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{{short description|American politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}

{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Dawn Clark Netsch
| name = Dawn Clark Netsch
|image = 19950904 01 Dawn Clark Netsch @ WOOGMS parade (5373585709) (1).jpg
| image = Dawn Clark Netsch.jpg
|caption = Netsch in 1995
| caption =
|office = [[Illinois Comptroller|Comptroller of Illinois]]
| office = 4th [[Illinois Comptroller|Comptroller of Illinois]]
|governor = [[Jim Edgar]]
| governor = [[Jim Edgar]]
|term_start = January 14, 1991
| term_start = January 14, 1991
|term_end = January 9, 1995
| term_end = January 9, 1995
|predecessor = [[Roland Burris]]
| predecessor = [[Roland Burris]]
|successor = [[Loleta Didrickson]]
| successor = [[Loleta Didrickson]]
| office1 = Member of the [[Illinois Senate]]
⚫
|birth_date = {{birth date|1926|9|16}}
| term_start1 = January 10, 1973
⚫
|birth_place = [[Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]], U.S.
| term_end1 = January 14, 1991
⚫
|death_date = {{death date and age|2013|3|5|1926|9|16}}
| predecessor1 = ''redistricting''
⚫
|death_place = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S.
|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| successor1 = [[John Cullerton]]
| constituency1 = [[Illinois's 13th Senate district|13th district]] (1973–1983)<br>4th district (1983–1991)
⚫
|spouse = [[Walter Netsch]]
| birth_name = Patricia Dawn Clark
⚫
|education = [[Northwestern University]] {{small|([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Juris Doctor|JD]])}}
⚫
| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|9|16}}
⚫
| birth_place = [[Cincinnati]], Ohio, U.S.
⚫
| death_date = {{death date and age|2013|3|5|1926|9|16}}
⚫
| death_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
⚫
| spouse = [[Walter Netsch]]
⚫
| education = [[Northwestern University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Juris Doctor|JD]])
}}
}}
'''Dawn Clark Netsch''' (September 16, 1926 &ndash; March 5, 2013)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saukvalley.com/2013/03/05/pioneering-ill-politician-dawn-clark-netsch-dies/aki5750/|title=Pioneering Ill. politician Dawn Clark Netsch dies|publisher=|accessdate=20 November 2016}}</ref> was a professor of law at [[Northwestern University]] and an [[Illinois]] [[politician]]. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] in the United States, she served in the [[Illinois State Senate]] from 1972 to 1990, and as the [[Illinois Comptroller]] from 1991 through 1994. In 1994 she was the first woman to be nominated by a major [[political party]] to run for [[Governor of Illinois]]. She co-authored the legal textbook, ''State and Local Government in a Federal System.''
'''Dawn Clark Netsch''' (born '''Patricia Dawn Clark'''; September 16, 1926 &ndash; March 5, 2013) was an American politician and [[Northwestern University]] law professor. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], she served in the [[Illinois State Senate]] from 1973 to 1991, and as the [[Illinois Comptroller]] from 1991 through 1995. In [[1994 Illinois gubernatorial election|1994]], she was the first woman to be nominated by a major political party to run for [[Governor of Illinois]]. In addition to being a professor, she co-authored the legal textbook ''State and Local Government in a Federal System.''


