John A. Kennedy | |
---|---|
Member of the
Illinois House of Representatives from the at-large district | |
In office January 13, 1965 – January 11, 1967 | |
Personal details | |
Born | John Allen Kennedy December 29, 1921 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Died | August 17, 1997 Evanston, Illinois, U.S. | (aged 75)
Political party | Democratic |
Residence | Winnetka, Illinois |
John Allen Kennedy (December 29, 1921 – August 17, 1997) was an American politician and businessman.
Kennedy was born on December 29, 1921, in Chicago. He attended Lane Tech College Prep High School [1] and received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from Northwestern University. [2]
Kennedy served in the United States Navy as an engineer from 1943 to 1946. He served at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1943, working on the Manhattan Project. [2] [1] He then served in the Pacific for two years repairing electronics. [2]
After the war, Kennedy worked for Motorola from 1946 to 1949. He then founded James Electronics, a manufacturer of electronic components. [2]
Kennedy served on numerous boards, including those of the St. Elizabeth's, St. Anne's, and St. Francis hospitals. He was a trustee at Barat College and at Northwestern's Technological Institute. [1]
In 1962, Kennedy ran for Illinois's 13th congressional district, but lost to Republican candidate Donald Rumsfeld. [1] Kennedy was the co-founder and vice-chairman of the Winnetka Democratic Club. [2]
Kennedy was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in the 1964 election, [2] which was held at-large due to the legislature's failure to redistrict. Kennedy was nominated for the Democratic Party's ticket due to his name's similarity to the recently-slain John F. Kennedy, to whom he was unrelated. [3]
Kennedy chaired Lyndon B. Johnson's 1965 Task Force on Intergovernmental Information. He also helped create Illinois's Management Information Division during his time in the legislature. [1]
Kennedy ran for Illinois's 1st Senate district in the 1966 Illinois Senate election, but lost to the Republican incumbent W. Russell Arrington. [4] [5]
Kennedy lived in Winnetka, Illinois. He had four sons and five daughters with his wife Mary Ann Bremner. [1] [2] He died on August 17, 1997, at the Saint Francis Hospital of Evanston. [1]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Donald Rumsfeld | 139,230 | 63.52% | |
Democratic | John A. Kennedy | 79,419 | 36.23% | |
Write-in | 542 | 0.25% | ||
Total votes | 219,191 | 100% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | W. Russell Arrington (incumbent) | 55,080 | 70.54% | |
Democratic | John A. Kennedy | 23,005 | 29.46% | |
Total votes | 78,085 | 100% |