George E. Sangmeister

George Edward Sangmeister (February 16, 1931 – October 7, 2007) was a member of the United States House of Representatives. He originally represented Illinois' 4th District, before it was renumbered as the 11th district.

Sangmeister was born in Frankfort, Illinois. Sangmeister married Doris Hinspeter. He attended Joliet Junior College before entering the military and serving in the Korean War. After returning to private life, he attended Elmhurst College and then earned a law degree from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

Sangmeister spent several years in private law practice before becoming a magistrate for Will County, Illinois in 1961. In 1964, he became the county's district attorney.

In 1972, Sangmeister was elected as a Democrat to the Illinois House of Representatives. In 1976, after two terms in the state House, he was elected to the Illinois Senate. Sangmeister became a powerful Democratic leader in the state Senate, and, in 1986, Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. Adlai Stevenson III chose Sangmeister as his running mate. However, Sangmeister lost to Lyndon LaRouche activist Mark Fairchild in the primary. When he declined to run in the fall as part of the Solidarity Party, the third place contender in the primary, former Cook County judge Michael Howlett, Jr. replaced him. Stevenson-Howlett went down to defeat in the General Election.

In 1988, Sangmeister was elected to Congress in a marginally republican district. After three terms in the House, he declined to seek re-election in 1994, citing his frustration with national politics. He was replaced in Congress by Jerry Weller. He returned to private law practice for several years thereafter. He died of leukemia, aged 76.

He was interred on October 11, 2007 at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois.