the Illinois Soldiers' Orphans' Home, voting by "draft sneaks," victory celebrations, state war debts, and the Oak Ridge Cemetery Guard. Other major topics include immigration; the state census; capital punishment; coal mine safety; railroads; Mississippi River bridges, dikes, walls, and channels; taxation; turnpikes; insurance and election laws; municipal incorporation; police; state institutions; surplus labor and Western grainfields; swamp lands; veterinary hospitals; and entomology. Correspondents include private citizens and local, state, and national officials.
101.015
JOHN McAULEY PALMER CORRESPONDENCE. 1869-1873. 2 vols. and 1 cu. ft. Partial calendar.
Correspondence mainly concerns law enforcement issues such as saloons, lynchings, county coroners, indictments, convictions, extraditions, penal management, convict labor, reform schools, and a proposed Department of Public Charities and Corrections. Other common topics include the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution; public roads and parks; eminent domain; homestead laws; grain inspection; the Railroad and Warehouse Commission; pensions for disabled soldiers of the War of 1812; the new State House; the State Book Bindery; the Male and Female Seminary at Paris; school districts; Little Wabash River; swamp land; state appropriations; county courts; county seats; election laws; municipal, business, and school district incorporations; the Chicago Fire of 1871; Cook County paupers and its poor house; and Chicago taxes. Incoming letters include those from private citizens and local, state, and national officials. Outgoing letters signed by the Governor or his private secretary concern official duties such as messages to the General Assembly, petitions for pardons, and appointments.
101.016
RICHARD JAMES OGLESBY (2d term) CORRESPONDENCE. January 1873. 0.25 cu. ft. and 1 vol. Partial index.
Correspondence primarily comprise requests for appointments, especially to the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, State Board of Education for Normal University, Board of Penitentiary Commissioners, and the Southern Illinois Insane Asylum at Anna. The file also contains outgoing letters to legislators about General Assembly affairs, a transcription of the Governor's inaugural address, and the Governor's resignation to serve in the U.S. Senate.
101.017
JOHN LOURIE BEVERIDGE CORRESPONDENCE. 1873-1877. 2 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence primarily concerns law enforcement matters such as strikes, mob disorders, the Pinkerton Detective Agency, the Ku Klux Klan, lynchings, posses, militia law, extraditions, prizefights, bigamy, bastardy, grand juries, penitentiaries, wardens, jail escapees, commutations, executive clemency, and pardons. Correspondence also provides information concerning immigration; the Chicago Fire of 1871; the Constitution of 1870; the State House; insects, particularly locusts and grasshoppers; hog cholera; flax cultivation; geological surveys; oil; swamp lands; land patents; revenue laws; public charities; insane asylums; foreign insurance companies operating in Illinois; the Black Hawk War; internal improvement claims; Gatling-gun experiments; volunteers for Indian wars; dikes, canals, dams, and waterpower; state institutions and commissions; and the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. Correspondents include local, state, and federal officials, private citizens, and foreign consuls resident in Chicago. The correspondence also contains letters and lists of volunteers compiled for a potential war with Spain or to fight in a war against the Sioux Indians in retaliation for the Battle of the Little Big Horn.
101.018
SHELBY MOORE CULLOM CORRESPONDENCE. 1877-1883. 2 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence concerns naturalizations, politics, rewards for the capture of criminals, pardons, extraditions, pleas from convicts, an industrial school for girls, military funds, swamp lands, the Illinois Central Railroad, the appointment of Governor Cullom to the U.S. Senate, and the distribution of state documents. Most of the correspondence involves requests for appointments to such posts as Commissioner for the Improvement of Rivers and Canals, Public Administrator, justice of the peace, and Railroad and Warehouse Commissioner. Correspondents include local, state, and national government officials and private citizens. File also includes a partial listing of appointments made by the Governor which includes each appointee's name, position, date appointment approved or rejected by the General Assembly, length of term and date of expiration, and predecessor's name.
101.019
JOHN MARSHALL HAMILTON CORRESPONDENCE. 1883-1885. 4 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence mainly concerns such matters as banks, women's suffrage, insane asylums, Canadian custom regulations, miners' strikes, short- and long-haul railroad rates, obscene literature, the temperance movement, school lands, and health hazards and disasters (e.g., Southern Illinois University fire, Ohio and Illinois River floods, arsenic poisoning, animal diseases). Other common topics include federal interest payments to Illinois on Civil War debts; the Republican Party (anti-Republican newspapers and German-American members); free services provided by hotels, railroads, and newspapers; political appointments to the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, and protests to these appointments. Included are pleas from women for relief from divorce decrees in which husbands were provided full property awards. The correspondence also deals with meetings of Negroes, their expulsions from towns, and lynchings. Correspondents include government officials and private citizens. File also includes a partial listing of appointments made by the Governor which provide each appointee's name, position, date appointment approved or rejected by the General Assembly, length of term and date of expiration, and predecessor's name.