==Early career==
==Early career==
Born in [[Cincinnati, Ohio]], Netsch graduated [[Phi Beta Kappa]] from [[Northwestern University]] in 1948.<ref>{{cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Dawn Clark Netsch | date= | publisher=Northwestern University Library | url =http://www.library.northwestern.edu/archives/exhibits/alumni/netsch.html | work =University Archives | pages = | accessdate = 2008-10-05 | language = }}</ref> She was selected for membership in [[Mortar Board]] National College Senior Honor Society in her junior year. She then attended the university's law school, where she was the first woman to earn the school's Scholar’s Cup for the highest grade-point average in the first-year class. When Netsch graduated in 1952 she was the only woman in her class. When she joined the Northwestern Law faculty in 1965, she was the school’s first female faculty member.<ref>{{cite news | first= | last= | title=Netsch Estate Trust | publisher=Northwestern University School of Law, 2013 | url =https://www.law.northwestern.edu/campaign/gifts/netsch/ }}</ref>
She was born Patricia Dawn Clark in [[Cincinnati]], Ohio.<ref>Bowman, Cynthia Grant (2010). ''Dawn Clark Netsch: A Political Life''. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press. p. 3. {{ISBN|9780810124110}}.</ref> Her father, William Keith Clark, was a manufacturer of building materials until his business failed during the [[Great Depression]].<ref>Bowman, Cynthia Grant (2010). ''Dawn Clark Netsch: A Political Life''. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press. p. 6. {{ISBN|9780810124110}}.</ref> Her mother, Hazel Dawn Clark (née Harrison), was a social worker.<ref>Bowman, Cynthia Grant (2010). ''Dawn Clark Netsch: A Political Life''. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press. pp. 5–7. {{ISBN|9780810124110}}.</ref> Netsch graduated [[Phi Beta Kappa]] from [[Northwestern University]] in 1948.<ref>{{cite news | title=Dawn Clark Netsch | publisher=Northwestern University Library | url =http://www.library.northwestern.edu/archives/exhibits/alumni/netsch.html | work =University Archives | access-date = October 5, 2008 }}</ref> She was selected for membership in [[Mortar Board]] National College Senior Honor Society in her junior year. She then attended the university's law school, where she was the first woman to earn the school's Scholar’s Cup for the highest grade-point average in the first-year class. When Netsch graduated in 1952 she was the only woman in her class. When she joined the Northwestern Law faculty in 1965, she was the school’s first female faculty member.<ref>{{cite news | title=Netsch Estate Trust | publisher=Northwestern University School of Law, 2013 | url =https://www.law.northwestern.edu/campaign/gifts/netsch/ }}</ref>


She worked on [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson's]] 1952 presidential campaign and then at the Washington, D.C., law firm of [[Covington & Burling]]. Returning to Chicago, she was in private practice from 1957 to 1961 and then joined the staff of Gov. [[Otto Kerner, Jr.|Otto Kerner]].
She worked on [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson's]] 1952 presidential campaign and then at the Washington, D.C., law firm of [[Covington & Burling]]. Returning to Chicago, she was in private practice from 1957 to 1961 and then joined the staff of Gov. [[Otto Kerner, Jr.|Otto Kerner]].


In 1969, she was elected to serve as a delegate to the 1969—70 Illinois [[Constitutional convention (political meeting)|Constitutional Convention]], at which the fourth and current [[Constitution of Illinois]] was drafted.<ref>{{cite news | first=CarrieBeth | last=Clark | title=The Illinois Constitution Reviewed | publisher=Illinois State Bar Association, 2011 | url =https://www.isba.org/sections/yld/newsletter/2011/02/theillinoisconstitutionreviewedhonoredandbeingtaughtinalaw }}</ref>
In 1969, she was elected to serve as a delegate to the [[1969–70 Illinois Constitutional Convention]], at which the fourth and current [[Constitution of Illinois]] was drafted.<ref>{{cite news | first=CarrieBeth | last=Clark | title=The Illinois Constitution Reviewed | publisher=Illinois State Bar Association, 2011 | url =https://www.isba.org/sections/yld/newsletter/2011/02/theillinoisconstitutionreviewedhonoredandbeingtaughtinalaw }}</ref>


==Illinois State Senator==
In 1972, she was elected to the State Senate as a Democrat, first representing the 13th district, then the 4th district. Together with state representatives [[Abner Mikva]] (later Congressman, Chief Justice of the Second Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, and Counsel to President [[Bill Clinton]]), [[Paul Simon (politician)|Paul Simon]] (later U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate), and [[Anthony Scariano]], she was part of the "Kosher Nostra" of clean, independent Democrats in the General Assembly who were a thorn in the side of the Republican and Democratic machine politicians for years.
In 1972, she was elected to the State Senate as a Democrat, first representing the 13th district, then the 4th district.


