William J. Scott (Illinois politician)

William Scott
Scott, circa 1976
36th Illinois Attorney General
In office January 13, 1969 – July 29, 1980
Governor	Richard B. Ogilvie Dan Walker Jim Thompson
Preceded by	William Clark
Succeeded by	Ty Fahner
62nd Treasurer of Illinois
In office January 14, 1963 – January 9, 1967
Governor	Otto Kerner Jr.
Preceded by	Francis S. Lorenz
Succeeded by	Adlai Stevenson III
Personal details
Born	November 11, 1926 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	June 22, 1986(1986-06-22) (aged 59) Palos Heights, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Republican

William J. Scott (November 11, 1926 – June 22, 1986) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Treasurer of Illinois from 1963 until 1967 and as Illinois Attorney General from 1969 until his disqualification from office following his conviction of a tax crime.

Biography

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Scott served in the United States Naval Air Corps during World War II. He was assigned to the University of Pennsylvania where he earned his undergraduate degree. He then received his law degree from Chicago–Kent College of Law in 1950 and then practiced law. In 1959, he helped the United States Government with a crackdown on organized crime. He then became vice president of a bank.

In 1962, he was elected Illinois State Treasurer, as a Republican, and served until 1967.

Elected in 1968, he served as Illinois Attorney General until his resignation in 1980.

In 1980, while on trial for understating his 1972 United States income tax, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

He was convicted the day after his defeat in the polls. In 1982, after losing an appeal in the United States Supreme Court, he was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. He served seven months of this sentence before being paroled.

He died at his home, in Palos Heights, Illinois, of a heart attack.