101.020
RICHARD JAMES OGLESBY (3d term) CORRESPONDENCE. 1885-1889. 4.5 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence mainly concerns social and cultural activities such as fairs and expositions, newspapers, the State Horticultural Society, the State Historical Museum, circuses, horse racing, the Chicago lakefront, dredging lakes, drainage laws, saloons, Comstock laws, contraceptive devices, drug labels, cruelty to animals, humane officers appointed to serve in Chicago and East St. Louis stockyards, the Chicago Stock Exchange, railroad safety, water purification, town charters and incorporations, and the new State House. The correspondence also includes information about politics, convict labor, state agencies, Knights of Labor strikes, Negroes (e.g., political appointments, "colored" militia, schools), and immigrants (e.g., Bohemians, Scandinavians, the Haymarket Riot, anarchists, naturalizations of citizens). Most correspondents are private citizens or government officials at all levels. The file also includes campaign broadsheets; invitations from social, political, civic, fraternal, and business groups; and a partial listing of appointments made by the Governor which includes each appointee's name, position, date appointment approved or rejected by the General Assembly, length of term and date of expiration, and predecessor's name.
101.021
JOSEPH WILSON FIFER CORRESPONDENCE. 1889-1893. 10 cu. ft. Index.
Correspondence concerns German newspapers, musical bands, and Sunday beer sales; Irish Catholicism and parochial schools; the freedom of religion; job scarcity; aliens; nihilists; and legislation to control railroad rate discrimination, industrial pollution of streams, barbers refusing to serve "colored" patrons, rabid dogs running at large, financial institutions lending at high interest, and the underrepresentations of black citizens and of all citizens in the eastern part of the state.
The correspondence also includes complaints about existing laws such as Sunday closings, bounties for killing English sparrows, and the penning of cattle. Topics directly concerning the Governor relate to elections, the inauguration, the Executive Mansion, political aides, military staff, appointments and applications for employment, gifts (e.g., fish, teal, maple syrup), names of those who received railroad passes from the Governor, meetings attended by the Governor (e.g., picnics, barbecues, the Tippecanoe Club, the Grand Army of the Republic), complaints about poor meat at the Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Quincy, political interference with the administration of the Illinois University at Normal, requests to carry concealed weapons or to sell liquor, and crank pleas.
Correspondence also reveals information about Chicago (e.g., judges, streetcars, sanitation), Southern Illinois University, village work of prisoners on ball and chain, bandit gangs in Union County, fishing violations, gambling dens, the "sinful city of Jonesboro," culvert building, Chautauqua meetings, the Battle of Wounded Knee, the Nicaraguan Canal Convention, assassinations, federal moneys disbursed to the state, tariffs, certification of presidential and senatorial elections, the National Guard, insurance of state buildings, and electricity in state institutions. The correspondence also contains incomplete monthly lists of the numbers of inmates in state prisons. Most letters are outgoing from the Governor, his private secretary, or the Attorney General, and the correspondence usually is addressed to government officials or private citizens. File also includes a partial listing of appointments made by the Governor which includes each appointee's name, position, date appointment approved or rejected by the General Assembly, length of term and date of expiration, and predecessor's name.
101.022
JOHN PETER ALTGELD CORRESPONDENCE. 1893-1897. 4 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence mainly concerns child labor, sweatshops, falling prices, tenements, smallpox, layoffs, the unemployed, unions, federal intervention in strikes, anarchists, pardons, Haymarket rioters, Pullman and Lemont strikes, poor farms, penal reform, lynch laws, the coal industry, a "cruel" cowboy horse race from Nebraska to Chicago, the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, Mexican land deals, Texas land titles, "pleasure" highways, and gold or silver reserves. Other topics include prizefighting, lumpyjaw, the Democratic Party, Catholic orphanages, Sunday school services in prisons, religious rights of Spiritualists, competition of convict labor with free enterprise, Copperas Creek, the German-American Dental College, crematories, and marking graves of Illinois soldiers buried in Southern battlefields. Some incoming correspondence is in German. File also includes a partial listing of appointments made by the Governor which includes each appointee's name, position, date appointment approved or rejected by the General Assembly, length of term and date of expiration, and predecessor's name.
101.023
JOHN RILEY TANNER CORRESPONDENCE. 1897-1901. 6 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence concerns labor problems such as coal mine strikes, Chinese mine workers, riots, troop activations, lockouts, arbitration, factory inspection, Chicago employment agencies hiring for "houses of ill repute," and starving coopers in Chicago. A second major topic concerns military affairs, mainly the Spanish-American War (e.g., relief for Cubans, newspapers, patriotism, National Guard, "colored" regiments, mobilization, musters, vaccinations, rations, soldiers' pay, naval militia, yellow fever, Red Cross, and the removal of Illinois soldiers from Cuba and Florida), the Philippine War, and the Boxer Rebellion. Correspondence also deals with new legislation concerning hunting, racing, horseshoe licensing, state civil service, competitive bidding for state contracts, the eight-hour workday, Jewish holidays, cigarette smoking, fire escapes, water gas, osteopathy, food and drugs, killing of prairie chickens, and voting machines.
Other topics of correspondence are the Chicago lakefront, Chicago River, University of Illinois defalcated funds, Shawneetown flood, battleship Illinois, gunboat Nashville, Inter-Oceanic Canal Commission, Puerto Rican hurricane relief, beet sugar, meat purchases from Armour Packing Company, smallpox, cattle with tuberculosis, the establishment of a state epileptic colony, cement sidewalks, and Populists. Correspondents include local, state, and national government officials, private citizens, and foreign consuls. File also includes a partial listing of appointments made by the Governor which includes each appointee's name, position, date appointment approved or rejected by the General Assembly, length of term and date of expiration, and predecessor's name.
