CHICAGO — Dan Walker, whose death was announced Wednesday, became governor of Illinois in an unconventional way: he walked across the state, 1,197 miles in all.
The work boots he wore during his 116-day trip in 1971 became a symbol of the kind of politician he wanted to project: a common, down-to-earth maverick but tough.
Today, the boots are at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield.
At the time of his donation in 2007, Walker said his walk was "an eventful time in Illinois history."
"I met more people along that journey than I could of otherwise. I want my personal mementos from that walk in the presidential library because I believe that event made a great deal to the folks in Downstate Illinois," Walker said.
He would later respond when asked what his legacy was in Illinois: "It's the walk."
Walker said that even after he moved to San Diego, people who would recognize him would ask, "Hey, Dan, how the hell are your feet?"
"It comes up in every conversation, more than anything I ever did as governor," Walker said.
Walker, a one-term governor who would later go to prison on fraud charges, died in Chula Vista, Calif. He was 92.
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