Charles Wesley Clabaugh Papers, 1939-1983

This collection contains records from Charles Wesley Clabaugh (1900-1987) regarding his service in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1938 to 1975.

Charles W. Clabaugh was born in Coles County, Illinois in 1900. He graduated from Eastern Illinois State Teachers College in 1923 and taught school in Coles County, as well as joining a business firm. In 1926, he moved to Champaign, where he continued in business and started his own firm in 1934, the Champaign Weather Strip Company. In 1938, Clabaugh was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, and was reelected for 18 consecutive terms. He declined to run for reelection in 1974. During his legislative career, Clabaugh devoted much attention to education, both elementary and secondary, as well as to the University of Illinois. He served on, or chaired, the Education Committee, the School Problems Commission, the House Financing of Education Study Committee, the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, and the Steering Committee of the Education Commission of the States.

This collection contains legislative papers, correspondence, personal and social papers, and printed materials relating to Clabaugh and the General Assembly. The personal and social papers include a biographical sketch; speeches and articles; business records; European travel brochures; and newspaper clippings and editorials on elections, legislative politics, and Clabaugh's retirement. The legislative papers, arranged chronologically, are primarily from the 78th General Assembly (1973-74) and deal largely with the education committees. There are also copies of bills, summaries of action on bills by the General Assembly and the Governor, and information sheets pertaining to issues under discussion. The correspondence is also mainly from the 78th General Assembly, and reflects constituent sentiment on the Equal Rights Amendment, abortion, no-fault insurance, 19 year-old drinking age, the Environmental Protection Agency, and gun control. There is also a small amount of material on the 79th General Assembly, along with extensive genealogical information compiled by Clabaugh, covering his ancestors and those of his wife, focusing on the surnames Clabaugh, Zimmerman, Carmack, and Richardson.

Clabaugh donated this collection to the Library in four accessions between 1975 and 1983.