101.024
RICHARD YATES (1860-1936) CORRESPONDENCE. 1901-1905. 13 cu. ft. No index.
The bulk of the correspondence concerns appointments, resignations, and deaths of state officials; recommendations of job applicants; requests for railroad passes; politics; personal conferences, invitations, and meetings; expense accounts of state officials; rewards for the capture of murderers; extraditions, commutations, and pardons; elections; property rights; taxation; swamp lands; military affairs; game and fish laws; and state construction projects. Other topics include the state civil service system, employment agencies, the labor movement, the National Guard, lynchings, women's suffrage, fraternal orders, state colleges, the Douglas Monument, the St. Louis World's Fair, and the Pan American Exposition. File also contains some General Assembly bills, newspaper articles on state institutions, commission bylaws, and special reports from state officials on matters such as violent deaths in insane asylums. Incoming and outgoing letters mostly are between government officials at all levels. File also includes a partial listing of appointments made by the Governor which includes each appointee's name, position, date appointment approved or rejected by the General Assembly, length of term and date of expiration, and predecessor's name.
101.025
CHARLES SAMUEL DENEEN CORRESPONDENCE. 1905-1913. 0.1 cu. ft. No index.
File primarily contains material relating to the administration of the Spanish-American War Veterans' Fund which was set up in 1899 by Congress to compensate underpaid members of the Illinois National Guard activated during the conflict. In 1908 the fund account was transferred to the state with the Governor acting personally as the trustee. Included in the file are bank statements of deposits or withdrawals, heirs' affidavits attesting to soldiers' deaths, receipts for payments, and a record of salary and office expenses incurred while administering the fund. The correspondence concerning veterans' claims usually shows the veteran's name, rank, military unit, and names and addresses of heirs. File also includes correspondence with bank officers and the Adjutant General.
101.026
EDWARD FITZGERALD DUNNE CORRESPONDENCE. 1913-1917. 0.1 cu. ft. No index.
File primarily contains material relating to the administration of the Spanish-American War Veterans' Fund which was set up in 1899 by Congress to compensate underpaid members of the Illinois National Guard activated during the conflict. In 1908 the fund account was transferred to the state with the Governor acting personally as the trustee. File includes a bank account book in the Governor's name, bank balance notifications, interest statements, statements of deposits and withdrawals, names of veterans who received payments, and amounts and dates of payments. The Auditor of Public Accounts and bank officials were the primary correspondents.
101.027
FRANK ORREN LOWDEN CORRESPONDENCE. 1917-1921. 4.25 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence primarily concerns state, federal, and military activities during World War I. Wartime topics include fuel conservation, daylight-saving time, patriotism, savings stamps, censorship, aliens operating businesses in Illinois, citizens demonstrating against German consulates, home defense, sale of liberty bonds, teaching German in schools, sedition, speakers at munitions plants, German sympathizers, "fight or work" orders, activities of the Bureau of Investigation of the Justice Department, Americanization plans, the federal takeover of railroads, and the lynching of a "pro-German agitator" in Collinsville. Military information in the correspondence concerns such matters as the draft (e.g., evasions, exemptions for farm workers, special classifications), army camps, uniforms, food, pay, furloughs, hospitals, safety at Scott Field, the Rock Island Arsenal, voting by soldiers, discharges, demobilization, and provision of work on farms for soldiers after the war.
Other significant topics relate to agriculture (e.g., barberry plants, stem rust, livestock feed, soft corn, rabbit raising); law enforcement (e.g., executive clemency for 100 Swedes in Rockford, new police and detective systems); national laws concerning roads, farm loans, child labor, and wage tax withholdings; and state or local concerns (e.g., license tags, the Civil Administrative Code, fraternities and sororities, motorboats and yachts, vocational education for Negroes, building and loan association interest rates, the Socialist Party, the Spanish-American War Veterans' Fund).
A small portion of this file concerns the Chicago Commission on Race Relations appointed by the Governor to investigate the 1919 Chicago race riot and to offer recommendations for new laws or other state action for the prevention of further outbreaks. Composed of leading Chicago black and white citizens, the commission inquired into racial tensions not only locally but also throughout the state and, in some matters, the nation. At the conclusion of its work the commission sent the Governor its plans, investigation reports, memoranda, minutes, financial statements, hearing transcripts, and letters dealing with racism and its effects in schools, churches, industries, housing, and unions.
In addition, this file includes the Governor's correspondence concerning the riot and the progress of the commission's investigation, orders of the acting Governor to mobilize the National Guard, communications from the mayor of Chicago, coroners' reports, and police data. Other matters discussed in the commission correspondence include bomb threats, lynchings, U.S. Supreme Court decisions, the Star Order of Ethiopia, the International Workers of the World, the NAACP, The Crisis, the Springfield Ministers Association, The Journal of Negro History, the Pullman Company, and W.E.B. Du Bois's The Souls of Black Folk. Most correspondents are local, state, and federal officials or leaders in business, social, or cultural organizations such as executives of the National Urban League and the East St. Louis Urban League, the director of the Division of Negro Economics of the U.S. Department of Labor, Republican Party national leaders, and Baptist ministers.
