Daniel Walker
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Daniel Walker (born August 6, 1922) was governor of the U.S. state of Illinois from 1973 to 1977.
He was born in Washington DC. A naval officer in World War II, Walker later became an executive for Montgomery Ward while pursuing anti-machine Democratic politics in Chicago. He rose to prominence as head of the Chicago Study Team which issued a report on police conduct at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Walker concluded that in effect a "police riot" occurred. He announced his candidacy for Governor in 1972, attracted wide attention by walking the length of Illinois, and won the Democratic primary by upsetting then-Lt. Governor Paul Simon. In November, he narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Richard B. Ogilvie. The race was characterized as "a great candidate versus a great governor." Walker did not repeal the income tax that Ogilvie had enacted and wedged between machine Democrats and Republicans had little success with the Illinois legislature during his tenure.
He lost the 1976 primary to Secretary of State Michael Howlett, the candidate supported by Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. In the 1980s, entered the private sector with a chain of self-named quick oil-change franchises and a pair of troubled Savings and Loans. In 1987 he was convicted of improprieties related to the latter, and spent nearly two years in federal prison. He currently resides in California.
| Preceded by: Richard B. Ogilvie | Governor of Illinois 1973-1977 | Succeeded by: James R. Thompson |