William Kinney (Illinois politician)

William Kinney
3rd Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
In office
December 6, 1826 – December 9, 1830
GovernorNinian Edwards
Preceded byAdolphus Hubbard
Succeeded byZadok Casey
Member of the Illinois Senate
from the St. Clair County district
In office
1818–1820
Preceded byInaugural holder
Succeeded byJames Leman Jr.
In office
1822–1824
Preceded byJames Leman Jr.
Succeeded byJames Leman Jr.
Personal details
Born1781
Near Louisville, Kentucky
DiedOctober 1, 1843
St. Clair County, Illinois
Political partyDemocratic-Republican

William Kinney (1781 – October 1, 1843) was an American pioneer, politician, and merchant who was the third Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. Born in Kentucky, Kinney came to the Illinois Territory at a young age with his family. In 1809, he founded a successful dry goods store on the road between the towns of Belleville and Lebanon. This made him a prominent citizen of St. Clair County, and Kinney was elected to the Illinois Senate when the body was formed in 1818.

In 1826, Kinney was elected Lieutenant Governor under Ninian Edwards. However, Kinney developed a pattern of financial mismanagement during this term that would haunt him for the rest his life. Twice an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Illinois, Kinney was named president of the state's board of public works. Kinney nearly bankrupted the state by funding ambitious projects in the wake of the Panic of 1837. The board was liquidated and the state was in the process of suing Kinney when he died in 1843.