101.028
LENNINGTON SMALL CORRESPONDENCE. 1921-1929. 4 cu. ft. No index.
Correspondence primarily concerns problems involving the national government such as federal land in Illinois, presidential electors, railroads, immigration, administration of the Spanish-American War Veterans' Fund, extraditions from foreign countries, and the Interstate Commerce Commission. State and local topics include insane asylum or jail escapes, urban riots, reform schools, state's attorneys' duties, the status of aliens, roads, the State Primary Canvassing Board, civil service, the state militia, and an inventory of state property. The file also contains the Governor's executive orders and proclamations (e.g., rewards for the capture of fugitives), an inaugural address of the President, presidential executive orders, Illinois Supreme Court decisions, state and federal maps, newspaper clippings about politics, and affidavits from law enforcement agencies. Most of the incoming and outgoing letters are between government officials on the local, state, and national levels.
101.029
LOUIS LINCOLN EMMERSON CORRESPONDENCE. 1929-1933. 6 cu. ft. No index.
Correspondence primarily concerns early state and federal efforts to alleviate the effects of the Great Depression, especially through governors' conferences, the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission, the Presidential Home Building and Home Ownership Conference, and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. The file also contains correspondence concerning the appointment and resignation of state officials, General Assembly resolutions, inventories of the Governor's office, messages to the General Assembly, executive proclamations, an Auditor of Public Accounts report on Rush Medical College, legal opinions of the Attorney General, court notifications, extradition papers, and monthly reports of the State Treasurer. Other subjects include the Illinois Central Railroad, the Spanish-American War Veterans' Fund, international conferences, removal from office of state officials, and special elections. Most correspondents are federal, state, and local government administrators.
101.030
HENRY HORNER CORRESPONDENCE. 1933-1940. 17 cu. ft. No index.
Correspondence primarily concerns the Great Depression and attempts to combat it at the federal, state, and local levels involving the Work Projects Administration, National Industrial Recovery Administration, Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Interstate Flood Relief and Prevention Committee, Interstate Commission on Crime, Illinois Commission on Intergovernmental Cooperation, Illinois Emergency Relief Commission, Retrenchment Commission, State Planning Commission, Department of Finance, Immigrants Commission, Housing Board, Buy-Illinois-Products Commission, Committee on Child Welfare, State Advisory Council of the Illinois State Employment Service, Unemployment Compensation Special Committee, Illinois Council on Public Assistance and Employment, Committee on Psychiatric Education, Illinois Budgetary Commission, Illinois Commission for the Study of Poverty and Dependency in Old Age, and the Committee to Investigate Emergency Relief and Old Age Assistance Funds.
Other organizations discussed in the correspondence include the Mining Investigation Commission, Committee on Infantile Paralysis, Illinois Racing Commission, Illinois Aeronautics Commission, Illinois Municipal Code Commission, Prison Investigating Committee, Afro-Merican [sic] Emancipation Commission, Department of Public Health Division of Cancer Control, Commission for Physically Handicapped Children, Department of Conservation, Illinois Waterway Commission, and the Mississippi River Parkway Commission. Subjects mentioned within the correspondence include retailers' occupational tax, fuel oil, slot machines, public guardians, expositions and anniversary celebrations, soil conservation, Social Security, liquor, administration of the Spanish-American War Veterans' Fund, the American Legion, claims and pensions, the Sangamon County courthouse, the State Fair, the University of Illinois, boys' training schools, motor vehicle laws, the urban "colored" population, delinquency, riots in Sangamon and Tazewell Counties, and special holidays for Jewish and Negro state employees. The files also contain extradition papers, budget estimates, messages to the General Assembly, and proclamations. Most of the letters are between local, state, and federal (e.g., the Secretary of the Interior) officials.
101.031
JOHN HENRY STELLE CORRESPONDENCE. 1940-1941. 0.25 cu. ft. No index.
Correspondence primarily comprises communications with state and federal agencies, particularly the U.S. Department of Justice, the Illinois Department of Registration and Education, and the State Treasurer. Subjects discussed include labor problems, court cases, selective service, the sales tax, and appointments. The file also contains financial material relating to the administration of the Spanish-American War Veterans' Fund including canceled checks signed by the Governor, vouchers signed by the Adjutant General, and bank statements of deposits or withdrawals.
101.032
DWIGHT HERBERT GREEN CORRESPONDENCE. 1941-1949. 32 cu. ft. No index.
Correspondence primarily concerns such matters as interstate cooperative efforts (e.g., governors' conferences, crime, submerged oil tidelands, taxes, highway safety); appointments and resignations in state code departments, agencies, boards, commissions, and committees; and wartime activities of the federal government. Wartime topics include the selective service system, missing soldiers and prisoners of war, officer training schools, recruiting, the Women's Army Corps, food production, rationing and price controls, scrap drives, synthetic rubber, the Emergency Coordinator of Illinois Mines, job absenteeism, nurseries, speed limits, daylight-saving time, shipping, ordnance plants, war rallies, seditious activities, victory gardens, victory books, the Yalta Conference, the Japanese surrender, and victory celebrations. Finally, the correspondence includes postwar reconstruction information (e.g., demobilization, housing, the Service Recognition Board, and universal military training). Most correspondents are local, state, and federal officials.
