Dick Simpson (politician)

Dick Weldon Simpson (born 1940) is an American professor, author, politician, activist, political consultant, and filmmaker who formerly served as a Chicago alderman from 1971 through 1979. From 1967 until 2022, Simpson was a professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and served as the head of the university's political science department from 2006 until 2012.

Simpson is considered to be a progressive. During his time on the Chicago City Council, he was an independent associated with the lakefront liberals. In 1992 and 1994, he unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives as a challenger to incumbent congressman Dan Rostenkowski in the Democratic Party primary for Illinois's 5th congressional district. Simpson has worked as a staffer on political campaigns, and has also worked as a government advisor. Simpson has written an extensive amount of published material on the subject of government and politics.