After serving as vice president of the Chicago-North Western Transportation Co. from 1974 to 1976, he was elected to Congress in 1976 and was re-elected three times.

[2] In the 1984 United States Senate election, Corcoran opted to challenge incumbent Senator Charles Percy in the Republican primary as a conservative alternative to Percy's record as a moderate Republican.

However, after losing several political allies to Inland Steel Company executive George Ranney he dropped out of the primary election.

[7] He was appointed to the Board of Directors of United States Synthetic Fuels Corporation in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan.

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