Illinois: Governor Sam

For 7½ years as Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, Samuel Harvey Shapiro was the man who came in the back door to see Governor Otto Kerner. So self-effacing was Shapiro that most voters knew him merely as a loyal Democratic minion from Kankakee—if they knew him at all. Last week the stocky, homely "Mr. Sam," 61, was sworn in as Governor of Illinois.

He automatically succeeded Kerner, who took a federal judgeship. In February, Chicago's Mayor Dick Daley, the state's chief Democratic potentate, picked Shapiro to run this fall in Kerner's place, and it...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!