File also contains photographs of President Truman's 1948 campaign and of Governor Green's activities (e.g., participating in a girl scout war-loan drive, attending a "Republican Day" celebration), executive proclamations, copies of messages sent to the General Assembly, copies of General Assembly bills and resolutions, extradition papers, commutations and grants to restore citizenship rights, motor vehicle license applications originally mailed to the Secretary of State's office, requests for courtesy cards from foreign consuls stationed in Chicago, harness-racing reports, Attorney General opinions concerning the constitutionality of bills before the General Assembly, bank statements for the Spanish-American War Veterans' Fund, budget estimates, monthly reports from the State Treasurer, and election documents collected by the State Primary Canvassing Board.
101.033
ADLAI EWING STEVENSON CORRESPONDENCE. 1949-1953. 13 cu. ft. No index.
Correspondence primarily concerns Service Recognition Board claims from veterans or their heirs; copies of restorations of citizenship rights; announcements of pardons, commutations, or reprieves; notices of resignations and appointments; financial statements that deal with the Spanish-American War Veterans' Fund; political speeches and press releases; reward proclamations for the capture of fugitives; and executive orders. Throughout the file are state and federal documents explaining agency work; U.S. and Illinois Supreme Court decisions; reports from the Illinois Attorney General, State Treasurer, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction; and minutes of meetings held by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. The remaining correspondence includes incoming and outgoing letters to or from local, state, and federal officials concerning such matters as the selective service system, deferments from the draft, conscientious objectors, Social Security, transportation of explosives, counterfeit cigarette tax meters, the state seal, and the 1952 presidential campaign.
101.034
WILLIAM GRANT STRATTON CORRESPONDENCE. 1953-1961. 43 cu. ft. Partial index.
Correspondence primarily concerns appointments to or resignations from state agencies. Scattered throughout the correspondence are occasional communications dealing with agency work, such as reports from the State Treasurer (with lists of banks holding state funds and the amount of interest being paid); Attorney General opinions on General Assembly bills; Secretary of State records of cash remittances; and selected reports of the State Primary Certifying Board containing complaints, statements, and statistics concerning elections held for statewide and Chicago offices from 1940-1960. About one-third of the correspondence concerns extradition papers, restoration of felons' citizenship rights, authorizations for state officials to draw funds from appropriated accounts, applications for courtesy cards from foreign consuls resident in Chicago, requests for the Governor's autograph or photograph, invitations to social or political events with replies, and invoices for commodities bought for the Governor's use.
Other material found in the files includes copies of messages to the General Assembly or bills returned; Senate confirmation notices; minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Central Railroad; financial statements concerning the Spanish-American War Veterans' Fund and the First National Bank of Chicago Trustee Account; proclamations; grants or denials of executive clemency or declarations of pardons, commutations, and reprieves; exchanges with federal departments, United Nations agencies, or interstate governmental cooperative groups; and messages sent to or received from local, state, or national charitable, social, or cultural organizations including the Boy Scouts of America, National Mental Health Committee, American Red Cross, American Legion, White House Council on Children and Youth, American Cancer Society, Korean Foundation, and Masonic or other fraternal orders. A small amount of the correspondence deals with Chicago agencies (e.g., Crime Commission, Transit Authority, Commission on Human Relations, Regional Port District). Some special subjects in the correspondence relate to swamp lands, land patents, land conveyances, lakes, bank closings, plans for a constitutional convention, and the Brussels World's Fair. Most letters are to or from officials at all levels of government or leaders of national, social, or political organizations.
101.035
OTTO KERNER CORRESPONDENCE. 1961-1968. 33 cu. ft. No index.
File contains addresses to the General Assembly or to social and political groups, proclamations of honorary days or months, extradition papers, the granting or denial of pardons and commutations, restorations of citizenship rights to felons, resignations of state officials and notices or confirmations of new appointments, authorizations for departments or commissions to draw upon appropriated funds, records of bills received from the General Assembly and the Governor's action on them, and Attorney General opinions on the constitutionality of bills. Also included in smaller quantities are affidavits filed in the Court of Claims and memoranda pertaining to those cases; briefs of other judicial proceedings involving the state; executive orders, such as those outlining the duties of the State Fair manager or detailing fair employment practices; requests from foreign consuls and press attachés resident in Chicago for courtesy cards that exempted them from retail sales taxes, arrest, and search and seizure; replies to these requests; and communications received from state agencies, especially the Department of Finance.
Other topics discussed in correspondence include the United Nations, New York World's Fair of 1964, Interstate Compact on Juveniles, toll highway bonds, Chanute Air Force Base training, federal or state property annexations by communities, Illinois Racing Board, Illinois Harness Racing Commission, Reapportionment Commission, and the 1968 elections. The file also contains a copy of the Governor's resignation to accept a presidential appointment as judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals; studies on funds spent by state agencies; reports of the Governor's Committee on Consumer Sales; brochures about sources of state revenue; analyses of communications costs for state government; pamphlets on the flow of management information in the state executive branch; findings of investigations into credit laws; booklets about mental health, local government grants, state office space use, and the organization of the Illinois Commerce Commission; minutes of meetings held by the board of trustees for the State Employees' Retirement System; and a report from the Commission to Investigate Facts Reflecting the Integrity of Certain Officers of this State (i.e., Ethics Commission). Correspondents primarily are government officials at all levels.
