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Dwight Herbert Green
Timothy Engler Dwight Herbert Green was twice elected governor of Illinois. Green was born January 9, 1897, in Ligonier, Indiana, a very small town where everybody knows everybody else. Naturally Dwight Green was well known. He was the subject of a lot of talk while he attended Wabash College to become a lawyer. Green ended up becoming one of the most talked about lawyers in the country. While serving as a United States District Attorney, he had the job of prosecuting Al Capone. He handled his job brilliantly. In 1935 he resigned from that job and did not hold another political position until he became the governor of Illinois. Green was governor from 1941 to 1949. Although he had previously made it a habit to denounce Edward Kelly, the Democratic mayor of Chicago, Green stopped that after taking office and set a precedent that has lasted: bipartisan agreements with the mayor to solve problems. During Green's second term he invited the mayor to his executive office, and together he and the mayor solved the long-standing problem of who should operate and fund the mass transportation system in Chicago. As a result, they established the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). Half of the committee to manage the CTA was appointed by Green and half by Kelly. The Green-Kelly agreement was very important because it not only made most forms of Chicago's mass transportation public, but it also set an example of working with the Democratic mayors, a trend continued by subsequent governors. Green was the governor of Illinois during the very crucial Second World War. In his public speaking, he pleased his audiences by supporting the war effort and by criticizing the federal practice of regulating home-front activities. He also wisely called the state legislature into several special sessions. Even more important to his popularity, Green spoke regularly to promote war bonds and to praise those who were diligently working and sacrificing for the sake of the nation. In the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Green wasted no time in telegramming President Roosevelt to promise that Green and Illinois would do everything possible to contribute to the war effort. He then organized a committee for the purpose of following through with the commitment. In the end, Illinois was one of the foremost contributors to the war effort. Governor Green also did a lot to promote the economy of Illinois. The war itself had already begun to help the economy recover, but Green added initiatives. One of the first things his administration did was to cut numerous taxes. He dropped the sales tax from three percent to two percent, a feat that has never been repeated. In order to replace some of the revenue lost by cutting the sales tax, Green approved Illinois' first cigarette tax, and he increased the tax on liquor. Governor Dwight Green definitely made some successful economic decisions. Green proved to be an excellent governor who accomplished many good things for Illinois. He had a tough job as a war-time governor, and he handled it well.—[From Robert J. Casey and W. A. S. Douglas, The Midwesterner; Harry Hansen, Illinois; Robert P. Howard, Mostly Good and Competent Men; Theodore Pease, The Story of Illinois; John Reynolds, My Own Time.]
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