Although his name will forever be linked to Illinois, Simon was actually born in Oregon. He arrived in Illinois at the age of 19 to begin a career as a newspaper reporter and became the youngest editor-publisher in the nation. Before long, he owned 15 newspapers in southern and central Illinois and became known for his crusades against corruption. After serving 2 years in the U.S. Army, Simon returned to Illinois to begin what would be a very successful political career. He was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1954 and moved to the Illinois Senate in 1962. In 1968, Simon was elected lieutenant governor of Illinois. In 1974, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and became the U.S. Senator in 1988. Among his accomplishments as a Senator, Paul Simon wrote and achieved passage of the National Literacy Act, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, and key amendments to the Job Training Partnership Act. Senator Simon was an extraordinarily strong supporter of Job Corps and worked closely with other members of Congress and the U.S. Department of Labor to ensure Chicago would have a center.

In addition to his work in state and national government, Paul Simon served as a professor at Southern Illinois University and founded the Public Policy Institute at SIU at Carbondale. Senator Simon retired from the U.S. Senate in 1997. In 2002, Congress voted unanimously to rename the Chicago Job Corps Center, in honor of Senator Simon's dedicated public service and support for programs benefiting young people. From that day forward, the center has been known as the Paul Simon Chicago Job Corps Center. Senator Paul Simon passed away on December 9, 2003.

Accessibility Statement

All photos provided by courtesy of Job Corps center operators under contract to the US Department of Labor.