For a decade, she was the chair of the Senate Revenue Committee.<ref>{{cite web |title=Illinois candidates' profiles. State comptroller |url=https://www.nwitimes.com/uncategorized/illinois-candidates-profiles-state-comptroller/article_8c75fd39-443f-5ba2-b4ec-7fc204a51326.html |website=nwitimes.com |publisher=The Times of Northwest Indiana |access-date=April 8, 2020 |language=en |date=October 21, 1990}}</ref>
⚫
In 1990, she ran for and won the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic party]]'s nomination for [[Illinois Comptroller]] and went on to win the general election, beating [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Sue Suter]] 54% to 46%.

==Illinois Comptroller==
⚫
[[1990 Illinois elections#Comptroller|In 1990]], she ran for and won the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic party]]'s nomination for [[Illinois Comptroller]] and went on to win the general election, beating [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Sue Suter]] 54% to 46%.


==Gubernatorial race==
==Gubernatorial race==
Four years later, in 1994, she won an upset victory in the Democratic primary for Illinois governor, beating Illinois Attorney General [[Roland Burris]] and [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]] Board President [[Richard Phelan (politician)|Richard Phelan]], winning by more than 10 points ahead of Burris. Netsch had been behind in the polls a few weeks earlier. During the primary, she aired a campaign ad showing her playing (and winning) a game of eight-ball [[Pool (cue sports)|pool]], reflecting a lifelong hobby of hers and also playing on her reputation as a "straight shooter." The effectiveness of this ad, in contrast to the far more flashy ones aired by her much better funded opponents, was seen as contributing to her surge in the polls in the final weeks of the primary campaign. Adding to the historic nature of her candidacy was her pairing with Illinois State Senator [[Penny Severns]] of [[Decatur, Illinois|Decatur]] as her Lt. Governor candidate on the gubernatorial ticket. This was, and remains, the only time in Illinois history two women have headed the party ticket.
Four years later, in 1994, she won an upset victory in the Democratic primary for Illinois governor, beating Illinois Attorney General [[Roland Burris]] and [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]] Board President [[Richard Phelan (politician)|Richard Phelan]], winning by more than 10 points ahead of Burris. Netsch had been behind in the polls a few weeks earlier. During the primary, she aired a campaign ad showing her playing (and winning) a game of eight-ball [[Pool (cue sports)|pool]], reflecting a lifelong hobby of hers and also playing on her reputation as a "straight shooter." The effectiveness of this ad, in contrast to the far more flashy ones aired by her much better funded opponents, was seen as contributing to her surge in the polls in the final weeks of the primary campaign. Adding to the historic nature of her candidacy was her pairing with Illinois State Senator [[Penny Severns]] of [[Decatur, Illinois|Decatur]] as her Lt. Governor candidate on the gubernatorial ticket. This was, and remains, the only time in Illinois history two women have headed the party ticket.


Netsch's campaign slogan was "Not just another pretty face.<ref>{{cite news | first=Lonnie | last=Harp | coauthors= | title=Focus on Education in Ill. Governor's Race Becomes Blurred | date=November 2, 1994 | publisher= | url =http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1994/11/02/09ill.h14.html | work =Education Week | pages = | accessdate = 2008-10-06 | language = }}</ref>" She proposed increasing the state income tax rate from 3% to 4.25% to pay for educational funding and reduce property taxes, a plan which was attacked by her Republican opponent, Governor [[Jim Edgar]]. Netsch, a social [[Liberalism|liberal]] who lacked strong support of the [[Cook County Democratic Party]], was unable to overcome Edgar's popularity in a year when the Republican party was successful nationally, and received only 34% of the vote.
Netsch used humor to address the fact that she was twenty years older than her Republican opponent, Governor [[Jim Edgar]], with her campaign using the slogan, "Not just another pretty face."<ref>{{cite news | first=Lonnie | last=Harp | title=Focus on Education in Ill. Governor's Race Becomes Blurred | date=November 2, 1994 | url =http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1994/11/02/09ill.h14.html | work =Education Week | access-date = October 6, 2008 }}</ref> She proposed increasing the state income tax rate from 3% to 4.25% to pay for educational funding and reduce property taxes, a plan which Edgar attacked. Netsch, a social liberal who lacked strong support of the [[Cook County Democratic Party]], was unable to overcome Edgar's popularity in a year when the Republican party was successful nationally, and received only 34% of the vote.


==Later career==
==Later career==
In 1995 Netsch was inducted into the [[Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame]] as a Friend of the Community for her support of issues of importance to the [[LGBT]] community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glhalloffame.org/index.pl?todo=view_item&item=74|title=''Dawn Clark Netsch'', Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006064311/http://glhalloffame.org/index.pl?item=74&todo=view_item|archivedate=2010-10-06}}</ref> She participated for years in Chicago's Gay Pride parade, riding in a convertible bearing a sign that read, "I'm Not Running for Anything."<ref>{{cite news | first=Neil | last=Steinberg | title=You Were Never in Chicago | publisher=University of Chicago Press, 2013 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=aW1gY3VDvKQC&pg=PA3 }}</ref>
In 1995 Netsch was inducted into the [[Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame]] as a Friend of the Community for her support of issues of importance to the [[LGBT]] community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glhalloffame.org/index.pl?todo=view_item&item=74|title=''Dawn Clark Netsch'', Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006064311/http://glhalloffame.org/index.pl?item=74&todo=view_item|archive-date=October 6, 2010}}</ref> She participated for years in Chicago's Gay Pride parade, riding in a convertible bearing a sign that read, "I'm Not Running for Anything."<ref>{{cite news | first=Neil | last=Steinberg | title=You Were Never in Chicago | year=2013 | publisher=University of Chicago Press, 2013 | isbn=9780226772059 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=aW1gY3VDvKQC&pg=PA3 }}</ref>


Netsch was a professor of law, and then professor emeritus, at [[Northwestern University School of Law]]. She was a prominent opponent of holding a new constitutional convention in Illinois.<ref>{{cite news | first=Rob | last=Runyan | coauthors= | title=Strategies pro and con for Con-Con are slow in developing | date=July 7, 2008 | publisher=Metropolitan Planning Council | url =http://www.metroplanning.org/press/mpcnews.asp?objectID=4438 | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-10-06 | language = }} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> She co-authored with Daniel Mandelker and Peter Salsich, Jr. ''State and Local Government in a Federal System,'' the preeminent law school casebook on local and state government law.
Netsch was a professor of law, and then professor emeritus, at [[Northwestern University School of Law]]. She was a prominent opponent of holding a new constitutional convention in Illinois.<ref>{{cite news | first=Rob | last=Runyan | title=Strategies pro and con for Con-Con are slow in developing | date=July 7, 2008 | publisher=Metropolitan Planning Council | url =http://www.metroplanning.org/press/mpcnews.asp?objectID=4438 | access-date = October 6, 2008 }} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> She co-authored with Daniel Mandelker and Peter Salsich, Jr. ''State and Local Government in a Federal System,'' the preeminent law school casebook on local and state government law.


Netsch remained involved in politics after her electoral career by backing candidates for elected office, such as [[Jan Schakowsky]]'s winning bid to replace Congressman [[Sidney Yates]], representing [[Illinois's 9th congressional district]], in 1996, and [[John Schmidt]]'s failed gubernatorial bid in 2002. In 2010, Netsch endorsed [[Daniel Hynes|Dan Hynes]] in the Democratic primary for Illinois Governor, [[Julie Hamos]] in the [[Illinois's 10th congressional district|10th congressional district]] primary, [[David H. Hoffman]] in the US Senate primary and [[Toni Preckwinkle]] in the Cook County Board President primary. All but Preckwinkle failed to win the party's nomination.
Netsch remained involved in politics after her electoral career by backing candidates for elected office, such as [[Jan Schakowsky]]'s winning bid to replace Congressman [[Sidney Yates]], representing [[Illinois's 9th congressional district]], in 1996, and [[John Schmidt]]'s failed gubernatorial bid in 2002. In 2010, Netsch endorsed [[Daniel Hynes|Dan Hynes]] in the Democratic primary for Illinois Governor, [[Julie Hamos]] in the [[Illinois's 10th congressional district|10th congressional district]] primary, [[David H. Hoffman]] in the US Senate primary and [[Toni Preckwinkle]] in the Cook County Board President primary. All but Preckwinkle failed to win the party's nomination.
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Netsch was married to architect [[Walter Netsch]], best known for his design of the Cadet Chapel at the [[U.S. Air Force Academy]] in [[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]], for 45 years until his death in 2008.
Netsch was married to architect [[Walter Netsch]], best known for his design of the Cadet Chapel at the [[U.S. Air Force Academy]] in [[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]], for 45 years until his death in 2008.


