Harris Walter Fawell (March 25, 1929 – November 11, 2021) was an American politician from Illinois who served as a

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 ...

member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1985 to 1999.

Early life and career

Fawell was a graduate of West Chicago High School. He attended

North Central College North Central College is a private college in Naperville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and has nearly 70 areas of study in undergraduate majors, minors, and programs through 19 academic departments organized in thre ...

of Naperville 1947–1949 and received his LL.B from

Chicago-Kent College of Law Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school affiliated with the Illinois Institute of Technology. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. It is ranked 91st among U.S. law schools, and its trial advocacy program is ranked in ...

. Admitted to the bar in 1952, Fawell practiced law from 1954 to 1984. He served as an Assistant State Attorney for

DuPage County, Illinois DuPage County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat is ...

. He was the brother-in-law of

Beverly Fawell Beverly Fawell (September 17, 1930 – June 22, 2013) was an Illinois politician from Glen Ellyn, part of a family prominent in the Republican Party in Du Page County, Illinois (her brother-in-law was Congressman Harris Fawell). Education Born ...

, who was a member of both Houses of the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...

Illinois Senate

In 1958, Fawell challenged incumbent

Lottie Holman O'Neill Lottie (Holman) O'Neill (November 7, 1878 – February 17, 1967) was an American politician from Illinois who was the first woman elected to the Illinois General Assembly. First elected in 1922, O'Neill served 40 years in the Assembly, the longest ...

in the Republican primary to represent the 41st district in 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 ...

, but was unsuccessful. Four years later, he was elected to succeed her when she retired. He was a

member of the

from 1963 to 1977, and was a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

s in 1968 and 1988. In the 1976 Republican primary for the

Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...

, Appellate Judge Thomas J. Moran defeated Fawell.

Congress

In 1984 he was elected to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, representing Illinois' 13th district where he served until he retired in 1999. The Harris W. Fawell Congressional Papers are held at

Post-political life

He served on the North Central College Board of Trustees and on the Executive Council of the Chicago Metropolis 2020 of Chicago. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Fawell endorsed his home state's junior

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

for President of the United States, against his party's nominee,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

. Fawell died of complications from Alzheimer's disease on November 11, 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fawell, Harris 1929 births 2021 deaths People from West Chicago, Illinois Republican Party Illinois state senators Illinois lawyers North Central College alumni Chicago-Kent College of Law alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Neurological disease deaths in Illinois Members of Congress who became lobbyists