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William J. Scott (Illinois politician)

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William Scott
36th Illinois Attorney General
In office
January 13, 1969 – July 29, 1980
GovernorRichard B. Ogilvie
Dan Walker
Jim Thompson
Preceded byWilliam Clark
Succeeded byTy Fahner
62nd Treasurer of Illinois
In office
January 14, 1963 – January 9, 1967
GovernorOtto Kerner Jr.
Preceded byFrancis S. Lorenz
Succeeded byAdlai Stevenson III
Personal details
BornNovember 11, 1926
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJune 22, 1986(1986-06-22) (aged 59)
Palos Heights, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyRepublican

William J. Scott (November 11, 1926 – June 22, 1986) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Treasurer of Illinois from 1963 until 1967 and as Illinois Attorney General from 1969 until his disqualification from office following his conviction of a tax crime.

Biography

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Born in Chicago, Illinois, Scott served in the United States Naval Air Corps during World War II. He was assigned to the University of Pennsylvania where he earned his undergraduate degree.[1] He then received his law degree from Chicago–Kent College of Law in 1950 and then practiced law. In 1959, he helped the United States Government with a crackdown on organized crime. He then became vice president of a bank.

In 1962, he was elected Illinois State Treasurer, as a Republican, and served until 1967.

Elected in 1968, he served as Illinois Attorney General until his resignation in 1980.

In 1980, while on trial for understating his 1972 United States income tax, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

He was convicted the day after his defeat in the polls. In 1982, after losing an appeal in the United States Supreme Court, he was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. He served seven months of this sentence before being paroled.

He died at his home, in Palos Heights, Illinois, of a heart attack.[2][3][4]

Notes

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  1. ^ Edward Baumann and Valerie J. Phillips, CHICAGO TRIBUNE (June 23, 1986). "EX-ATTY. GEN. WILLIAM SCOTT DEAD AT 59". chicagotribune.com.
  2. ^ Illinois Blue Book 1979-1980, Biographical Sketch of William J. Scott, pg. 20–21
  3. ^ Edward Baumann and Valerie J. Phillips, CHICAGO TRIBUNE (June 23, 1986). "EX-ATTY. GEN. WILLIAM SCOTT DEAD AT 59". chicagotribune.com.
  4. ^ WILLIAM C. HIDLAY (June 23, 1986). "Former Illinois Attorney General, Once Convicted of Tax Fraud, Dies". apnews.com.
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Illinois Treasurer
1962
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Elroy C. Sandquist
Republican nominee for Attorney General of Illinois
1968, 1972, 1976, 1978
Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Treasurer of Illinois
1963–1967
Succeeded by
Preceded by Attorney General of Illinois
1969–1980
Succeeded by