George Edward Sangmeister (February 16, 1931 – October 7, 2007) was an American politician and

United States Representative 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 ...

from

Illinois 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 Rock ...

. He originally represented Illinois' 4th congressional district, before it was renumbered as the 11th district.

Early life

Sangmeister was born in

Frankfort, Illinois Frankfort is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Cook County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 20,296. According to Forbes.com, in 2007 the village ranked as the 36th fastest growing suburb in the Un ...

. Sangmeister married Doris Hinspeter. He attended

Joliet Junior College Joliet Junior College (JJC) is a public community college in Joliet, Illinois. Founded in 1901, it was the first public community college founded in the United States. In Spring 2014, the college enrolled 16,375 students. Every year, 48,000 stu ...

before entering the military and serving as a sergeant 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, ...

during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. After returning to private life, he attended

Elmhurst College Elmhurst University is a private university in Elmhurst, Illinois. It has a tradition of service-oriented learning and an affiliation with the United Church of Christ. The university changed its name from Elmhurst College on July 1, 2020. Hist ...

and then earned a law degree from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Sangmeister spent several years in private law practice before becoming a magistrate for

Will County, Illinois Will County is a county in the northeastern part of the state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 696,355, an increase of 2.8% from 677,560 in 2010, making it Illinois's fourth-most populous county. The county sea ...

in 1961. In 1964, he became the county's district attorney.

Illinois state politics

In 1972, Sangmeister was elected as a Democrat to 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 ...

. In the 1976 general election, Sangmeister defeated Republican incumbent James F. Bell to be elected to a four-year term serving as the 42nd district's state senator in the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

. Sangmeister became a powerful Democratic leader in the state Senate. In the

1986 Illinois gubernatorial election The 1986 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1986. Republican candidate James R. Thompson won a fourth term in office, defeating the Illinois Solidarity Party nominee, United States Senator Adlai Stevenson III, by around 40 ...

, Sangmeister ran for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor and was endorsed by presumptive Democratic nominee

Adlai Stevenson III Adlai Ewing Stevenson III (October 10, 1930 – September 6, 2021) was an American attorney and politician of the Democratic Party who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1970 until 1981. A member of the prominent Stevenson fam ...

to be his running mate. However, Sangmeister lost to Mark Fairchild, a LaRouchite entryist, in the Democratic primary. Sangmeister opted against joining Stevenson on the newly formed Solidarity Party. Stevenson chose former Cook County judge and son of

Michael Howlett Michael J. Howlett Sr. (August 30, 1914 – May 4, 1992) was an American politician who served as the 24th Illinois Auditor of Public Accounts and 33rd Illinois Secretary of State. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Illinois in t ...

Michael J. Howlett Jr. to serve as his new running mate. The incumbent Republicans James R. Thompson and

George Ryan George Homer Ryan (born February 24, 1934) is an American former politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the 39th governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. Elected in 1998, Ryan received national attention for his 1999 mora ...

defeated Stevenson and Howlett in the general election.

Congress

In 1988, Sangmeister was elected to Congress in a marginally Republican district. After three terms in the House, he declined to seek re-election in 1994, citing his frustration with national politics. Jerry Weller, 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 ...

state legislator, defeated fellow state legislator and Democratic candidate Frank Giglio in the 1994 general election to succeed Sangmeister.

Later life and death

He returned to private law practice for several years thereafter. He died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

, aged 76. He was

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

on October 11, 2007, at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in

Elwood, Illinois Elwood is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,279 at the 2010 United States Census. Geography Elwood is located at (41.413615, -88.110438). The nearest major highways are Interstate 80 to the north and Interst ...

References

External links

* 1931 births 2007 deaths American people of German descent Joliet Junior College alumni Military personnel from Illinois United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of the Korean War Elmhurst College alumni John Marshall Law School (Chicago) alumni Democratic Party Illinois state senators Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in Illinois Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 20th-century American politicians Burials at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-stub