OBSESSED: THE PRESIDENCY AND ILLINOIS SENATORS PERCY, STEVENSON III, SIMON

About the Book

From history books, memoirs, news stories and public utterances it is known that untold numbers of serving United States senators dreamed of residing in the Oval Office. Many fewer committed to open pursuit of the office, and even fewer made it. Three Illinois senators from the 1950s to the 1990s- Republican Charles H. Percy, Democrats Adlai E.Stevenson III and Paul Simon-can be counted as actively engaged in the hunt, with widely differing outcomes. Each had internal and external pressures. Percy: Encouraged by Dwight Eisenhower and his brother Milton and dogged by media speculation. Stevenson III:Expected to follow in the footsteps of his greatgrandfather, and his father, Stevenson II. Simon: Ambitious to find ever-higher elective outlets for his policy ideas, and willing to take the risk. Circumstances aside, their common goal was to be president. Their stories include campaign images, and fresh perspectives based on documents.

About the Author

Robert Hartley has written eleven published books about IIIinois politics and history. The Illinois State Historical Society honored seven with Certificates of Achievement. Another was chosen as the centerpiece book for the state's Lewis and Clark bicentennial celebration. He has written a dozen articles for the Journal of lllinois History and has given talks on political history across the state and at sessions of the Conference on Illinois History. His essay on Senators Paul Simon and Alan Dixon appeared in a state bicentennial book. Hartley began writing about Illinois politics during his tenure as reporter and editor for Lindsay-Schaub newspapers, based in Decatur, from 1962 to 1979.