Robert F. McPartlin
American politician

Robert F. McPartlin (November 2, 1926 – April 15, 1987) was an American Democratic politician. He was a member the Illinois House of Representatives for the 16th district from 1960 to 1976, when he was indicted for taking part in a $1.3 million bribery scheme over a "$48 million Chicago sewage contract" alongside billionaire heirs E. Bronson Ingram II and Frederic B. Ingram. McPartlin was sentenced to eight years in prison in 1979, and he died at the end of his sentence.
Early life
Robert F. McPartlin was born on November 2, 1926, in Austin, Chicago. His father, Frank L. McPartlin, was the Democratic committeeman of the 30th ward on the Chicago City Council.
McPartlin was educated at Campion High School. He served in the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific during World War II.
Career
McPartlin was an electrical engineer for the city of Chicago.
McPartlin served as a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 16th district from 1960 to 1976, when he was indicted for taking part in a $1.3 million bribery scheme over a "$48 million Chicago sewage contract" alongside billionaire heirs E. Bronson Ingram II and Frederic B. Ingram. He was convicted of bribery in 1977 alongside Frederic, while Bronson was acquitted. McPartlin was given an eight-year prison sentence in 1979.
The public source identifies “Robert F. McPartlin” as american politician. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Robert, McPartlin and American.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Robert F. McPartlin”, the useful work is to connect “american politician” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q31395235. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1926, 1987, 1960 and 1976.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Robert F. McPartlin”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Robert F. McPartlin primary sources, Robert F. McPartlin archive and Robert research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Robert F. McPartlin”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Robert F. McPartlin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.