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1973 Illinois Gov. Dan Walker Inauguration Medallion, Relief of Walker 'Walking'
1973 Illinois Gov. Dan Walker Inauguration Medallion, Relief of Walker 'Walking'
1973 Illinois Gov. Dan Walker Inauguration Medallion, Relief of Walker 'Walking'

1973 Illinois Gov. Dan Walker Inauguration Medallion, Relief of Walker 'Walking'

$ 7.91

Availability: 100 in stock
  • Type: Medallion
  • Theme: Political
  • Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
  • All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
  • Candidate: Dan Walker
  • Restocking Fee: No
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
  • Year: 1973
  • Modified Item: No
  • Country/Region: United States
  • Refund will be given as: Money Back
  • Item must be returned within: 30 Days
  • Condition: New

    Description

    StLouBrown’s
    Bygone
    Days
    “Let Bygones be back”
    Metal medallion for the Jan. 8, 1973 inauguration of Dan Walker as Illinois governor.
    Obverse features a relief of Walker in his work boots, denim shirt and kerchief during his summer 1971 walk of Illinois from its southern tip to Chicago.
    Walker (1922-2015) was perhaps the first Democratic gubernatorial candidate for most of the 20th Century who engaged in old-fashioned retail politics and without the support of Mayor Richard J. Daley. Walker was an executive from Chicago, without political experience and without the endorsement of Daley's Machine, which chose (as the lesser of two evils), then-Lt. Gov. Paul Simon. Walker beat the Machine by campaigning against the income tax that his opponent, GOP Gov. Richard Ogilvie, had gotten approed in 1969 (but which Walker didn't rescind). Walker feuded with Daley during his entire term, prompting the mayor to put up a Democratic primary opponent against Walker, who beat him. That opponent, Secretary of State Michael J. Howlett, was then annihilated in the general election by former U.S. Attorney James R. Thompson, whose tenure from 1977 to 1991 was longer than any Illinois governor in history.
    Walker went back into business, forming a chain of quick-oil change shops later purchased by Jiffy Lube and buying to savings & loans. In 1987, he was sentenced to four years in prison for bank fraud after borrowing ,000 on a "handshake" deal from a borrower of his S&L and filing false statements.
    He is routinely mentioned as one of the "four" governors in Illinois who went to prison, but the other three (Democrat Otto Kerner, Republican George Ryan, and Democrat Rod Blagojevich--who just in summer 2020 was pardoned by President Trump) were locked up for crimes while in office.
    No manufacturer listed.
    Medallion measures 2 1/2" in diameter and 1/8" thick. It weighs 42 g.
    Items are stored in a smoke-free environment.
    Any conditions assigned to items listed for sale are based on a conservative, albeit amateur, opinion, so please examine available images closely and come to your own conclusion.
    Your satisfaction 100% guaranteed, or simply return your purchase for a full refund!
    Thank you for your patronage.