Posted on 09/17/2011 8:23:03 AM PDT by Borges
Charles H. Percy, a brilliant businessman who represented Illinois for nearly 20 years in the U.S. Senate, once headed the chamber’s powerful Foreign Relations Committee, and harbored unrealized ambitions to run for the presidency, died early Saturday. He was 91.
Percy died at 2:30 a.m. Eastern time at a Washington D.C. hospice, according to Kate Kelly, a spokeswoman with WETA, the public broadcasting station in Washington D.C., where Percy's daughter, Sharon Rockefeller is president and CEO.
Percy, a moderate Republican, entered the Senate in 1966 after defeating one liberal icon, the late Paul Douglas. But he was ousted by the state’s voters when they elected another Democratic icon, the late Paul Simon, in 1984.
Percy was an ardent opponent of the Vietnam War, a supporter of international nuclear non-proliferation, a backer of federal consumer protection efforts and tougher enforcement of laws against drug abuse. He also was the first senator to call for a special prosecutor to investigate Watergate, the political dirty tricks scandal that brought down Richard Nixon’s presidency.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Prayers to his friends and family. 91 is a wonderful life. I am sure family would have like to have him around longer but 91 is pretty darn good. Good for him for having a long life. Now hopefully all of us have that.
Some locals may remember that Percy’s 21 year old daughter Valerie was murdered during his 1966 Senate campaign. The perp was never found.
I remember that. The murder of Percy’s daughter was a strange one - beating to death one of the daughters while the rest of the family is in the house asleep. Mrs Percy saw the killer. Some people think it was the Zodiac.
Yes, I know. But he was my senator for all those years, and I voted for him (except for his first run, since I was too young). It was better than voting for the Democrats.
Percy was a hard line liberal. Percy wanted strict gun control, including the outlawing of all handguns. In 1972, there was a serious effort to pass a federal law prohibiting and confiscating all handguns from American civilians, and Percy was a main supporter to forever ban civilian ownership of handguns in the USA .
RIP
This is dude made Marky Kirk look like a decent Republican in comparison.
RIP.
The murder of Senator Percy’s daughter remains an open case. Police claim that there was no intruder, and the brutal, violent nature if the crime suggest it was someone she knew.
Mrs Percy (not the girl’s birth mother) is said to have seen the killer.
Everyone in Chicago has always known who the killer was.
This is why Percy never ran for president. Another cover-up for the rich & famous.
“Everyone in Chicago has always known who the killer was.”
I didn’t. That was the thing I remembered about Percy, the murder of his daughter. I didn’t hear it mentioned on any of the local newscasts when they announced Percy’s death.
You expressed my thoughts. Totally different era of American politics.
I seem to recall a story from years ago that Percy’s son in law came to him and said he was considering changing from Republican to Dem. After lengthy discussion, Percy told him to sleep on it. Next morning, young John D. comes to breakfast and says he wants to switch to Dem. Percy told him to go back to bed and sleep some more. Alas, never happened.
So I’m in Chicago and I don’t know. Who was the killer?
Everyone in Chicago believed at the time that the stepmother killed Valerie. Percy’s wife had severe mental problems and was institutionalized soonafter.
In reading the documents again, after Sen Percy’s death, it seems obvious. IMHO this is similar to the Martha Moxley case where the murderer went free fir decades because of a high level cover up. Ethel Kennedy’s nephew, Michael Skakel was convicted of the killing, and sits in prison. Much credit goes to Mark Furman and his book “death in Greenwich” which did a thorough investigation of the crime and forced the Greenwich police to re-open the case.
Mark Furman needs to write another book!
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