Biography
Ira Clifton Copley was born on October 25, 1864 in Galesburg, Illinois. He graduated from Yale University in 1887 and the Union College of Law at Northwestern University in 1889. In the late 19th century, Copley rose to prominence as the owner of the Aurora Gas Light Co., a company started by his father. Copley developed the business into Western United Gas an Electric, allowing Aurora building to be lit with gas by 1868. He led efforts to make Aurora the first city in the world to have electric street lighting. The company also lais long-distance wires to Batavia. After his successes in industry, Copley sold off his interests and turned to politics and publishing, joining the Illinois State Central Committee in 1894. He formed Copley Press, published the Aurora Beacon-News starting in 1905, and started the Elgin Courier-News in 1908. Copley was tasked with constructing a new Illinois State Penitentiary in 1909, which he oversaw until 1926.
Ira C. Copley was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-second United States Congress from Illinois's 11th congressional district (1911–1913). Copley's uncle Richard H. Whiting had also served in the House of Representatives (1875–1877). He ran then ran for re-election as a member of the Progressive (Bull Moose) Party for the 63rd United States Congress. He then returned to the Republican party upon re-election in 1915, and remained with the party until retiring in 1923. Copley continued his publishing aspiriations after leaving Congress, purchasing Springfield's Illinois State Journal in 1927, favoring its pro-Republican stance. At the time, the Illinois State Register in Vandalia was a competitor of the Journal, so he purchased this newspaper as well, merging them into the The State Journal-Register, still today a major newspaper in Springfield. In 1928, he consolidated the San Diego Union and San Diego Tribune into the The San Diego Union-Tribune. Later that year, Senator George W. Norris accused Copley Press of receiving money from public utility companies, but Copley successfully defended his position before the Federal Trade Commission in 1929. He died on November 1, 1947. His former residence in Aurora, the Col. Ira C. Copley Mansion, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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