Paul Powell of Vienna (Secretary of State)
In the late 1960s, it just seemed redundant to say "Paul Powell, Secretary of State". He was well-known in Illinois politics since World War II. The Secretary of State's office and the man quickly became one. MANY people simply wrote "Paul Powell" on their auto license renewal check.
When he died, at the Mayo Clinic, in 1970, a cache of cash and checks were discovered in his Springfield hotel room, worth nearly a million, perhaps closer to two million dollars. Many of those checks appeared to be from ordinary citizens, made to "Paul Powell" for the exact cost of license plate renewal.
He knew how to make the political plums fall to his friends. It was said I-24 would not have gone past his hometown of Vienna if he had lived elsewhere. You can tour his home, on a main street of town. It's a typical nice home of earlier 20th century. He dressed conservatively. He was a polite guy. Mike Lawrence, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, said there was "sort of a sense that if he gave us our share, what's wrong with him getting his share."