Netsch died in Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday, March 5, 2013, at age 86. She had publicly acknowledged shortly before, in January 2013, during a discussion on Illinois priorities (given the state's well-known fiscal situation and reform needs), that she was suffering from the degenerative neurological condition [[Lou Gehrig's disease]] (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pjstar.com/free/x1522331867/Former-Illinois-Comptroller-Dawn-Clark-Netsch-dies-at-86|title=Pioneering Illinois politician Dawn Clark Netsch dies at 86|first=JASON|last=KEYSER|publisher=|accessdate=20 November 2016}}</ref> [[Pat Quinn (politician)|Governor Patrick Quinn]] gave the order to fly all Illinois flags at [[half-mast]] until Sunset, March 16, 2013 in her honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www3.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=60&RecNum=10979|title=Illinois.gov - Illinois Government News Network (IGNN) - Search the News Results|publisher=|accessdate=20 November 2016}}</ref>
In January 2013, Netsch announced that she had been diagnosed with [[ALS]]. She died at her home in Chicago on March 5, 2013, at the age of 86.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saukvalley.com/2013/03/05/pioneering-ill-politician-dawn-clark-netsch-dies/aki5750/|title=Pioneering Ill. politician Dawn Clark Netsch dies|access-date=November 20, 2016|date = March 5, 2013|work = [[Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/dawn-clark-netsch-first-woman-nominated-for-governor-dies-at-86/|title = Pioneering Illinois Politician Dawn Clark Netsch Dies At 86|work = [[CBS News Chicago]]|date = March 5, 2013|accessdate = September 6, 2024}}</ref> [[Pat Quinn (politician)|Governor Pat Quinn]] gave the order to fly all Illinois flags at [[half-mast]] until sunset, March 16, 2013, in her honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www3.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=60&RecNum=10979|title=Illinois.gov - Illinois Government News Network (IGNN) - Search the News Results|access-date=November 20, 2016}}</ref>


== Awards ==
== Awards ==
Dawn Clark Netsch was inducted as a Laureate of [[The Lincoln Academy of Illinois]] and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State’s highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2011 in the area of Government & Law.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thelincolnacademyofillinois.org/4632-2/#toggle-id-5|title=Laureates by Year - The Lincoln Academy of Illinois|website=The Lincoln Academy of Illinois|language=en-US|access-date=2016-03-04}}</ref>
Dawn Clark Netsch was inducted as a Laureate of [[The Lincoln Academy of Illinois]] and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State’s highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2011 in the area of Government & Law.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thelincolnacademyofillinois.org/4632-2/#toggle-id-5|title=Laureates by Year - The Lincoln Academy of Illinois|website=The Lincoln Academy of Illinois|language=en-US|access-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070920190902/http://chicagolife.net/content/politics/Dawn_Clark_Netsch_on_Politics ''Dawn Clark Netsch on Politics''] Interview by Chicago Life Magazine
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070920190902/http://chicagolife.net/content/politics/Dawn_Clark_Netsch_on_Politics ''Dawn Clark Netsch on Politics''] Interview by Chicago Life Magazine
*[http://www.nulaw1971.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Netsch-obit.pdf Obituary]
*[http://www.nulaw1971.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Netsch-obit.pdf Obituary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122114806/http://www.nulaw1971.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Netsch-obit.pdf |date=January 22, 2017 }}


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|-
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Roland Burris]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Illinois Comptroller]]|years=[[1990 Illinois Comptroller election|1990]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Earlean Collins]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Neil Hartigan]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Neil Hartigan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Governor of Illinois]]|years=[[Illinois gubernatorial election, 1994|1994]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Governor of Illinois]]|years=[[1994 Illinois gubernatorial election|1994]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Glenn Poshard]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Glenn Poshard]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{s-end}}


{{Illinois Comptrollers}}
{{Illinois Comptrollers}}
{{Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


