Harold Gene Johns (October 6, 1927 – August 11, 1984) was an American politician and Democratic member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

Early life and career

Johns was born in

Carrier Mills, Illinois Carrier Mills, formerly Carrier's Mills and Morrilsville, also known as Catskin, is a village in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,672 at the 2020 census. Carrier Mills was named after George Washington Carrier's saw ...

October 6, 1927 to Columbus Johns, an employee of the Sahara Coal Company, and Mabel Johns, a homemaker. He was raised in and attended public schools in

Harrisburg, Illinois Harrisburg () is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Illinois, United States. It is located about southwest of Evansville, Indiana, and southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Its 2020 population was 8,219, and the surrounding Harrisbur ...

. He graduated from

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 s ...

majoring in Government. He served in the

U.S. Navy Air Corps A naval aviator is a commissioned officer or warrant officer qualified as a crewed aircraft pilot in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps. United States Coast Guard crewed aircraft pilots are officially designated as "Coast Guard ...

and as an agent with the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

He returned to downstate Illinois where he served as a school principal in Saline County and later an administrator for the of Department of Business and Economic Development in Herrin. In the latter role, he directed development of first two Economic Development Districts in Illinois. He also owned a petroleum distributorship in West Frankfort. He married Eve Prince and had three children.

Illinois Senate

In the 1970 general election, Johns unseated

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent Delmer R. Mitchell to represent the 57th Legislative District in the

. The 57th district included

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

, Gallatin, Hardin,

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

, Massac,

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, Pulaski, Saline,

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, and Williamson counties in

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...

. Johns served in the

from 1971 until his death in 1984. During the 77th General Assembly, Johns served as a member of the Agricultural Commodity Commission, Economic Development Commission, Visitation Commission, County Problems Commission, and Equal Opportunities Commission. He is Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Agriculture and Conservation Committee. He was also a member of the Welfare Committee and Transportation Committee. As part of the 1970 decenial redistricting process, Johns was redistricted to the 59th Legislative District, which consisted of the old 57th district, but added

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

counties. Johns was opposed to the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...

. In October 1981, Johns was indicted for the alleged misuse of campaign funds related to his hard-fought 1978 reelection bid. A few months later, in January 1982, Johns was acquitted on all charges. In the 1982 general election, Johns defeated

C. L. McCormick C.L. McCormick (December 1, 1919 – March 1, 1987) was an American politician and businessman. Early life C.L. McCormick was born in McCormick, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Pope County, Illinois. C.L. was his full first name, po ...

, a Republican member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

, and Ben Brinkley who ran under the banner of the Southern Illinois Equal Rights Party. Johns died from cancer at the Carbondale Memorial Hospital in

Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson and Williamson Counties, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". The city developed from 1853 because of the stimulation of railroad construction into the ...

Glenn Poshard Glendal William Poshard (born October 30, 1945) is an American educator and former politician who served as a Illinois State Senator and U.S. Congressman. He was also a Illinois gubernatorial candidate, and president of the Southern Illinois Univ ...

, one of Johns's opponents in the 1982 Democratic primary, was appointed by local Democratic leaders to succeed Johns in the Illinois Senate. In that years general election, Poshard was victorious winning 47,230 votes to Republican Robert Winchester's 39,173 votes and Independent candidate and Gene Johns' widow Eve Johns' 5,862 votes.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johns, Gene 1927 births 1984 deaths People from Saline County, Illinois People from Marion, Illinois Businesspeople from Illinois Military personnel from Illinois Southern Illinois University alumni Democratic Party Illinois state senators Deaths from cancer in Illinois 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople