Harold A. Katz Memoir
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University of Illinois at Springfield Norris L Brookens Library Archives/Special Collections Harold A. Katz Memoir K159. Katz, Harold A. b. 1921 Interview and memoir 36 tapes, 1,438 mins., 2 vols., 233 pp., plus index and appendix ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM Katz, member of the Illinois House of Representatives 1965-1983, recalls his family background and accomplishments in the General Assembly in areas of civil liberties, criminal law, regional transportation, public health and safety, automobile safety, consumer protection legislation, education, legislative rules and procedures, and the 1970 Illinois Constitutional Convention. He also discusses his family's Russian-Jewish ancestry, his Jewish upbringing, educational experiences at Vanderbilt University and at the University of Chicago, discrimination at Vanderbilt, employment with the War Labor Board and the National Labor Relations Board, the community of Glencoe, and his participation in the Democratic Party. Appendix A consists of an excerpt from Paul K.Conklin's Gone with the Ivy: A Biography of Vanderbilt University. Appendix B consists of a list of Katz's publications. Interview by Horace Q. Waggoner, 1983-1984 OPEN See collateral file Archives/Special Collections LIB 144 University of Illinois at Springfield One University Plaza, MS BRK 140 Springfield IL 62703-5407 © 1984, University of Illinois Board of Trustees ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM HAROLD A. KATZ MEMOIR VOLUME 1 PREPARED FOR THE ILLINOIS LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH UNIT BY THE ORAL HISTORY OFFICE, LEGISLATIVE STUDIES CENTER OF SANGAMON STATE UNIVERSITY SPRINGFIELD. ILLINOIS 1988 Joint Committee on Legislative Support Services Rep. Michael J. Madigan, Chicago, Chairman Sen. Philip J. Rock, Oak Park Speaker of the House President of the Senate Rep. Lee A. Daniels, Elmhurst Sen. James "Pate" Philip, Elmhurst House Minority Leader Senate Minority Leader Legislative Research Unit 222 S. College, Third Floor, Suite A, Springfield, Illinois 62704 Co-Chairmen Sen. Jack Schaffer, Crystal Lake Rep. Sam W. Wolf, Granite City Senators Representatives Howard B. Brookins, Chicago Loleta A. Didrickson, Flossmoor John A. D'Arco,Chicago James M. Kirkland, Elgin Miguel del Valle, Chicago Robert LeFlore, Jr. Chicago Walter W. Dudycz, Chicago Michael J. Tate, Decatur William F. Mahar, Homewood (vacancy) Illinois General Assembly Oral History Program Advisory Committee Terry Bruce, Olney Patrick O'Grady, Executive Director U.S. Congressman Legislative Research Unit 19th District Dan Holt, formerly associated with Cullom Davis, Director of Oral History State Historical Library and Office and Professor of History, Sangamon State University Sangamon State University Robert P. Howard, Former Statehouse Reporter William L. Day, Former Director for Chicago Tribune; Author, Illinois: A Illinois Legislative Council; History of the Prairie State Editor Emeritus, Illinois Issues Margaret Munn, Former Branch Chief David Everson, Professor of Political Studies Department of Mental Health and Public Affairs, Sangamon State University J. Glenn Schneider, Former State Representative Gerald L. Gherardini, Associate Director (D-Naperville), and Social Studies Teacher, Legislative Research Unit Naperville North High School Samuel K. Gove, Professor Jack VanDer Slik, Director Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Legislative Studies Center and University of Illinois (Former Director) Professor of Political Science Sangamon State University H. William Hey, Former Director Legislative Research Unit ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM PREVIOUS TITLES IN SERIES Martin B. Lohmann Memoir, 1 Vol. (1980) Bernice T. Vander Vries Memoir, 3 Vols. (1980) i I Walter J. Reum Memoir, 2 Vols. (1980) l Thomas A. McGloon Memoir, 2 Vols. (1981) John W. Fribley Memoir, 2 Vols. (1981) Charles W. Clabaugh Memoir, 2 Vols. (1982) Cecil A. Partee Memoir, 2 Vols. (1982) Elbert S. Smith Memoir, 2 Vols. (1982) Frances L. Dawson Memoir, 2 Vols. (1982) Robert W. McCarthy Memoir, 2 Vols. (1983) John C. Parkhurst Memoir, 2 Vols. (1984) Corneal A. Davis Memoir, 2 Vols. (1984) Cumulative Index, 1980-1984 Edward P. Saltiel Memoir, 1 Vol. (1985) William A. Redmond Memoir, 2 Vols. (1986) John G. Gilbert Memoir, 1 Vol. (1986) Paul J. Randolph Memoir, 1 Vol. (1986) William L. Grindle Memoir, 2 Vols. (1986) Gale Williams Memoir, 2 Vols. (1986) Robert L. Burhans Memoir, 1 Vol. (1987) Esther Saperstein Memoir, 2 Vols. (1987) Leland Rayson Memoir, 1 Vol. (1987) Donald O'Brien Memoir, 1 Vol. (1988) George Dunne Memoir, 1 Vol. (1988) Leland J. Kennedy Memoir, 2 Vols. (1988) George Burditt Memoir, 2 Vols. (1988) Harris Rowe Memoir, 1 Vol. (1988) Carl