William J. Scott

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

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. 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.