101.036
SAMUEL HARVEY SHAPIRO CORRESPONDENCE. 1968-1969. 4 cu. ft. No index.
File primarily contains material gathered by the Governor's Revenue Study Committee which was established to study the tax structure of the state and explore the possibility of instituting a state income tax. Included are memoranda, working papers, incoming and outgoing letters, transcripts of Study Committee meetings including some sound records, and reports about various methods of taxation. The correspondence also includes authorizations for departments or commissions to draw upon appropriated funds; resignations and appointments; records of consular courtesy cards requested and issued; opinions of the Attorney General and of the Court of Claims; executive orders, such as one creating a Committee on Criminal Justice and another ordering the Adjutant General to activate the militia to "execute the requests of the said Mayor of the City of Chicago"; materials collected at the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors and at the National Governors' Conference; and the official list of votes received by presidential electors of all parties in Illinois during the 1968 election. Correspondents usually are officials in local, state, and federal governments.
101.037
RICHARD BUELL OGILVIE CORRESPONDENCE. 1969-1973. 42 cu. ft. Partial index.
File contains primarily authorizations for state agencies to draw appropriated funds; extradition papers, hearing reports, and plans to expedite the extradition of fugitives; card file containing extradition requests made by or to the state; decisions regarding executive clemency, restoration of citizenship rights, and final discharges from state penitentiaries; opinions of the Attorney General and the Court of Claims; letters, studies, and reports dealing with transportation at the local, state, and federal levels; typescripts of speeches delivered by the Governor or his wife; selective service memoranda; notebooks and ledgers recording bills received from the General Assembly and the Governor's action on them; staff recommendations to the Governor on proposed legislation; executive proclamations; political clearances for applicants to federal positions; and communications, reports, and studies from state and federal agencies or from private groups interested in governmental affairs.
Throughout the correspondence are large quantities of material sent by various agencies or groups to the Governor's office such as reports and decisions of the Illinois Supreme Court and petitions to the court, a master plan from the Board of Higher Education, digests published by the Legislative Reference Bureau, and brochures relating to reciprocity agreements with other states regarding motor vehicle laws. Prominent topics discussed in the correspondence include law enforcement; narcotics control; auxiliary state police force; firearms training; police brutality against blacks in Chicago; racial violence in Cairo; nursing home abuses; teacher walkouts, student boycotts, and a school board lockout in East St. Louis, together with mediation efforts by the Superintendent of Public Instruction; legal aid; civil rights; unemployment; family assistance; food stamps; retarded children; senior citizens; inflation; consumer education; sex education; environmental quality; urban renewal; suburban problems; high property taxes; a state income tax; business and economic development; black capitalism; Young Republicans; the Bond County Republican Club; voting rights; vote fraud; junior colleges; the Chicago Circle campus of the University of Illinois; and the destruction of Thorn Creek Woods. Some letters were signed by the Lieutenant Governor and include copies of his speeches and reports, such as "Address...Before the Illinois Constitutional Convention" and "The Lieutenant Governor's Committee on Southern Illinois University: A Practical Study of Campus Problems."
101.038
DANIEL WALKER POLITICAL ISSUES AND ADMINISTRATIVE FILES. 1973-1976. 69 cu. ft. Partial index.
Files of the Governor's administrative assistants include correspondence and administrative records. Arranged alphabetically by political issue, correspondence concerns such topics as state and local elections, taxes, state budgets, legislation, vetoes, federal programs, capital punishment, airport locations, collective bargaining, swine flu, women's rights, nuclear power, pornography, euthanasia, Amtrak, no-fault divorce, Vietnam War, prisoner rights, motorcycle regulations, state parks, holidays, civil rights, Malcolm X College, and hunting regulations. Administrative records include congratulatory messages, reports, invitations, resolutions, employment applications, staff memoranda, drafts of speeches, photographs, and newsclippings. Also included is a large body of crank mail and copies of the Governor's private correspondence which include his reflections on his 1972 electoral victory, 1976 primary defeat, family background, personal plans, the mayor of Chicago, the Lieutenant Governor, political corruption, and the values of walking campaigns.
101.039
DANIEL WALKER CONSTITUENTS' COMMUNICATIONS FILES. 1973-1976. 87 cu. ft. Partial index.
Files of the Governor's Citizens' Affairs Office include incoming correspondence from constituents which were forwarded to state agencies for reply, memoranda from Governor's staff concerning letters, copies of state agencies' draft replies, and outgoing correspondence from the Governor. Correspondence categories include questioning of the Governor's actions, inquiries about agency projects or responsibilities, requests for information or favors, complaints, and offers of advice. Subjects discussed include such topics as trauma centers, helicopter ambulance services, state parks, the Illinois and Michigan Canal, horsemeat sales, illicit activities in prisons, women's rights, marijuana, the Dram Shop Act, appointments, free school lunches, extradition, acupuncture, cyclamates, insecticides, pornography, polygraphs, and the Highway Beautification Act.
101.040
DANIEL WALKER PERSONAL SECRETARY'S OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE. 1973-1976. 43 cu. ft. No index.
