Portal:Chicago/Selected biography/73

Arthur "Art" Schultz was an American Republican politician. He was a five-term mayor of Joliet, Illinois, which is the fourth-largest municipality in the state, behind Chicago, and is located 35 miles (56.3 km) to the northeast, Aurora and Rockford. He was last elected in April 2007. Prior to his first election, he served in the United States Navy and in the Joliet Police Department. His first attempt at public service was highly controversial because he finished as first runner-up in the Joliet City Council election of 1989. When a sitting councilwoman died a few months after the election, he was passed over several times for the nomination which customarily is given to the runner-up in the most recent election. He returned to elective politics to defeat the mayor who refused to nominate him in the subsequent election in 1991. In his time in office, the Joliet economy turned around from the economy of a stagnant prison town with declining population to a fast-growing entertainment and tourism economy. The city benefitted from the casino industry which provided unexpected revenue. Residential and commercial construction increased and the community has seen racing tracks, a baseball stadium and several civic works develop as a result of the booming economy. Schultz did not run for reelection in the 2011 mayoral election. He died of heart disease in November 2011.