Representative Russell Watson Keeney

Russell Watson Keeney (December 29, 1897 – January 11, 1958) was an American lawyer, jurist, and Republican politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois during the Eighty-fifth Congress. His brief congressional tenure, from 1957 until his death in 1958, capped a long career in local and county public service in DuPage County and the surrounding region.

Keeney was born on December 29, 1897, in Pittsfield, Illinois. During his childhood his family moved to northeastern Illinois, and he attended grade school and high school in Naperville, Illinois. This early relocation to Naperville established the community ties that would shape his professional and political life, as he later practiced law and held a succession of public offices in the area.

Keeney pursued higher education at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, where he completed his studies in 1919 and again in 1921. He was admitted to the bar in 1919, while still a young man, and immediately commenced the practice of law in Naperville. His legal training and early admission to the bar positioned him for rapid entry into public office and the local justice system.

Keeney’s public career began at the township level. In 1920 he became justice of the peace of Lisle Township, Illinois, an office he held while continuing his legal practice. In 1924 he was elected town clerk, further entrenching his role in local governance. He subsequently advanced to county-level prosecutorial work, serving as an assistant state’s attorney until 1935. From 1936 to 1939 he held the elected post of state’s attorney of DuPage County, Illinois, where he was responsible for prosecuting criminal cases and representing the county in legal matters.

Following his service as state’s attorney, Keeney moved onto the bench. He served as county judge of DuPage County from 1940 to 1952, presiding over a wide range of civil and criminal matters. In 1953 he became a circuit judge of the Sixteenth Judicial District of Illinois, a position he held until 1956. Over these years he developed a reputation as an experienced jurist, and his judicial service provided the principal foundation for his later election to Congress.

Keeney was elected as a Republican to the Eighty-fifth Congress and served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois from January 3, 1957, until his death on January 11, 1958. His single term in the House of Representatives occurred during a significant period in American history, as the nation confronted emerging civil rights issues and Cold War challenges. As a member of the House of Representatives, he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his Illinois constituents. During his tenure, he voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1957, one of the era’s landmark pieces of civil rights legislation, reflecting the complex and often divided political attitudes toward federal civil rights measures at the time.

Keeney’s service in Congress was cut short when he died in office in Bethesda, Maryland, on January 11, 1958, just over one year into his first term. His death placed him among the members of the United States Congress who died in office in the mid-twentieth century. He was interred in Naperville Protestant Cemetery in Naperville, Illinois, returning to the community where he had been educated, practiced law, and built his long career in public service.