Richard B. Ogilvie

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Richard Buell Ogilvie (February 2, 1923–May 10, 1988) was an American political figure. He served as the governor of Illinois from 1969 to 1973. A wounded combat veteran of World War II, he achieved notoriety as the mafia-fighting Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois in the 1960s. He was elected governor as a Republican in 1968 against incumbent Democrat Sam Shapiro, taking 51.2% of the vote. His lieutenant governor was Democrat and future U.S. Senator Paul Simon, the first and only time that Illinois had a Governor and Lt. Governor of opposite parties. (The situation was considered so untenable that, during Ogilvie's single term, a complete rewrite of the Illinois Constitution was completed that included a provision mandating that the governor and lieutenant governor run for office and be elected together, eliminating the chance of this happening again.)

Bolstered by large Republican majorities in the state house, Ogilvie embarked upon a major modernization of state government. He successfully advocated for a state constitutional convention, increased social spending, and secured Illinois' first state income tax. The latter was particularly unpopular with the electorate, and the modest Ogilvie, described as "dumpy" by the Wall Street Journal, lost a close election to the flashy Dan Walker in 1972, ending his career in elective office.

In 1987, he was appointed by then-Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole to chair a committee studying the proposed termination of Amtrak's federal subsidy.

The Ogilvie Transportation Center, from which Chicago-area Metra commuter passenger trains leave for destinations on the former Chicago and North Western, is named in his honor. The modern railroad station uses the former C & NW trainshed.

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