William A. Redmond

William Aloysius Redmond (1908–1992) was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives representing portions of DuPage County from 1959 until his retirement in 1981. During the 79th, 80th and 81st general assemblies, he served as Speaker of the House.

Early life and career Bill Redmond was born in Chicago on November 25, 1908. At the age of 5, he became a child model on the packages of Little Sun Maid Raisins.

After graduating high school, he attended Marquette University where he earned a bachelor of engineering. He also played football, wrestled and played baseball for Marquette. In 1934, he graduated from Northwestern University's School of Law where he was a member of the Young Democrats.

His first job out of college was at the firm of Loesch, Scofield, Loesch and Burke. He continued there until he entered the United States Navy as a Lieutenant, junior grade at the outbreak of World War II. In 1948, after encouragement from Paul Douglas and Adlai Stevenson he ran for DuPage County State's Attorney and received the highest vote total of anyone up to that time, but lost. He made his second run for office in 1950 when he ran for county judge. He was one of the 36th district's three representatives (along with John N. Erlenborn and Lee E. Daniels) in the Illinois House. He succeeded Democrat Fred W. Anderson of Downers Grove.

The 1960 reapportionment process was stalled by partisan gridlock. Subsequently, the Illinois Supreme Court ordered an at large election for all 177 members of the Illinois House in 1964. Voters were given ballots three feet long. After a 1965 Illinois Supreme Court Case to resolve the redistricting issue, Redmond's home was drawn into the 37th district which consisted of York, Addison, Bloomingdale and Wayne townships along with the City of West Chicago in Winfield Township. He was reelected as one of the district's three representatives with Gene L. Hoffman and Pate Philip.

He sponsored many pieces of legislation during his tenure including the creation of an Equality of Economic Opportunity Commission, created the Illinois State Board of Education,

1975 Speaker election In 1975, Mayor Richard J. Daley supported Democratic leader Clyde L. Choate of Anna. Governor Dan Walker objected to Choate for personal reasons and supported Gerald A. Bradley of Bloomington. J. Glenn Schneider of Naperville, a legislator from Redmond's DuPage County, had reservations about a Choate speakership. He drafted Redmond to run for Speaker. No candidate, which at various points in time included up to eleven Democrats and the Republican leader James R. Washburn could get the 89 votes required to be elected Speaker.

After days of ballots, Daley and Walker finally chose Redmond as a compromise candidate as he was the only candidate no one could object to who had the experience to preside over the House. Choate refused to drop out and, with a small group of Democrats, held out against Redmond as the Democratic compromise choice. Over a week after the election for Speaker began; newly elected Republican Lee A. Daniels crossed party lines to vote for Redmond. After Daniels vote, a weekend recess was called. On Monday, Daniels and a small group of Republicans cast their votes for Redmond. This block included five Chicagoans, Daniels and Gene A. Hoffman; the latter two of whom were from Redmond's district.

Speaker of the House Redmond became a respected legislator on both sides of the aisle and during the 79th General Assembly; he was elected Speaker of the House as a compromise candidate. His election was made possible by the defection of freshman representative and future speaker Lee A. Daniels from his party.

Post assembly life and legacy After stepping down from the legislature, Redmond was appointed to the Illinois Prison Review Board by Governor James R. Thompson. In April 1992, he stepped down as the longtime chair of the DuPage County Democratic Party. He died in December of that year.