[higgmeister]

"I forget the name of the Senator who observed, "You know, a million here and a million there, and pretty soon you're talking about serious money."

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That well loved Statesman, Republican Senator from Illinois, Everett McKinley Dirksen. He also happened to be the father-in-law of Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee. Dirksen was legendary for his fondness for the common marigold. His wife Louella Carver Dirksen wrote a biography, "The Honorable Mr. Marigold: My Life With Everett Dirksen." The Dirksen Senate Office Building is named in his honor.

[john drake]

The last decent, statesman-like politician from Illinois. I got his autograph when I was 12 years old. A great keepsake.

[rusty schucklefurd]

My favorite memory of Senator Dirksen was during the 1968 presidential election of Nixon vs. Humphrey. The notoriously corrupt Cook County would wait until all the other Illinois counties released their voting results, then, miraculously, when Cook County released their figures - low and behold there were enough Democrat votes to swing the state to the Democrat.

Well, Sen. Dirksen somehow got all the other counties to refuse to release their figures until Cook County did first. Talk about squealing like a stuck pig - the Cook County Dems screamed bloody murder, but Dirksen held fast. Cook County finally released their numbers and then all the others did too. Nixon carried the state.