David C. O’Neal was the 41st Lieutenant Governor of Illinois

Lieutenant Governor of Illinois

The Lieutenant Governor of Illinois is the second highest executive of the State of Illinois. In Illinois, the lieutenant governor and governor run on a joint ticket, and are directly elected by popular vote. Candidates for lieutenant governor run separately in the primary from candidates for...

 from 1977 to 1981. For six years he served as Saint Clair County

St. Clair County, Illinois

St. Clair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. In 1970, the U.S. Census Bureau placed the mean center of U.S. population in St. Clair County. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 270,056, which is an increase of 5.5% from 256,082 in 2000. Its county seat is...

 Sheriff, the first Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to hold that office in twenty years.

Background

O’Neal was born January 24, 1937 in Belleville, Illinois

Belleville, Illinois

Belleville is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city has a population of 44,478. It is the eighth-most populated city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area and the most populated city south of Springfield in the state of Illinois. It is the county...

. He graduated from St. Louis College of Pharmacy

St. Louis College of Pharmacy

St. Louis College of Pharmacy is a private and independent nonsectarian college in St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in 1864....

 and is a former ministerial student and United States Marine. Prior to entering politics O’Neal was a pharmacist and businessman.
He served as a member of the executive and economic development committees of the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors and the governing boards of McKendree University in Lebanon, and the Saint Louis College of Pharmacy.
He is the recipient of the Illinois Wisconsin States Association of Elks Humanitarian of the Year and East Saint Louis Model Cities Program

Model Cities Program

The Model Cities Program was an element of United States President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and War on Poverty. The ambitious federal urban aid program ultimately fell short of its goals....

 Meritorious Services Award and was named Outstanding Young Republican of the United States in 1975 and Outstanding Young Republican of Illinois in 1971.

In 1977, he received the Distinguished Pharmacist Award from the Illinois Pharmacists' Association. An athlete, his hobbies include sports such as tennis, golf, bowling and motorcycling.

He and his wife Sandra, lived in Belleview and the two had two daughters.

Lt. Governor of Illinois

Lieutenant Governor O’Neal devoted much effort to overseeing the Senior Legislative Forum, a legislative advocacy group he created to aid senior citizens throughout Illinois. He also worked closely with the State's two Senior Action Centers, which provides assistance with the elderly and disabled.

His other responsibilities have included chairmanships of the Governor's Special Commission on State-Mandated Programs, the Technical Advisory Committee on Aging, the Illinois Energy Contingency Council's Subcommittee, the Governor's Jail and Detention Standards Review Committee, and a committee to investigate administrative and correctional officer conditions at adult correctional centers.

He has also served as vice-chairman of the Governor's Energy Advisory Council, ex-officio member of the Council on Aging, and a member of the Commission on Inter-Governmental Cooperation.

In 1980 O’Neal sought the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate winning the nomination to go on to the general election. His Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 opponent was Illinois Secretary of State Alan Dixon. After a tough election battle O’Neal went down to defeat; Dixon defeated O’Neal in a vote of 2,565,302–1,946,296. O’Neal resigned as Lieutenant Governor in 1981, claiming that he was just bored.

Today the former Lieutenant Governor resides in Belleview with his wife Sandra.