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[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century American legislators]]
[[Category:20th-century American women politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American women politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Illinois politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]
[[Category:American women academics]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1994 United States elections]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1994 United States elections]]
[[Category:Comptrollers of Illinois]]
[[Category:Comptrollers of Illinois]]
[[Category:Illinois Democrats]]
[[Category:Deaths from motor neuron disease in the United States]]
[[Category:Democratic Party Illinois state senators]]
[[Category:Illinois lawyers]]
[[Category:Illinois lawyers]]
[[Category:Illinois state senators]]
[[Category:Members of Illinois constitutional conventions]]
[[Category:Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law faculty]]
[[Category:People associated with Covington & Burling]]
[[Category:Politicians from Chicago]]
[[Category:Politicians from Chicago]]
[[Category:Politicians from Cincinnati]]
[[Category:Politicians from Cincinnati]]
[[Category:Women state legislators in Illinois]]
[[Category:Women state legislators in Illinois]]
[[Category:People associated with Covington & Burling]]
[[Category:Neurological disease deaths in Illinois]]

Latest revision as of 07:54, 30 October 2024

Dawn Clark Netsch
4th Comptroller of Illinois
In office
January 14, 1991 – January 9, 1995
GovernorJim Edgar
Preceded byRoland Burris
Succeeded byLoleta Didrickson
Member of the Illinois Senate
In office
January 10, 1973 – January 14, 1991
Preceded byredistricting
Succeeded byJohn Cullerton
Constituency13th district (1973–1983)
4th district (1983–1991)
Personal details
Born
Patricia Dawn Clark

(1926-09-16)September 16, 1926
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
DiedMarch 5, 2013(2013-03-05) (aged 86)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseWalter Netsch
EducationNorthwestern University (BA, JD)

Dawn Clark Netsch (born Patricia Dawn Clark; September 16, 1926 – March 5, 2013) was an American politician and Northwestern University law professor. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Illinois State Senate from 1973 to 1991, and as the Illinois Comptroller from 1991 through 1995. In 1994, she was the first woman to be nominated by a major political party to run for Governor of Illinois. In addition to being a professor, she co-authored the legal textbook State and Local Government in a Federal System.

Early career

[edit]

She was born Patricia Dawn Clark in Cincinnati, Ohio.[1] Her father, William Keith Clark, was a manufacturer of building materials until his business failed during the Great Depression.[2] Her mother, Hazel Dawn Clark (née Harrison), was a social worker.[3] Netsch graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Northwestern University in 1948.[4] She was selected for membership in Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society in her junior year. She then attended the university's law school, where she was the first woman to earn the school's Scholar’s Cup for the highest grade-point average in the first-year class. When Netsch graduated in 1952 she was the only woman in her class. When she joined the Northwestern Law faculty in 1965, she was the school’s first female faculty member.[5]

She worked on Adlai Stevenson's 1952 presidential campaign and then at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Covington & Burling. Returning to Chicago, she was in private practice from 1957 to 1961 and then joined the staff of Gov. Otto Kerner.

In 1969, she was elected to serve as a delegate to the 1969–70 Illinois Constitutional Convention, at which the fourth and current Constitution of Illinois was drafted.[6]

Illinois State Senator

[edit]

In 1972, she was elected to the State Senate as a Democrat, first representing the 13th district, then the 4th district.

For a decade, she was the chair of the Senate Revenue Committee.[7]

Illinois Comptroller

[edit]

In 1990, she ran for and won the Democratic party's nomination for Illinois Comptroller and went on to win the general election, beating Republican Sue Suter 54% to 46%.

Gubernatorial race

[edit]

Four years later, in 1994, she won an upset victory in the Democratic primary for Illinois governor, beating Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris and Cook County Board President Richard Phelan, winning by more than 10 points ahead of Burris. Netsch had been behind in the polls a few weeks earlier. During the primary, she aired a campaign ad showing her playing (and winning) a game of eight-ball pool, reflecting a lifelong hobby of hers and also playing on her reputation as a "straight shooter." The effectiveness of this ad, in contrast to the far more flashy ones aired by her much better funded opponents, was seen as contributing to her surge in the polls in the final weeks of the primary campaign. Adding to the historic nature of her candidacy was her pairing with Illinois State Senator Penny Severns of Decatur as her Lt. Governor candidate on the gubernatorial ticket. This was, and remains, the only time in Illinois history two women have headed the party ticket.

