Daniel David Rostenkowski (January 2, 1928 – August 11, 2010) was an American politician and convicted felon, most known for his 36 year tenure as a U.S. Representative, from 1959 to 1995. He became one of the most powerful legislators in Congress, especially in matters of taxation. He was imprisoned in 1996. A Democrat and son of a Chicago alderman, Rostenkowski was for many years Democratic Committeeman of Chicago's 32nd Ward, retaining this position while also serving in Congress.

In national politics, he rose by virtue of seniority to the rank of Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in 1981. As Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, he played a critical role in formulating tax policy during the Republican administration of Ronald Reagan, including the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, which cut the top federal bracket to 50%, and the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which further lowered it to 28% and reduced the number of brackets to only two. He was also involved in trade policy, as well as reforms of the welfare system, health care, and Social Security programs.

Rostenkowski closed legislative deals between the toughest power brokers in the U.S., from union chiefs to corporate titans to president Reagan and to everyone in between. The book Chicago and the American Century credits Rostenkowski with securing billions of dollars in federal money for projects in Chicago and Illinois. The book named him the sixth most significant politician to come from Chicago in the entire twentieth century.

Rostenkowski's political career, however, ended abruptly in 1994 when he was indicted on corruption charges relating to his role in the Congressional Post Office Scandal, and then narrowly defeated for reelection by Republican Michael Patrick Flanagan. He subsequently pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud in 1996 and was fined and sentenced to 17 months in prison. In December 2000, President Bill Clinton pardoned Rostenkowski, who had already served-out his sentence.

Rostenkowski was born on January 2, 1928, into a political family in Chicago to Joseph P. and Priscilla (Dombrowski) Rostenkowski. His grandfather Piotr had immigrated from the region of Tuchola, Poland. His father, Joe, locally known as "Big Joe Rusty", served as alderman and committeeman of the predominantly Polish 32nd Ward in what was then known as "Polish Downtown" for 24 years. As a child, Dan and his two sisters, Marcie and Gladys, often saw their family home double as a meeting place for precinct captains who, like Walter Kmiec from his father's ward organization, would later assist him in bringing in the vote in 1960 for John Kennedy.

The Rostenkowski home was on the second floor of 1349 North Noble Street in Chicago, above the tavern owned by Priscilla and adjacent to the alderman's insurance agency and the headquarters of the regular Democratic 32nd ward organization. Near dawn on August 6, 1938, Joe heard shots. Two top precinct captains for the alderman were shot multiple times as they slept in a car parked in front of the Rostenkowski home. Joe took his family to the Rostenkowski summer home in Genoa City, Wisconsin. The killers were never caught.

In 1941, at the age of 13, Rostenkowski accompanied his father to Washington to witness the inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for his third term. In 1955 his father lost his aldermanic seat after supporting then-County Clerk Richard J. Daley for Mayor over a fellow Polish leader named Ben Adamowski.^{[citation needed]}

Following his graduation from St. Stanislaus Kostka grammar school, Rostenkowski attended St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, where he earned letters in baseball, football, basketball and track. After graduating from St. John's in 1946, he enlisted in the United States Army and served for two years as a private with the Seventh Infantry Division in Korea. In 1949 he tried out for the Philadelphia Athletics, but his father convinced him to give up his dream and come home, as his mother was losing a battle with cancer. After her death, he enrolled at Loyola University in Chicago.