Neil Joseph Linehan

Neil Joseph Linehan (September 23, 1895 – August 23, 1967) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party who served one term in Congress in the mid-twentieth century. His congressional service took place during a significant period in American history, in the early years of the post–World War II era, when he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his Chicago-area constituents.

Linehan was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 23, 1895, the son of Cornelius J. Linehan and Nancy Ann (McNulty) Linehan. He was raised in the city’s public school system and attended the public schools of Chicago, completing his formal schooling at John L. Marsh School, from which he graduated in 1913. After graduation, he received training as an electrician, entering a skilled trade that would shape much of his later professional life and provide the foundation for his business career.

During World War I, Linehan joined the United States Army and served overseas in France. He was assigned to the 340th Infantry Regiment, a unit of the 85th Division, and took part in the American war effort on the Western Front. His military service during this global conflict marked his first significant engagement in public service and national affairs, and, like many veterans of his generation, he returned home with experience that would inform his later civic and political activities.

Following his discharge from the Army, Linehan resumed civilian life in Chicago and entered the electrical contracting field. Drawing on his technical training and wartime experience, he became active as an electrical contractor and eventually rose to become president of the Linehan Electric Company. In this role he was responsible for managing and expanding a private enterprise in a period of rapid urban growth and electrification, establishing himself as a businessman before embarking on a career in elective office.

Linehan was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-first Congress and served from January 3, 1949, to January 3, 1951, representing Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his single term, he contributed to the legislative process as part of the Democratic Party’s congressional delegation at a time marked by postwar economic adjustment, the early Cold War, and the beginnings of the Korean conflict. As a member of Congress, he participated in the democratic process and worked to represent the interests and concerns of his constituents from Illinois, although specific committee assignments and legislative initiatives are not extensively documented in surviving summaries.

After his term ended in 1951, Linehan sought to continue his service in Congress but was unsuccessful in his bid for reelection in 1950 to the Eighty-second Congress. He again ran for office in 1952 as a candidate for the Eighty-third Congress, but this campaign was also unsuccessful. In 1951, between these campaigns, he served in a federal administrative capacity as an official in the Chicago district office of the Director of Price Stabilization, an agency established during the Korean War era to help manage inflation and stabilize prices. This role reflected his continued involvement in public affairs and economic policy beyond elective office.

Following his work with the Office of Price Stabilization, Linehan returned to private life and resumed his electrical contracting business in Chicago, again devoting his efforts to the Linehan Electric Company. He remained in the city where he had been born, educated, and had built both his business and political careers. Neil Joseph Linehan died in Chicago on August 23, 1967. He was interred in St. Mary Cemetery, closing a life that combined military service, entrepreneurship, and a period of representation in the United States Congress.