Dick Durbin U.S. Senator Illinois

Durbin takes part in tribute to Simon

12/04/2006

By Norma Mendoza
Edwardsville Intelligencer

Museum hosts annual dinner, auction

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin joined with Simon family members and others to pay tribute to the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon Wednesday night in the second annual Paul Simon -- Celebration of Life Dinner and Silent Auction in Troy.

Regina Hendrickson, president of the Paul Simon Museum board, said the museum is not in memory of politician Paul Simon, but rather in memory of the spirit of Paul Simon.

"That's why we are all here," she said. "In his words, 'Ordinary people doing small things can make a big difference."

Troy Mayor Tom Caraker summed up the town's admiration for its adopted son, Paul Simon, as he introduced Durbin, a protégée of Simon.

"It's a proud moment in a proud community that we claim Paul Simon," Caraker said.

It would have been the 78th birthday of Simon, who was born in Eugene, Ore., shortly after his mother returned to the United States.

He told her later as a child that they arrived just in time for him to be a natural-born citizen so he could some day run for president.

Caraker briefly outlined Simon's contributions to Troy and to the state of Illinois. At the age of 19, Simon purchased the newspaper in Troy, renaming it the Troy Tribune. (As editor, he was a one-man crusader against crime assisting the FBI in cleaning up corruption in Madison County and the state of Illinois.)

He was elected state representative in 1955, serving until 1962 when he was elected as state senator. While still in the Senate in 1968, Simon, a Democrat, was elected lieutenant governor, in an upset election that paired him with Gov. Richard Ogilvie, a Republican.

Some say that led to the Illinois Constitutional Convention where one of the revisions was to mandate that the nominees must run together and win or lose as a team.

In 1974, Simon was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving until he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984, winning over popular incumbent Republican Charles Percy.

During his term in the Senate, Simon ran for president in 1988. Although he handily carried Illinois, he was not selected to be the Democratic nominee.

Simon chose not to run again for the Senate in 1996, choosing to teach at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he established the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.

Caraker noted that Durbin's political career has parallels with Simon's, working on issues that affect the people. Durbin introduced the legislation to ban smoking on all airlines and worked to increase funding for asthma and AIDS research.

He is a leader in the effort to keep guns out of the hands of children. Because of his efforts, Illinois became the first state to voluntarily have every crime gun traced.

Caraker noted that Durbin champions Illinois farmers and succeeded in getting the funding for ethanol research extended to 2007. He also worked to get funding for the ethanol plant at SIUE.

Durbin and Simon's relationship was long-standing.

"I think about him every day," Durbin said. "I wouldn't be here today without him. I lost three elections and each time he stood by me and said, 'Run again.'"

Durbin said if he went to everyone attending the dinner, each person would have their own favorite Paul Simon story. He told his own story about bringing a Saint Bernard puppy down to the Simon children at their father's request to surprise them for Christmas.

Martin Simon, one of those children, remembered fondly the day that he got his first dog and the person who brought it.

Simon, a professional photojournalist in Washington, D.C., elicited exclamations of remembrance as he presented a slide show featuring him and his sister, Sheila, and their parents with childhood friends and neighbors in various scenes from their early days in Troy.

He introduced someone he was surprised to see, his kindergarten teacher Sue Giles, who attended the dinner. They posed together later for several pictures.

He also presented a musical video documenting his father's 1988 presidential campaign.

"That was a very special time with my Dad," Simon said, noting that he got to spend many months following and assisting with the campaign.

He was pleased to see how much the people in Troy respect and admire his father and the Paul Simon Museum they have established. He said that he almost wishes it had been called the Jean and Paul Simon Museum, noting that his mother was so instrumental in his father's career and in addition she set up the first library in Troy in a small house on the very site where the Tri-Township Library is now located.

"It's exciting that they plan to make it a living museum and not just memorabilia," he said. "It will be great to get young people interested in civics."

Simon's portraits of high-profile political figures from the Reagan era to the recent election have appeared on the covers of Time and Newsweek magazines and have been selected as Images of the Year by both.

He donated several works to the silent auction to benefit the museum.

Sheila Simon also attended the dinner, but let her brother do most of the talking. Madison County Board Chairman Alan Dunstan did, however, get her to stand and wave to everyone when he announced that she is a candidate for mayor in Carbondale. She was elected to the Carbondale City Council before her father died three years ago.

"Dad was around when I ran for City Council and I've never seen him more nervous than the night we were waiting for the returns to come in." she said.

Dunstan recalled when he used to cut the grass at the Simon house in Troy. He said there is a difference in a politician and a statesman.

"I believe Paul Simon was a statesman," he said. "And I believe Dick Durbin is a statesman and Mark Von Nida is a statesman."

He nodded toward County Clerk Von Nida who was wearing his bow tie which is so reminiscent of Simon.

Martin Simon said he is proud of Durbin for sponsoring the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Act of 2006.

"It was Dad's original idea," he said. "After his death, the Congress authorized a commission to study setting up a fellowship program. Do you realize that only 1 percent of American college students ever study abroad?"

The bill is co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

Durbin said Paul Simon was a kind and caring person.

"He said government should do two things: be honest and help the helpless," Durbin said. He noted that Simon along with Sen. Jim Jeffries had the courage to stand up and ask President Bill Clinton to send 5,000 troops into Rwanda to stop the genocide. He said Clinton has since apologized to the people of Rwanda for not responding. More than 800,000 people were slaughtered there.

He said Simon wrote an article for the March 1975 edition of Illinois Issues as he waited for President Gerald Ford to address the subject of Southeast Asia. Simon wondered if the result of the address would lead to world peace or world chaos.

"While he waited and wrote on that night they were celebrating the 83rd birthday of another one of my heroes, Paul Douglas," Durbin said. "Tonight Paul Simon is missing another wonderful birthday dinner. What we can all do is all we can to keep that spirit alive. I know Paul is smiling down on us in that bow tie."

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