Richard Joseph Daley was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Chicago from 1955 and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee from 1953 until his death. He has been called "the last of the big city bosses" who controlled and mobilized American cities. Daley was Chicago's third consecutive mayor from the working-class, heavily Irish-American South Side neighborhood of Bridgeport, where he lived his entire life. He was the patriarch of the Daley family, whose members include Richard M. Daley, another former mayor of Chicago; William M. Daley, a former United States Secretary of Commerce; John P. Daley, a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners; and Patrick Daley Thompson, an alderman of the Chicago City Council.
William Hale Thompson was an American politician who served as mayor of Chicago from 1915 to 1923 and again from 1927 to 1931. Known as "Big Bill", he is the most recent Republican to have served as mayor of Chicago. Historians rank him among the most unethical mayors in American history, mainly for his open alliance with Al Capone. However, others recognize the effectiveness of his political methods and publicity-oriented campaigning, acknowledging him as a "Political Chameleon" and an effective political machine. Time magazine said in 1931, "chief credit for creating 20th Century Politics Chicago Style" should go to William Thompson.
Anton Joseph Cermak was an American politician who served as the 44th mayor of Chicago, Illinois from April 7, 1931 until his death on March 6, 1933. He was killed by an assassin whose likely target was President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but the assassin shot Cermak instead after a bystander hit the assassin with a purse.
Frank J. Corr was an American politician. Corr served as the 45th mayor of Chicago, Illinois. Corr's term was as acting mayor from March 15, 1933, following the assassination of Anton Cermak until April 8, 1933. Corr was a member of the Democratic Party.
Edward Joseph Kelly was an American politician who served as the 46th Mayor of Chicago from April 17, 1933 until April 15, 1947.
Otto Kerner Jr. was an American jurist and politician who served as the 33rd Governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968 and a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. As a federal judge, he chaired the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, but was forced to step down from the bench after being convicted of mail fraud.
Lower West Side is a community area on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is three miles southwest of the Chicago Loop and its main neighborhood is Pilsen. The Heart of Chicago is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the Lower West Side.
Michele "Mike" Merlo was a Chicago political figure and "fixer" associated in his later years with the Torrio-Capone organization. As head of the Unione Siciliana fraternal group, Merlo wielded considerable influence both in Chicago's Democratic Party politics and also within Chicago's criminal underworld during the early years of Prohibition. Although Merlo was able to maintain peace among the city's numerous bootlegging gangs, his death marked the beginning of Chicago's bootleg wars that plagued the city for the rest of the decade.
Politics in Chicago through most of the 20th century was dominated by the Democratic Party. Organized crime and political corruption were persistent concerns in the city.
The Cook County Democratic Party is a political party which represents voters in 50 wards in the city of Chicago and 30 suburban townships of Cook County. The organization has dominated Chicago politics since the 1930s. It relies on a tight organizational structure of ward and township committeeperson to elect candidates. At the height of its influence under Richard J. Daley in the 1960s, it was one of the most powerful political machines in American history. Party members have been convicted of public corruption. By the beginning of the 21st century the party had largely ceased to function as a machine due to the decline of political patronage following the issuing of the Shakman Decrees. The current Chair is Toni Preckwinkle.
Cermak Road, also known as 22nd Street, is a 19-mile, major east–west street on Chicago's near south and west sides and the city's western suburbs. In Chicago's street numbering system, Cermak is 2200 south, or twenty-two blocks south of the baseline of Madison Street. Normally, one mile comprises eight Chicago blocks, but the arterial streets Roosevelt Road, formerly named Twelfth Street and at 1200 South, and Cermak Road were platted before the eight-blocks-per-mile plan was implemented. Roosevelt Road is one mile south of Madison Avenue and there are twelve blocks within that mile. Cermak Road is two miles south of Madison Avenue and there are ten blocks within the mile between Roosevelt and Cermak Roads.
Patrick A. Nash was a political boss in the early and mid-twentieth century in Chicago, which is in Cook County, Illinois, United States. He was in large part responsible for consolidating elements of the Cook County Democratic Party into a political machine. He evolved from a local sewage contractor to a political boss by carefully selecting his political allies. His prominence stems from the death of Anton Cermak and his political career is intertwined with that of Edward Joseph Kelly. The success of this machine was attributed to its decision to be more inclusive than its predecessors. This meant that Nash had success at dealing with a variety of politicians such as William L. Dawson.
Richey V. Graham was an American politician and lawyer.
The 1931 Chicago mayoral election was held to elect the Mayor of Chicago. Former Cook County Board of Commissioners President Anton Cermak defeated incumbent mayor William Hale Thompson by a 17-point margin of victory.
In the Chicago mayoral election of 1935, incumbent Edward J. Kelly defeated Republican Emil C. Wetten and independent candidate Newton Jenkins by a landslide 60% margin of victory.
In the Chicago mayoral election of 1915, Republican William H. Thompson defeated Democrat Robert Sweitzer.
In the Chicago mayoral election of 1923, Democrat William E. Dever defeated Republican Arthur C. Lueder and Socialist William A. Cunnea. Elections were held on April 3, the same day as aldermanic runoffs.
In the Chicago mayoral election of 1899, Democrat Carter Harrison Jr. was reelected, winning a plurality of the vote and defeating Republican candidate Zina R. Carter, former Illinois governor John Peter Altgeld, as well as several minor candidates by a double-digit margin.
Elections were held in Cook County, Illinois, on November 5, 1946. Republicans took control of most county offices and occupied both seats of the Board of Appeals, although Democrats retained their majority in the Board of Commissioners. The Republican landslide reflected similar trends in state and federal elections at the time but was nevertheless unexpected. It resulted in the resignation of Democratic leader Edward Joseph Kelly and ultimately the end of his tenure as Mayor of Chicago. Republicans failed to capitalize on this victory in the following year's Chicago mayoral election, which was won by Democrat Martin Kennelly.
Herman Niels Bundesen was a German-American medical professional, politician, and author. He served two tenures as the chief health official of the city of Chicago, Illinois. He also was elected Cook County Coroner. In 1936, he ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party nomination for governor of Illinois.
