Bill Janklow
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| Bill Janklow | |
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| In office January 1, 1979 – January 6, 1987 |
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| Lieutenant | Lowell C. Hansen II |
| Preceded by | Harvey L. Wollman |
| Succeeded by | George S. Mickelson |
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| In office January 7, 1995 – January 7, 2003 |
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| Lieutenant | Carole Hillard |
| Preceded by | Walter D. Miller |
| Succeeded by | Mike Rounds |
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| In office January 3, 2003 – January 20, 2004 |
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| Preceded by | John Thune |
| Succeeded by | Stephanie Herseth Sandlin |
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| Born | September 13, 1939 Chicago, Illinois |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Mary Dean Thom Janklow |
| Occupation | Politician, Lawyer |
William John "Bill" Janklow (born September 13, 1939) is a former American politician with the Republican Party. He was a four-term Governor of South Dakota, and served in the United States House of Representatives for nearly a year before he resigned after being convicted of manslaughter following an automobile accident. He is currently a lawyer and lobbyist.
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[edit] Early life
Bill Janklow was born in Chicago, Illinois. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1956 to 1959. He graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1964 and received a law degree in 1966. After graduation from law school, he was a Legal Services lawyer for six years on the Rosebud Indian Reservation.
[edit] Political career
Janklow served as South Dakota's attorney general from 1975 to 1979. He was first elected governor in 1978, and he was easily reelected in 1982 with 70.9% of the vote, the highest percentage ever won by a gubernatorial candidate in the state's history. The legislature had repealed the personal property tax the year before he took office, but did not provide a replacement revenue source. Since the personal property tax funded local governments, the legislature mandated that the state government replace the revenue. His first duty as governor was to suggest tax increases to meet that obligation. One of his first acts as Governor was signing into law a bill reinstating capital punishment (in 1979). Another major action in his administration was seeing South Dakota's cap on interest rates dropped. This allowed Citibank to open a credit card center in Sioux Falls from which it could charge high rates.[1] Several states had similar usuary laws but, under the federal banking rules, a state had to formally invite a bank into their state and South Dakota was able to invite them before other states could invite Citibank. Janklow made serious attempts to increase accessibility for the disabled. When the Milwaukee Railroad went into bankruptcy, Janklow called a special session of the legislature. The state purchased the main line of the defunct railroad. The state leased its property to the Burlington Northern thereby preserving railway shipping of commodities for much of the state.
Barred by state law from running again in 1986, Janklow challenged incumbent U.S. Senator James Abdnor in the Republican primary. Janklow lost, but the bruising primary battle weakened Abdnor, contributing to the latter's loss in the general election to Democrat Thomas Daschle, then South Dakota's lone member of the U. S. House of Representatives. Janklow returned to politics in 1994, when he defeated incumbent Walter Dale Miller in the Republican gubernatorial primary. He was handily elected that year and was reelected in 1998. In his second two terms, Janklow cut property taxes for homeowners and farmers by 30% and made up the revenue loss caused by the voters repealing the inheritance tax.[2]. Janklow is the longest serving governor in South Dakota history; he is the only person in the state's history to serve eight full years as governor, which he did twice.
Janklow pardoned his son-in-law, William Gordon Haugen II, for marijuana possession and driving while intoxicated. The pardon was sealed until after Janklow left office.
In 2002, Janklow ran for the Republican nomination for South Dakota's only House seat. He defeated Democrat Stephanie Herseth, an attorney and granddaughter of former governor Ralph Herseth and his wife, former state Secretary of State, Lorna Herseth, by a vote of 180,023 to 153,656[3]. Many experts thought that Herseth would have won had the Republicans fielded anyone other than Janklow.
Although controversial[4], Janklow is among the more electorally successful politicians in South Dakota's history. He was elected to statewide office six times.
