Paul Simon (Politician)

In May 2001, while working as a professor at Southern Illinois University, he married Patricia Derge, widow of former Southern Illinois University President David Derge.

He passed away on December 9, 2003, at the age of 75, in Springfield, Illinois following a heart surgery. He was interred in Makanda, Illinois.

Paul Simon was born on November 29, 1928, to Martin Simon, a Lutheran minister, and Ruth Tolzmann, a Lutheran missionary. They instilled in him a strict sense of Christian morality.

He attended public schools in Eugene and the Concordia Academy High School in Portland, Oregon, after which he enrolled at the University of Oregon, and Dana College, Nebraska but couldn’t finish his graduation.

In 1948, he borrowed money to take over and run the newspaper, ‘Troy Call’ renaming it as ‘Troy Tribune’, and subsequently he established a string of 14 weekly newspapers.

He used the Tribune to expose gambling, prostitution and government corruption and was called to testify as a witness before the US Senate's Crime Investigating Committee.

In 1951, he left the newspaper industry and enlisted in the US Army. He worked as a special agent along the Iron Curtain in Europe for the Counter-Intelligence Corps and was discharged in 1953.

Paul Simon, a democrat, started his political career in 1955, with his election to the Illinois House of Representatives at the young age of 26.

In 1963, he was elected to Illinois State Senate and was one of the key sponsors of the State’s Open Meetings Law and the legislation creating the Illinois Arts Council.

Paul Simon was one of the main sponsors of the Missing Children Act of 1982 which led to the formation of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

His effort to curtail television violence resulted in setting standards on violence by broadcasting networks, the Parental Advisory System and an independent monitoring system in 1994.

He wrote a well-researched book, ‘Lincoln’s Preparation for Greatness: The Illinois Legislative Years’. He had referred to original documents from Lincoln’s tenure in the General Assembly and the book was well received nation-wide.