| Patrick Welch | |
| State Senate: | Illinois |
| District: | 38th |
| Term Start: | January 12, 1983 |
| Term End: | January 12, 2005 |
| Predecessor: | John E. Grotberg[1] [2] |
| Successor: | Gary G. Dahl |
| Birth Name: | Patrick Daniel Welch |
| Birth Date: | 12 December 1948 |
| Birth Place: | Chicago, Illinois |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Residence: | Peru, Illinois |
| Alma Mater: | Chicago-Kent College of Law Southern Illinois University |
| Profession: | Attorney |
Patrick Daniel Welch (December 12, 1948 – January 7, 2020) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 38th district from 1983 to 2005. He served as an Assistant Majority Leader during his final term.[3]
Patrick Welch was born on December 12, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois. He attended college earning a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Southern Illinois University and a J.D. degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Welch first entered the Illinois Senate after winning what was thought to be a strongly Republican district against Betty J. Hoxsey in the closest Illinois Senate election of 1982.[4] [5] During his time in the Illinois Senate he was appointed to the Illinois Task Force on Global Climate Change,[6] and proposed saving taxpayers money by eliminating the office of Lieutenant Governor of Illinois[7] During his tenure Welch was a perennial target of the Illinois Republican Party,[8] but managed to defeat major efforts to unseat him including a $500,000 spending effort in 1990 and a 700 vote margin of victory in 1994. He lost election in 2004 to Gary G. Dahl.
He died of complications of a stroke on January 7, 2020, at age 71. He was also suffering from dementia prior to his death.[9]