Files include copies of outgoing correspondence to private citizens, organizations, and federal and state officials in response to inquiries; memoranda to state agencies requesting information to answer inquiries; and draft responses prepared by agencies along with background research data collected in preparing responses.
101.041
DANIEL WALKER LEGISLATIVE FILES. 1973-1976. 16 cu. ft. Partial index.
Files of the Governor's legislative liaison include correspondence with constituents concerning legislation, constituents' petitions, and internal staff memoranda. Most correspondence concerns child day care, delinquency prevention, reimbursement of state employees for sick day accumulation, the Nursing Practices Act, marijuana, free textbooks for parochial schools, abortion, teachers' pensions, handicapped children, income taxes, mental health appropriations, soil and water conservation, aid to public schools, corporate taxes, community colleges, and adult education. Petitions principally concern college tuition increases, environmental control of rivers and parks, health planning and geriatric funding, road and hospital improvements, and rights of motorcyclists.
101.042
DANIEL WALKER MINUTES OF INDEPENDENT STATE, LOCAL, AND INTERSTATE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. 1973-1977. 19 cu. ft. No index.
Record includes minutes, agenda, project reports, and correspondence concerning the activities of independent state, local, and interstate boards and commissions. Major files are maintained for the Board of Higher Education, Illinois Arts Council, Capital Development Board, Court of Claims, Illinois Housing Development Board, Health Facilities Authority, Illinois Liquor Control Commission, Governor's Advisory Council on Vocational Education, Interstate Commerce Commission, and the Federal Power Commission.
101.043
DANIEL WALKER JUDICIAL, LEGISLATIVE, AND EXECUTIVE FILES. 1973-1976. 2.5 cu. ft. Partial index.
Files include records of the judicial, legislative, and executive branch coordinators. Judicial papers include copies of appellate and circuit court judges' resignations, material relevant to litigation in which the Governor was respondent, and affidavits with requests from inmates of state correctional institutions. Legislative papers include incoming and outgoing correspondence between the Governor and legislative leaders concerning legislation, building projects, appointments, and appropriations. Executive papers include messages to the Senate, copies of proclamations and orders, staff plans for special events, and photographs.
101.044
DANIEL WALKER CODE DEPARTMENTS AND BOARDS FILES. 1973-1976. 12 cu. ft. Partial index.
Files include correspondence and memoranda between the Governor and boards, code departments, and divisions of departments. Subjects include transfers of funds, appointments, meeting schedules, and administrative policy. All code departments are represented as well as temporary and permanent regulatory and non-regulatory agencies such as the Dangerous Drug Commission, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Study Commission, Bicentennial Commission, Medical Center Commission, Legislative Council, Illinois Commerce Commission, Capital Development Board, Pollution Control Board, State Board of Investments, State Historical Library, Bureau of the Budget, Lottery Advisory Board, and the Illinois Information Service.
101.045
DANIEL WALKER STAFF WORKING FILES. 1973-1976. 12 cu. ft. Partial index.
Files principally include correspondence with constituents and their organizations. Major topics include financing of the Illinois Arts Council, duties of the Lieutenant Governor, activities of the legislature, special treatment accorded imprisoned former Governor Otto Kerner, state law forbidding first cousins from marrying, Governor's refusal to revoke insurance agents' licenses obtained through grade tampering, state legislators' caring for their infants in General Assembly chambers, proposed merit system in the Secretary of State's office, and work of the Commission on Individual Liberty and Personnel Privacy. Also included are files on state and federal legislators, governors, the U.S. Presidents, copies of the 1975 State of the State Address, memoranda concerning constituents' complaints, newspaper clippings, research reports, and notes on interviews and phone conversations with the Governor.
101.046
DANIEL WALKER OFFICE OF SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS FILES. 1973-1975. 1 cu. ft. Partial index.
Financial files of the Office of Special Investigations, whose purpose was to investigate misconduct among state workers in the Governor's employ, show original funding by the Illinois Law Enforcement Commission, budget allowances, and detailed agency expenditures.
101.047
DANIEL WALKER FEDERAL-STATE COORDINATION FILES. 1973-1976. 6 cu. ft. Partial index.
Files concern the coordination of activities of agencies of the federal government and state agencies under the Governor's authority. Major subjects include natural disasters, a Chicago crosstown expressway, endangered species, the Bicentennial, National Guard operations, death penalty restoration, discrimination against Jews, New Federalism policies, minority businesses, commercial fishing, health care, Indochinese refugees, nursing homes, black lung disease, Medicare and Medicaid, establishment of a Department on Aging, mobile homes, boundary disputes with Missouri over the Kaskaskia area, occupational safety, daylight-saving time, Quincy Veterans' Home, and child care.
101.048
DANIEL WALKER EDUCATION PLANNING FILES. 1973-1974. 2 cu. ft. Partial index.
Files of the Liaison for Educational Activities concern higher, secondary, and elementary education and include such topics as budgets, federal grants, teacher salaries, retirement systems, tuition and fees, faculty collective bargaining, student representation on college boards, educational goals, music education, exceptional children, vocational education, building projects, educational legislation, admission to medical schools, private education, and research projects.
