Gerald A. Bradley (October 15, 1927 – December 28, 2005) was an American businessman and politician. Born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Bradley graduated from Thornton-Harvey High School. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Bradley graduated from

Illinois Wesleyan University Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockfor ...

and was the owner of the Bloomington Tent and Awning Company in

Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...

. He was also involved in the savings and loan business in Bloomington. From 1969 to 1983, Bradley served in 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 was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. In 1984, Bradley was the Democratic nominee for

Illinois's 18th congressional district The 18th congressional district of Illinois covered central and western Illinois, including all of Jacksonville and Quincy and parts of Bloomington, Peoria, and Springfield. It was last represented by Republican Darin LaHood, who took offi ...

against House Minority Leader

Robert H. Michel Robert Henry Michel (; March 2, 1923 – February 17, 2017) was an American Republican Party politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives for 38 years. He represented central Illinois' 18th congressional distric ...

. Michel was reelected. In 1991, he made a second run for Congress in the special election to succeed Republican Congressman

Edward Rell Madigan Edward Rell "Ed" Madigan (January 13, 1936 – December 7, 1994) was a businessman and a Republican Party politician from Lincoln, Illinois. He served almost twenty years in the United States House of Representatives and was U.S. Secreta ...

Illinois's 15th congressional district The 15th congressional district of Illinois is currently located in central Illinois. It was located in eastern and southeastern Illinois until 2022. It is currently represented by Republican Mary Miller. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index ra ...

. Bradley defeated former Congressman Tim Lee Hall in the Democratic primary, but lost the special election to

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 ...

state legislator Thomas W. Ewing. In 2002, he was the Democratic nominee for 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 ...

, losing in the 44th district to Bill Brady. Bradley died at St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington, Illinois.

Notes

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* 1927 births 2005 deaths Politicians from Chicago People from Bloomington, Illinois Illinois Wesleyan University alumni Businesspeople from Illinois Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Military personnel from Illinois 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-stub