Al Magnus
ALEXANDER B. MAGNUS, JR., CHAMPION OF LIBERTY, 1926-2002
By Dennis Constant
On August 21, 2002, the country lost a great patriot, and Illinois taxpayers lost a great friend. Alexander B. Magnus, Jr.—”Al” to us—died after an illness of several months.
Al Magnus was more than just a friend and supporter. He was a political Renaissance Man. Not content with being a highly successful entrepreneur and investor, he devoted much of his time, energy and financial resources to defending our Bill of Rights and free enterprise system. He encouraged citizens to approach politics with a healthy skepticism, and sponsored numerous research projects that opened the eyes of these citizens to abuses of bureaucrats, government agencies and politicians.
His efforts were not constrained by the U.S. border either; he was a world traveler who worked to foster democratic institutions in all the countries he visited. Whatever country Al traveled to, he left his mark!
Al was instrumental in bringing to this country one of the foremost Russian dissidents, Michail Makarenko, who had spent 12 years in a Russian gulag for his efforts. NTUI president Jim Tobin invited Makarenko, now living in Washington, DC, to address the students in one of his economics classes, and Jim stated that Makarenko was the only such visitor to his classes to receive a standing ovation in Jim’s 30 years of teaching!
For over 15 years, Al Magnus was a prime supporter of NTUI and the Illinois Taxpayer Education Foundation. Jim Tobin remarked, “We couldn’t have done it without him,” and he meant that literally. One example of Al’s high-powered, dynamic support: In 1997, Al paid to print and distribute one million copies of the foundation’s famed research study on government school spending in Illinois. A four-page summary of the report was included as an insert in seven Illinois newspapers, including the Peoria Journal Star, Daily Herald and Daily Southtown.
The Illinois House had passed an ill-advised state tax increase that would have cost Illinois taxpayers an additional $2 billion each year. Thanks to the well-timed revelations contained in the report, the tax increase was killed in the House Senate Revenue Committee.
Jim Tobin paid this tribute to Al Magnus: “Al Magnus was like a second father to me. He was a man I greatly respected and admired. His love for his country, and his labors on behalf of freedom were second to none. A man of acute intellect and perception, he was an MIT graduate, entrepreneur, paratrooper, engineer, college physics teacher, adventurer, and, above all, a patriot. He gave unselfishly of his time, energy and hard-earned money to advance democracy and freedom.”
Al Magnus was one of a kind: an authentic patriot, a kind, generous human being, and a champion of liberty. His principles and efforts actually made a difference. He is irreplaceable.
“Maria Magnus dedicates Alexander B. Magnus Jr. Way, located at the NE corner of Fairbanks and Ohio in Chicago”