David C. Shapiro Papers (Amboy), 1966-1981 | Northern Illinois University
Arrangement
The second series contains House and Senate Bills arranged by General Assembly. Within each General Assembly subseries, they are organized by number with House bills preceding Senate bills. Short subject headings describe each bill’s topic.
Subject Files are arranged alphabetically.
Administrative/Biographical History
David C. Shapiro was born in Mendota, Illinois on February 16, 1925. He studied at Stanford University and the University of Illinois, receiving his degree in dentistry from the latter institution in 1952. Sometime later, Shapiro set up practice in Amboy, Illinois where he lived with his wife, Norma, and their seven children.
Shapiro’s political career began as an alderman on the Amboy City Council (1961-1969). During that time he was also a member of the school board, president of the Whiteside-Lee Dental Society and president of the Illinois Association of Boards of Health. In 1968, Shapiro ran for the office of State Representative from the 35th Legislative District and won. He served two terms (1969-1972) as a representative before being elected State Senator from the 37th Legislative District in 1972. Shapiro retained this senate seat for the remainder of his political career (1973-1981).
During his career, which spanned the 76th to the 82nd General Assemblies, Shapiro served on several committees. His duties included vice-chairmanship of both the House and Senate Education Committees. He chaired the Illinois Public Employees Pension Laws Commission which made him an ex-officio member of the State Board of Investment. In addition, Shapiro served on the School Problems Commission and the Revenue Committee. He, also, worked on several Republican Party committees. These included the Republican State Senate Dinner Organizing Committee, the Republican State Senate Campaign Committee and serving as Senate Minority Leader from 1977 to 1981.
As a legislator, Shapiro’s interests and efforts were concentrated on higher education issues and tax reforms. He actively supported legislation outlining state aid to schools, tax relief laws, motor fuel tax funding, highway improvements and currency exchange regulation. Shapiro co-sponsored the campaign disclosure law and played an instrumental part in transferring the Lewis College of Law to Northern Illinois University.
Shapiro’ s work over the years earned him several awards and honors. He was named Outstanding Freshman Representative of the 76th General Assembly and Outstanding Freshman Senator of the 78th General Assembly. Among others, Shapiro was honored by the Illinois State Dental Society, the Illinois Association of School Boards and Northern Illinois University. He was, also, listed in Who’s Who in the Midwest and Who’s Who in American Politics. Shapiro’s political career ended in 1981 when he died of cancer at his vacation home in Montana.
Subjects (links to similar collections) Administrative InformationThe David C. Shapiro Papers were donated to the Northern Illinois Regional History Center by Mrs. Norma Shapiro on May 24, 1984.
The David C. Shapiro Papers primarily document his career as a state legislator in the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate. Material in the collection dates from his first campaign in 1966 to his death in 1981. Some biographical information and personal correspondence are in Box One, Folder One. The collection is divided into six series: Campaigns and Party Affiliations, House and Senate Bills, Subject Files, Constituent Correspondence, Reports and Publications, Photos and Awards.
In the first series, Campaigns and Party Affiliations, there are two subseries. The first subseries contains campaign material, including election results, advertising, disclosure reports and fundraising information. Shapiro’s relationships with the Republican Party and other Republican politicians are documented in the second subseries. Papers in this subseries include correspondence and memos with Illinois governors, other state legislators, some White House correspondence and national campaign material for John Connally and the Reagan-Bush ticket in 1980. In addition, this subseries documents Shapiro’s work on the Republican State Senate Campaign Committee and as Senate Minority Leader for the 80th, 81st and 82nd General Assemblies.
The second series contains House and Senate Bills arranged by General Assembly. Within each General Assembly subseries, they are organized by number with House bills preceding Senate bills. Short subject headings describe each bill’s topic.
Subject Files are arranged alphabetically. This material includes reports, memos, committee files and some correspondence. Constituent Correspondence is organized into two subseries. The first subseries contains correspondence arranged alphabetically by subject. The second subseries has correspondence arranged by the letter’s county or city of origin. Some topics in the Constituent Correspondence are related to certain Subject Files. Researchers should consult both series.
The fifth series contains Reports and Publications. These include public opinion surveys, reports from government departments, and studies done by universities. In addition, Shapiro’s speeches, news releases and newsletters are in this series. The last series, Photos and Awards, includes awards received by Shapiro and audiotapes of radio spots. The number of photos in a folder is given in parentheses following the folder title.