At a young age he worked in coal mines in the area and in his family's business--the local Ford auto dealership.

He was nicknamed Illinois's "Flying Congressman" after piloting the single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza "Friendship Flame" on a circumnavigational solo flight in 1951 on a good will tour.

In the 1961 deccennial reapportionment, Mack was drawn into Illinois's 20th congressional district with Republican Congressman Paul Findley.

[5] Mack and other congressmen supporting the legislation believed that by stopping the importation and interstate sales of automatic knives (effectively halting sales of new switchblades), the law would reduce youth gang violence by blocking access to what had become a symbolic weapon.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress