Representative Tim Lee Hall

Tim Lee Hall (June 11, 1925 – November 12, 2008) was an American politician and educator who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois for one term from 1975 to 1977. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Illinois’s 15th congressional district during the 94th Congress and contributed to the legislative process during this significant period in American history.

Hall was born in West Frankfort, Franklin County, Illinois, on June 11, 1925, and was educated in the West Frankfort public schools. During World War II, he and his twin brother left high school in the middle of their junior year to enlist in the United States Coast Guard in 1943. He served in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters during the war. After completing his military service, Hall returned home and finished high school, resuming his education that had been interrupted by wartime service.

Pursuing higher education, Hall earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Iowa Wesleyan College in 1951. He continued his academic training in education, receiving a Master of Education in Administration and Supervision from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale in 1956. He later undertook additional graduate work at Valparaiso University in 1965. These studies prepared him for a long career in public education and educational administration in Illinois.

Hall became a social studies teacher and taught for a number of years at Dwight Junior High School in Dwight, Illinois. In addition to classroom teaching, he worked as an educational consultant with a major publishing company in Elgin, Illinois, broadening his involvement in curriculum and instructional materials. By the time of his election to Congress, he was serving as a training coordinator at the William Fox Children’s Center, a state facility for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, reflecting a professional focus on special education and child development. In 1959, he met Marianne Heller, a fellow teacher; they married in 1970 and had two sons, Bret Tim and Jon Jason.

Hall’s first bid for national office came in 1972, when he ran unsuccessfully for Congress. In 1974, he again sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives, this time to succeed longtime Republican congressman Leslie C. Arends, who had served as House Republican Whip since 1943, in Illinois’s 15th congressional district. The district then included DeKalb, LaSalle, Kendall, Grundy, Livingston, Ford, Woodford, Marshall, and Putnam Counties, as well as the southern portion of Kane County. In the general election, Hall defeated Republican National Committeeman and former Congressman Cliffard D. Carlson of Aurora, Illinois, securing a seat in the 94th Congress.

As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1977, Hall participated actively in the democratic process and represented the interests of his constituents during a period marked by post-Watergate reforms and economic challenges. He served on the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on Science and Technology, assignments that aligned with his background in education and his interest in technological and scientific advancement. His single term in Congress encompassed work on legislation affecting schools, labor policy, and federal research and development, and he contributed to debates on national policy in these areas.

Hall was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the 95th Congress in 1976, losing to Republican Tom Corcoran. He continued to seek public office, running again for the U.S. House in 1978 for the 96th Congress and in 1982 for the 98th Congress, but was not elected. In 1980, he campaigned for one of three seats in the Illinois House of Representatives from the 38th district; he finished fourth of four candidates, losing to Republicans Thomas W. Ewing and Betty J. Hoxsey and Democrat Peg McDonnell Breslin. From 1977 to 1983, Hall served in state government as an administrative assistant to the Illinois Secretary of State, extending his public service beyond his congressional tenure. He later sought the Democratic nomination for the 1991 special election in Illinois’s 15th congressional district but lost to former State Representative Gerald A. Bradley.

In addition to his political activities, Hall maintained a long career in education in the Illinois public school system. He taught in various schools and also served as a principal and superintendent at Goodfarm School, where he oversaw both instructional and administrative functions until his retirement in the early 1990s. After retiring from full-time public service and education, he remained a resident of Illinois and continued to be associated with civic and community life. On November 12, 2008, Hall died after slipping outside his son’s house in Bolingbrook, Illinois; he passed away later that day at La Grange Memorial Hospital in La Grange, Illinois.