Netsch used humor to address the fact that she was twenty years older than her Republican opponent, Governor Jim Edgar, with her campaign using the slogan, "Not just another pretty face."[8] She proposed increasing the state income tax rate from 3% to 4.25% to pay for educational funding and reduce property taxes, a plan which Edgar attacked. Netsch, a social liberal who lacked strong support of the Cook County Democratic Party, was unable to overcome Edgar's popularity in a year when the Republican party was successful nationally, and received only 34% of the vote.

Later career

[edit]

In 1995 Netsch was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame as a Friend of the Community for her support of issues of importance to the LGBT community.[9] She participated for years in Chicago's Gay Pride parade, riding in a convertible bearing a sign that read, "I'm Not Running for Anything."[10]

Netsch was a professor of law, and then professor emeritus, at Northwestern University School of Law. She was a prominent opponent of holding a new constitutional convention in Illinois.[11] She co-authored with Daniel Mandelker and Peter Salsich, Jr. State and Local Government in a Federal System, the preeminent law school casebook on local and state government law.

Netsch remained involved in politics after her electoral career by backing candidates for elected office, such as Jan Schakowsky's winning bid to replace Congressman Sidney Yates, representing Illinois's 9th congressional district, in 1996, and John Schmidt's failed gubernatorial bid in 2002. In 2010, Netsch endorsed Dan Hynes in the Democratic primary for Illinois Governor, Julie Hamos in the 10th congressional district primary, David H. Hoffman in the US Senate primary and Toni Preckwinkle in the Cook County Board President primary. All but Preckwinkle failed to win the party's nomination.

Netsch was married to architect Walter Netsch, best known for his design of the Cadet Chapel at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, for 45 years until his death in 2008.

In January 2013, Netsch announced that she had been diagnosed with ALS. She died at her home in Chicago on March 5, 2013, at the age of 86.[12][13] Governor Pat Quinn gave the order to fly all Illinois flags at half-mast until sunset, March 16, 2013, in her honor.[14]

Awards

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Dawn Clark Netsch was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State’s highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2011 in the area of Government & Law.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Bowman, Cynthia Grant (2010). Dawn Clark Netsch: A Political Life. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press. p. 3. ISBN 9780810124110.
  2. ^ Bowman, Cynthia Grant (2010). Dawn Clark Netsch: A Political Life. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press. p. 6. ISBN 9780810124110.
  3. ^ Bowman, Cynthia Grant (2010). Dawn Clark Netsch: A Political Life. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press. pp. 5–7. ISBN 9780810124110.
  4. ^ "Dawn Clark Netsch". University Archives. Northwestern University Library. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
  5. ^ "Netsch Estate Trust". Northwestern University School of Law, 2013.
  6. ^ Clark, CarrieBeth. "The Illinois Constitution Reviewed". Illinois State Bar Association, 2011.
  7. ^ "Illinois candidates' profiles. State comptroller". nwitimes.com. The Times of Northwest Indiana. October 21, 1990. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  8. ^ Harp, Lonnie (November 2, 1994). "Focus on Education in Ill. Governor's Race Becomes Blurred". Education Week. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
  9. ^ "Dawn Clark Netsch, Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on October 6, 2010.
  10. ^ Steinberg, Neil (2013). "You Were Never in Chicago". University of Chicago Press, 2013. ISBN 9780226772059.
  11. ^ Runyan, Rob (July 7, 2008). "Strategies pro and con for Con-Con are slow in developing". Metropolitan Planning Council. Retrieved October 6, 2008. [dead link‍]
  12. ^ "Pioneering Ill. politician Dawn Clark Netsch dies". Associated Press. March 5, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  13. ^ "Pioneering Illinois Politician Dawn Clark Netsch Dies At 86". CBS News Chicago. March 5, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  14. ^ "Illinois.gov - Illinois Government News Network (IGNN) - Search the News Results". Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  15. ^ "Laureates by Year - The Lincoln Academy of Illinois". The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
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Political offices
Preceded by Comptroller of Illinois
1991–1995 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Illinois Comptroller
1990 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Illinois
1994 		Succeeded by
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