Gary MacDougal started his adult life in business, and began his own company in 1969 (Mark Controls Corporation).In 1987 he retired from a very successful business career to pursue a different passion - addressing the seemingly intractable problems of poverty in America. In 1991 newly elected Governor Jim Edgar asked MacDougal to head up the Task Force on Human Services Reform. MacDougal harnessed his energy and passion with his business savvy and entrepreneurial spirit to first understand the underlying problems of poverty, then recommend a revamping of Illinois's welfare system. The reforms were remarkably successful.
Interview Links
Feature Excerpt
"We're All God's Children".
Abstract
Interview Session 01 (Audio)
Business career, and commitment to addressing poverty in America
Interview Session 02 (Audio)
Gov. Edgar’s Task Force and an analysis of poverty
InterviewSession 03 (Audio)
Reforming Illinois’s welfare system in the mid-1990s
Transcript
Photos
Caption
An official photo of Gary MacDougal dating from the mid 2000s.
Where:
Lake Point Tower in Chicago
When:
Mid 2000s
Ownership:
Narrators Photo
Caption
Gary MacDougal and former President George H.W. Bush sit in the Oval Office, discussing the Illinois Senate race of 1990.
Where:
Oval Office
When:
1990
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Gary MacDougal (left) talking with Gov. Jim Edgar in 1999. MacDougal headed up Edgar’s Task Force on Human Services Reform early in the ‘90s, and spearheaded efforts to restructure the state’s welfare structure, establishing the Dept. of Human Services.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1999
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
(From left to right) Governor Edgar, Springfield Mayor Karen Hasara, and Mrs. Lee at the opening of the Lee Center One Stop in Springfield, Illinois.
Where:
Lee Center One Stop in Springfield, Illinois
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Illinois’s page from the Heartland Institute’s book entitled State Welfare Report Card, 2008: Welfare Reform After Ten Years, a study co-authored by Gary MacDougal.
Where:
The Heartland Institute’s book
When:
2008
Ownership:
Gary MacDougal and Dane Wendell, authors, published in 2008 by the Heartland Institute, Chicago, Illinois. May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.