Southern Illinois home of Paul Powell, the ‘Shoebox Scandal’ politician, could soon be sold
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Paul Powell, the southern Illinois political powerhouse who died leaving behind $800,000 in cash in the infamous “Shoebox Scandal,” used to say, “The only thing worse than a defeated politician is a broke one.”
For more than half a century, a $250,000 trust established by Powell has preserved his legacy, for better or for worse. But the story that kept his birthplace alive as a museum will soon dry up. The fate of the house in Vienna, a city of 1,300 people about 140 miles southeast of St. Louis, is uncertain, but it will likely be sold.
For decades, per Powell’s wishes, it was home to the Johnson County Genealogical and Historical Society, which keeps the house looking as it did during the political giant’s tenure, with memorabilia hanging on the walls.
Maintenance is about $5,000 a year, while the association’s income last year was $4,300, said board member Gary Hacker, 85, whose parents were Powell’s classmates and mowed his lawn as a teenager in the early 1950s.
“We’re probably going to put it on the market for sale,” Hacker said. “The historical society will be moving.”
Southern Illinois was Powell’s fiefdom for much of the mid-20th century. He brought jobs by expanding the state prison infrastructure to the region, pumped money and status into Southern Illinois University, and promoted county fairs and pari-mutuel betting on horse racing, which served a dual purpose: to enrich Powell, who owned racetrack stock .
As Powell spent more time in Springfield and Chicago in later years, favor seekers flocked to the house when he was home. Sunday afternoons were spent in the sunroom he added in the 1950s, where three televisions were tuned to separate sports networks, Hacker said.
“He was quite adept at watching, smoking cigars and conducting political business over the phone or with people who visited him there,” Hacker said.
The Democrat won a seat in the House of Representatives in 1934 and was elected speaker in 1949, 1959 and 1961 – once despite Republicans claiming a one-seat majority. His quid pro quo deals with Chicago boss Mayor Richard J. Daley created projects for both regions and were often punctuated by another Powell aphorism: “I can smell the meat cooking!”
Powell’s influence only grew when he was elected Secretary of State in 1964.
“When Paul Powell was a man of influence, people knew where Johnson County was,” said John Rendleman III, a Carbondale attorney.
Rendleman’s father, a friend of Powell and executor of his will, uncovered one of the most bizarre political scandals in a state known for high-profile corruption cases.
After Powell’s sudden death at age 68 in October 1970, the elder Rendleman found $750,000 in cash, mostly packed in diplomat briefcases, but also in at least one Marshall Field gift box. & Co., in his suite at the St. Nicholas Hotel in Springfield. Another $50,000 was in his office in the Capitol, about five blocks away.
A federal investigation concluded that Powell had skimmed much of it by awarding contracts to friends with kickback terms. His estate, settled in 1978, was worth $4.6 million, the equivalent of $21.8 million today. He had $1 million worth of stock in horse racing tracks where he determined the most favorable racing dates.
The IRS claimed $1.7 million, and the state of Illinois claimed $230,000. News reports about other politicians with horse racing led to federal prison for former Governor Otto Kerner, then a federal appeals judge. Future politicians were legally obliged to complete annual statements of economic importance.
The number of curious people once drawn to the Powell home by the bizarre legend has dwindled, Hacker said. Few even remember Powell in Vienna.
“Memories last about a generation,” Rendelman said.
There is about $80,000 left in the trust, Hacker said. Subtracting the legal fees and the value of the house, estimated at about $60,000, clears the account. A court date for the closing of the trust has not yet been scheduled.
Phone and email messages seeking comment were left for First Mid Bank’s trustee & Trust Mattoon.
It’s not out of the question that the house will remain open, Hacker said. One potential buyer has proposed turning the three-bedroom house of about 1,600 square feet into a bed-and-breakfast.