[edit] Car crash and aftermath
On August 16, 2003, Janklow caused a fatal traffic collision when the white Cadillac Seville he was driving hit motorcyclist Randolph E. Scott at a rural intersection near Trent, South Dakota. Scott, a 55-year-old Minnesotan, was thrown from his motorcycle and killed instantly. Janklow suffered a broken hand and bleeding on the brain. In the ensuing investigation of the accident, it was determined Janklow was likely driving at least 70 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone and that he ran a stop sign at the intersection where the crash occurred.
Janklow was arraigned on August 29. In response, Janklow said he "couldn't be sorrier" for the accident. His trial began on December 1. In his defense, his lawyer argued that Janklow suffered a bout of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, and was thus "confused" and "mixed up." Janklow testified that he had taken an insulin shot the morning of the accident and had subsequently not eaten anything throughout day, resulting in low blood sugar. Jurors were not informed of Janklow's record of three previous accidents and twelve speeding violations, though his driving history had been widely reported in the local media. He once got a ticket for speeding his motorcycle four blocks from his home to the Capitol, and another for not having the proper license endorsement to drive it. (Janklow has long been an unapologetic speeder; in a 1999 speech to the state legislature, he said, "Bill Janklow speeds when he drives — shouldn't, but he does. When he gets the ticket he pays it.")[5][6]
On December 8, 2003, Janklow was convicted by a Moody County jury of second-degree manslaughter. A few days later, he resigned his seat in Congress effective January 20, 2004. This was because the conviction substantially limited his role in Congress; House rules do not allow congressmen who are convicted of felonies to vote or participate in committee work until the House Ethics Committee conducts an investigation. A special election was held and Herseth won against Republican candidate Larry Diedrich.
On January 22, he was sentenced to spend 100 days in jail. After 30 days, he was able to leave the jail for several hours each day in order to perform community service. He was released on May 17, 2004.
Scott's family sued Janklow for damages, but the court ruled that because Janklow was on official business at the time, he was protected from any monetary claims by the Federal Tort Claims Act, which ascribes liability to the government as opposed to the individual who is acting in a governmental capacity. In July 2006, Scott's family filed a $25 million wrongful death suit against the U.S. government. On January 5, 2006, the South Dakota Supreme Court granted Janklow's petition for early reinstatement of his license to practice law, effective February, 2006, though Scott's family opposed that.
On (May 14, 2008) The family of the motorcyclist killed in a fatal crash with former South Dakota Rep. Bill Janklow settled its wrongful death lawsuit for $1 million, one of the lawyers said Wednesday. Both sides had been unable to resolve it out of court and the trial was scheduled to start June 16 in Minneapolis, but the family opted to settle Tuesday afternoon.
[edit] Current career
Janklow currently works as a lawyer. In 2006, the Mayo Clinic retained Janklow to lobby against the DM&E Railroad expansion. He also represents landowners who are seeking more money from the railroad for the taking of their property. Approximately fifty-percent of his legal practice involves pro bono (without a fee) cases.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- ^ Lazarony, Lucy. Credit card companies sidestep usury laws. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ Michael Barone, The Almanac of American Politics, (2006), p. 1520
- ^ Michael Barone, p. 1530
- ^ Steve Hendricks,The Unquiet Grave: The FBI and the Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country, (2006)
- ^ Official Transcript "Governor William J. Janklow’s State-of-the-State Address" South Dakota Secretary of State, January 13, 1999
- ^ Hetland, Cara "Son acknowledges Janklow ran stop sign", Minnesota Public Radio, August 19, 2003
[edit] External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post Retrieved on 2008-04-02
| Preceded by Harvey L. Wollman |
Governor of South Dakota January 1, 1979 – January 6, 1987 |
Succeeded by George S. Mickelson |
| Preceded by Walter D. Miller |
Governor of South Dakota January 7, 1995 – January 7, 2003 |
Succeeded by Mike Rounds |
| Preceded by John R. Thune |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's At-large congressional district January 3, 2003 – January 20, 2004 |
Succeeded by Stephanie Herseth Sandlin |
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| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Janklow, Bill |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Janklow, William John (full name) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | South Dakota politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 13, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chicago, Illinois |
| DATE OF DEATH | living |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
