See you in a Weil

George Ryan stood tall on the steps of the temple—scanning the crowd for signs of recognition. Suddenly, he locked eyes with his next victim.

“There’s my lawyer. Hey, Webb. Webb!”

Sixteen steps below, the infamous Dan Webb saw his former client. The wonder boy from Macomb looked shy and a little guilty, as though he wanted to forget the biggest defeat of his career.

“Governor. Governor,” Webb said as he ambled up the stairs. Oddly, he did not shake the pharmacist’s extended hand.

“Nice to see you,” Webb mumbled. Then with a sudden burst of trial adrenaline, Webb blurted: “We should do dinner…and I’ll pay!”

“We’ll Webb,” grinned the Governor, “you better hurry up.”

Dan Weil would have loved that exchange—unfortunately, it occurred at his funeral. He would have laughed hard, and then asked you a pointed question:

“So, do you know the name of the Governor who gained fame by firing his lawyer on the eve of his corruption trial?”

I rarely knew the answers to his teases. But it did signify the start of a lengthy political debate filled with laughter, intrigue and friendship.

Dan possessed amazing political instinct, and offered solicited and unsolicited advice to many pols, including Colin Powell, Jean Kirkpatrick, Mike Madigan, Dan Webb, the Daley clan, Jim Thompson, Jack O’Malley, Anne Burke, Dan Rutherford and many, many others.

Dan was a true friend, mentor—a modern day Obie Wan, boldly engaged in the dusty political arena. He loved politics because he loved people.

I will miss his advice—and the political arena, and life, will be less interesting without this warm and daring soul.