The Gray Wolves were corrupt Chicago aldermen who held office from the 1890s to the 1930s. [1]
The Gray Wolves were led by First Ward aldermen "Bathhouse" John Coughlin, "Hinky Dink" Mike Kenna, and Johnny Powers of the Nineteenth Ward. [1]
The Chicago City Council frequently gave franchises to private businesses to maintain public services. Many businesses bribed the aldermen to be awarded such contracts, a practice known as "boodling". [1]
In 1895 the Gray Wolves awarded a franchise to the non-existent Ogden Gas Company to force the existing franchise holder to buy up the rights of Ogden Gas. This and similar schemes resulted in the formation of the Municipal Voters League in 1896 to throw the Gray Wolves aldermen off the council. [1]
Lincoln Steffens, a muck-raking reporter from McClure's Magazine , was the first to describe these aldermen as gray wolves "for the color of their hair and the rapacious cunning and greed of their natures." [2]
John Joseph Coughlin, known as "Bathhouse John" or "the Bath", was an American politician who served as alderman of Chicago's 1st ward from 1892 until his death. Representing the Chicago Loop and in later years its environs, he represented what was often called the "world's richest ward". Alongside his partner, fellow 1st ward alderman Michael "Hinky Dink" Kenna, he controlled the ward for most of the first half of the 20th century.
Michael Kenna, also known as "Hinky Dink", was an American politician who served as alderman of Chicago's 1st Ward from 1897 to 1923 and again from 1939 to 1943. In addition to his position as alderman he was committeeman of the 1st Ward for the Democratic Party from 1893 to 1944. Representing the Chicago Loop and later its environs in such capacities, he led what was often called the "world's richest ward". He and his partner, fellow 1st Ward alderman "Bathhouse John" Coughlin, controlled the ward for most of the first half of the 20th century.
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