George Washington Collins

Congressman George Collins was elected simultaneously in 1970 to the 91st and 92nd Congresses by special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Representative Daniel J. Ronan. Collins was reelected to the 93rd Congress, but died in an airplane crash on December 8, 1972 before the seating of the new term. During his tenure as the representative for Illinois’ 6th Congressional District, Collins fought to increase funding for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, improve mass transit programs, and reform the Federal Housing Administration. Collins introduced a bill requiring the Treasury Department to provide low- and moderate-income taxpayers free tax preparation services. He served on the Government Operations and Public Works committees until his untimely death. His wife, Cardiss Collins, succeeded him in Congress. Before Congress, Collins served with the Army Engineers in the Second World War. Upon his discharge in 1946, he worked as a deputy sheriff in Cook County, IL, as an administrative assistant to the Chicago Board of Health and alderman on the Chicago City Council. Collins earned a business law degree from Northwestern University.