Representative George Washington Collins

George Washington Collins (March 5, 1925 – December 8, 1972) was an American politician and a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois. He served in Congress from November 1970 until his death in 1972, representing his constituents during a significant period in American history and contributing to the legislative process during two terms in office. His tenure in the House was cut short when he was killed in a plane crash in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of 47.

Collins was born on March 5, 1925, in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up on the city’s Near North Side. He attended Waller High School, later renamed Lincoln Park High School. Coming of age during the Great Depression and World War II, his early life in Chicago’s urban neighborhoods shaped his understanding of the city’s social and economic challenges and laid the foundation for his later career in public service.

After graduating from high school, Collins served in the United States Army during World War II. He was assigned to the Army engineers and served in the South Pacific theater, where he gained technical and organizational experience that would later inform his work in civilian government. Following his military service, he returned to Chicago and pursued further education, studying business law at Northwestern University. This training provided him with a grounding in legal and administrative matters as he moved into public-sector roles.

In the years after the war, Collins held a series of positions in local government and public administration in Cook County and the City of Chicago. He worked with the Cook County sheriff’s department, the Municipal Court system, and the Chicago Board of Health. He also served as an administrative assistant to the city’s health commissioner. These roles gave him direct experience with law enforcement, the judicial process, and public health administration, and they helped establish his reputation as a capable and experienced public servant prior to his election to legislative office.

Collins formally entered elective politics in the 1960s. From 1964 to 1970, he served as a member of the Chicago City Council, representing the 24th Ward as an alderman. He was selected to fill the vacancy created by the murder of Alderman Benjamin F. Lewis, and he went on to build his own political base in the ward. During his years on the City Council, he participated in the governance of a major American city during a period marked by civil rights struggles, urban renewal efforts, and changing political coalitions, particularly within Chicago’s Democratic organization.

Collins advanced to national office at the beginning of the 1970s. He was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Daniel J. Ronan of Illinois. He took his seat in November 1970 and was subsequently reelected to the succeeding Congress, serving continuously until his death in December 1972. As a member of the House of Representatives, he participated in the democratic process at the federal level, representing the interests of his Illinois constituents during a time of ongoing debate over civil rights, urban policy, and the Vietnam War. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, and he contributed to the legislative work of the House as part of the Democratic majority.

Collins’s career ended abruptly on December 8, 1972, when United Airlines Flight 553, on which he was a passenger, crashed on approach to Chicago Midway International Airport. He was killed in the crash in Chicago, Illinois, while still in office, becoming one of the members of the United States Congress who died in office in the latter half of the twentieth century. Following his death, his congressional seat—by then redistricted as Illinois’s 7th District—was won by his widow, Cardiss Collins, in a special election. Cardiss Collins became the first African American woman to represent a Midwestern district in Congress and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973 until her retirement in 1997, a tenure of more than twenty-three years. In April 1976, the Chicago Public Schools honored George W. Collins’s legacy by opening Collins Academy High School, a public neighborhood high school in the Lawndale neighborhood, commemorating his service to the city and to the nation.