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 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.
[3] 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.