Wittmond Memoir, 1 Vol. (1988) Clyde Lee Memoir, 1 Vol. (1988) Anthony Scariano, 2 Vols. (1988) I. HAROLD A. KATZ ILLINOIS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1965-1983 Preface This oral history of Harold A. Katz's service in the Illinois House of Representatives is a product of the Illinois Legislative Research Unit's General Assembly Oral History Program. The oral history technique adds a dstinctive new dimension to the unit's statutory responsibility for performing research and collecting information concerning the government of the state. Harold A. Katz was born in Shelbyville, Tennessee on November 2, 1921. Both his parents had come from Russia. His father was a merchant in Shelbyville and later in Nashville, but during the Great Depression he experienced business reverses and thereafter sold life insurance. As a young boy and high school student Mr. Katz developed interests in journalism and liberal Democratic politics. He attended Vanderbilt University where he became controversial as an early supporter of integration and an expanded role for the labor movement. After graduating from Vanderbilt he took a job with the War Labor Board and later with the National Labor Relations Board. Toward the end of World War IT he entered the University of Chicago law school and also married Ethel Mae Lewison. As a practicing lawyer he specialized in labor law, doing work for the United Auto Workers and other unions, and also published articles and books. His political career began after the family moved to suburban Glencoe. Mr. Katz was ftrst elected to the lllinois House of Representatives in 1964, when a redistricting stalemate resulted in a statewide at-large election. In the General Assembly he quickly earned a reputation for hard work, independence, and a reformist temperament. Active in many areas, he took special interest in civil liberties and criminal law, regional transportation, public health and safety, education, automobile safety, and consumer protection matters, licensure and "sunset" legislation, and legislative rules and procedures. His most conspicuous and lasting contribution was helping to create and chair the Commission on the Organization of the General Assembly (COOGA), a highly productive body that spearheaded the streamlining and modernization of the legislature. In addition, he took a strong interest in the movement toward and subsequent convention for a new state constitution. He was successful in his campaign to provide for the election of delegates to the convention on a non-partisan basis. Mr. Katz left the legislature in 1983 and returned full time to the practice of law. His memoir is noteworthy not only for its meticulous recollection of important historical information but also its candor and analytical perspective. Mr. Katz was as serious about creating this autobiographical record as he earlier was about politics and public service. v Readers of this oral history should bear in mind that it is a transcript of the spoken word. Its informal, conversational style represents a deliberate attempt to encourage candor and to tap the narrator's memory. However, persons interested in listening to the tapes should understand that editorial considerations produced a text that differs somewhat from the original recordings. Both the recordings and this transcript should be regarded as a primary historical source, as no effort was made to correct or challenge the narrator. Neither the Illinois Legislative Research Unit nor Sangamon State University is responsible for the factual accuracy of the memoir, nor for views expressed therein; these are for the reader to judge. The tape recorded interviews were conducted by Horace Waggoner between June 1983 and April 1984. Mr. Waggoner was born in 1924 in Waggoner, a small farm-service community in central Illinois. At age 18, he enlisted for military service in World War II and, as a U.S. Air Force commissioned officer, continued to serve until 1973. Upon leaving service, he resumed his formal education, achieving a masters degree in history at Sangamon State University in 1975. He was associated with the Sangamon State University Oral History Office from 1976 until his death in 1987. Julie Allen transcribed the tapes and, after the transcriptions were edited by Horace Waggoner and reviewed by Mr. Katz, Barbara Guzouskis and Julie Allen prepared the typescript. Florence Hardin compiled the index. The Chicago Tribune provided valuable assistance in the pre-interview research effort. This oral history may be read, quoted and cited freely. It may not be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the Illinois Legislative Research Unit, Third Floor, Suite A, 222 S. College, Springfield, Illinois, 62704. vi Table of Contents Note on page location: Volume 1: pages 1-96 Volume II: pages 97-203