77th General Assembly, 1971-1972

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.