In the 1980s, he owned Chicago Fleeting and Marine Repair Service, a firm which was later accused of inappropriately using public resources.
[4] In 2000, it was revealed that one of his companies was misrepresented as a female owned business, costing its contracts with the City of Chicago.
[10] Dawson opted to run for the Democratic nomination for Illinois's 2nd congressional district in the 1984 United States House of Representatives election against incumbent Gus Savage.
[11] He lost the 1986 Democratic primary to Howard Brookins, a State Representative from Washington Heights.
Dawson had previously run against Balanoff for Democratic Committeeman as an Ed Vrdolyak ally after the latter switched to the Republican Party.