Giving Back: A Lifetime of Service to Kansas and the Nation

A political memoir of a life lived in service that’s a testament to fairness and bipartisanship.

A native of Leavenworth, Kansas, Ed Reilly has always felt the call to serve the people of his state and his country. His life in politics began early: he became a member of the Kansas House of Representatives in 1963 at the age of twenty-six. After less than a year as “Representative Ed,” he crossed to the other side of the rotunda and served in the Kansas Senate for the next twenty-nine years.

Reilly played a considerable role in changing Kansas’s political and legal landscape, especially in issues involving state corrections and the penal system. As the chairman of the Committee on Federal and State Affairs, Senator Reilly repeatedly championed legislation on capital punishment, as well as pari-mutuel, liquor by the drink, and the Equal Rights Amendment.

In 1992, President George H. W. Bush appointed Reilly chairman of the United States Parole Commission. During his time in Washington, DC, Reilly faced his greatest political and personal challenges, yet remained a steadfast public servant.Ed Reilly’s life and career stand as a legacy of leadership and service. The stories and lessons he offers in this memoir showcase admirable spirit of fairness and willingness to compromise, and offer potent lessons for those in the area of public life.

Edward F. Reilly Jr. received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Kansas in 1961. Reilly served in the Kansas House of Representatives (1963–1964), the Kansas State Senate (1965–1992), and as chairman of the United States Parole Commission (1992–1997 and 2001–2009). Most recently, in 2019, he was appointed as a US Observer to the International Fund for Ireland. He has also established the Edward F. Reilly Jr. Endowment Fund, which supports public programming at the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. Its purpose is to explore the role of civil discourse and bipartisanship in contemporary politics.