Illinois. Governor (1968-1969 : Shapiro)

Samuel H. Shapiro (1907-1987), Democratic Governor of Illinois (1968-1969), was born on April 25, 1907 in Estonia. When he was a year old, he and his mother emigrated to Kankakee where his father, a Polish bootmaker had established a shoe repair shop. A violinist, Shapiro paid for his education at St. Viator College and University of Illinois by performing with dance bands, selling shoes and working for a photographer. After graduating with a law degree (1929), Shapiro returned to Kankakee to practice law. He was appointed city attorney (1933-1936) and elected state's attorney (1936-1940). During WWII, Sharipo worked to pass the Navy's physical exam, serving in submarine warfare intelligence and on court-martial staff. Elected to the General Assembly (1946), Sharipo co-sponsored legislation to raise mental health institution standards; chaired both the Commission on Mental Health and Commission on Mental Retardation; and had Kankakee State Hospital renamed the Shapiro Developmental Center in his honor.

Shapiro was elected Lt. Governor on the Democratic ticket headed by Otto Kerner (1960 and 1964) and with Kerner's judicial appointment became Governor for eight months (1968-1969). Although Shapiro was his party's nominee for re-election (1968), he lost the election and returned to practicing law. Except for briefly serving as legislative tie breaker on reapportionment, Shapiro continued legal work until March 16, 1987, when he did not keep a court date. Police dispatched to the Kankakee house Shapiro had shared with his late wife Gertrude Adeleman found that the former governor had died of natural causes during the night.