Jim Maloof

American businessman and politician, mayor of Peoria in the mid-1980s. He was born the youngest of four children of Lebanese immigrants who ran a grocery store. His parents sold off the business and went into the dry cleaning business. During WWII, Maloof served in the Air Force from 1943-46. Upon his return to the US, he took over the family dry cleaning business and ran it successfully until 1968. By now he and his wife Trudy had four children. He sold the business and entered the real estate market. As a friend of noted actor Danny Thomas, he had been a big supporter of St. Jude's Hospital and traveled widely throughout the US to raise money for the hospital's expansion efforts. By 1972, he had become the national Executive Vice-President of St. Jude’s and opened the first affiliated clinic in the country in Peoria. By the mid-1980s, the economy had slowed and the real estate market in Peoria had taken a downturn. Faced with filing for bankruptcy, Maloof was helped out of his financial crunch by his friend, Danny Thomas.. On Thanksgiving Day that year, while giving personal thanks, he bemoaned what had happened to his beloved city's economic viability and made the decision to run for Mayor. He was 65 years old at the time. He is credited with bringing Peoria back to life with his economic plan entitled “Forward Peoria" which he adapted from a model established by the Mayor of San Antonio, TX. He was Catholic, pro-life, anti-pornography and anti-gambling and won the election. By 1989, Peoria was named an All-American City. Maloof served three terms as Mayor. Maloof's wife Trudy died in 2001. Their second son Mark who suffered from depression committed suicide by asphyxiation in the family home's garage in June 1975.