101.049
DANIEL WALKER REFERRALS TO OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES FILES. 1973-1976. 2 cu. ft. Partial index.
Files of correspondence addressed to the Governor and referred to other constitutional offices include copies of inquiries and copies of responses issued by other offices. Constitutional offices to which inquiries were referred include the Attorney General, Comptroller, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Supreme Court, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction or his successor, the State Superintendent of Education. Subjects include such topics as availability of public defenders, municipal employees required to live within the boundaries of the cities where they work, administrative actions of the mayor of Chicago, plea bargaining, compensation for victims of violent crimes, juveniles tried as adults, and the retention of judges.
101.050
DANIEL WALKER STAFF RESEARCH PROJECTS FILES. 1973-1974. 5 cu. ft. Partial index.
Files include correspondence, minutes, copies of speeches, and other working papers compiled for research projects. Subjects include such topics as pollution, pesticides, natural disasters, strip mining, sewage treatment, Environmental Protection Agency regulations, air traffic control, illegal aliens, probation programs, juvenile delinquency, police brutality, gun control, prisons and jails, airport construction, highways, campaign practices reforms, fossil fuel production, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act, and economic development projects.
101.051
DANIEL WALKER EXTRADITION REQUISITION DOSSIERS. 1969-1976. 8 cu. ft. No index.
Dossiers include extradition requisitions, supporting or opposing positions, correspondence with out-of-state governors and law enforcement officers, correspondence from lawyers representing extradition candidates, Attorney General's certifications, background information on cases, copies of court documents, extradition waivers, and staff memoranda and correspondence.
101.052
DANIEL WALKER PROCLAMATIONS WORKING FILES. 1973-1974. 2.5 cu. ft. No index.
Files include petitions requesting proclamations, draft proclamations, and correspondence, memoranda, and press information packets relating to proclamation preparation and issuance.
101.053
DANIEL WALKER ACCOUNTABILITY SESSION FILES AND SOUND RECORDINGS. January 3, 1973-May 4, 1976. 1 cu. ft., 56 cassettes, and 59 reels. Partial index.
Files include maps of areas where sessions were held, lists of persons involved, stage directions, newspaper advertisements, meeting schedules, analyses of local interest topics, local color information, copies of local interest legislation, newspaper editorials, and staff critiques of the Governor's performances. Recordings are of press conferences, interviews, publicity announcements, and the sessions themselves.
101.054
DANIEL WALKER PHOTOGRAPHS. January 18, 1973-January 5, 1977. 2 cu. ft. Partial index.
Photographic negatives and prints show the Governor, his family, staff, friends, and participants and dignitaries at public events. Also included are business cards of persons appearing in photographs.
101.055
DANIEL WALKER SOUND RECORDINGS. 1973-1976. 88 cassettes and 157 reels. Partial index.
Recordings of press conferences, speeches, radio and television interviews, debates, meetings, and other events include discussion of such topics as legislation, state budget and finances, taxes, gun control, crime victims, Vietnam veterans, transportation, medical licensing, grain inspection scandals, Stateville Prison, false advertising, Chicago mass transit, programs for the handicapped, the fuel crisis, pornography, his campaign, floods, venereal disease, rabies, unsafe drinking water, livestock and grain prices, and tornados. Also included are his inaugural address, speeches at Bicentennial celebrations and before joint sessions of the General Assembly, veto explanations, announcements of appointments, addresses at bill signing ceremonies, and campaign songs.
101.056
DANIEL WALKER SPEECHES. 1969-1976. 4 cu. ft. Partial index.
Speeches given by the Governor and Mrs. Daniel Walker before various civic, fraternal, business, professional, labor, and political groups cover such topics as building dedications, traffic safety, crime, law enforcement, foreign trade, employment, higher education, health and medical programs, the environment, job training, program funding, and budget reductions. Included with the speeches are related memoranda, research materials, correspondence, telegrams, itineraries, programs, agendas, press releases, and newspaper clippings.
101.070
JAMES ROBERT THOMPSON STAFF BILL ANALYSES. 1979-1985. 93 cu. ft. Partial index.
Bill analyses for the 80th, 81st, 82nd, 83rd, and 84th General Assemblies concern proposed and pending legislation. Analyses include descriptions of bills' major components; their origins and backgrounds; related legislation; positions taken by selected legislators, affected state agencies, and interest groups; staff recommendations; and roll call votes, including final votes in the House and Senate. Also included for the 81st, 82nd, and 83rd General Assemblies are date books for House and Senate bills which show the bill number, the public act number, dates received and action required, the Governor's action taken on the pending legislation (i.e., approval, veto, amendatory veto), and the date of that action.
101.071
JAMES ROBERT THOMPSON WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE. 1984-1989. 0.75 cu. ft. No index.
Copies of outgoing correspondence are addressed to private citizens and organizations and officials in federal, state, and local government. Correspondence focuses on federal legislation, policies, programs, and appropriations as they concern such issues as job training, health care, unemployment, taxation, environmental standards, welfare, agricultural subsidies, flood control, highway construction, waterway navigation, clean coal technology, and the Superconducting Super Collider. Occasionally included with the correspondence are copies of news releases and transcripts of testimonies given by the Governor and various Illinois state agency directors before U.S. congressional committees and other organizations.
These records are available at the Illinois State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State.
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