The Ogden Gas scandal was a political scandal in Chicago in February and March 1895 [1] that concerned the formation of the Ogden Gas Company for the purposes of forcing an existing gas franchise holder to purchase it and thereby enrich members of the city government. [2] Of the ten aldermen who had voted for the ordinance forming the company and ran for re-election in April, only two received another term; another six pro-ordinance aldermen declined to run. [3] Democratic Mayor John Patrick Hopkins declined to run for reelection and supported Democratic candidate Frank Wenter, who was heavily defeated by Republican George Bell Swift. [4] Upon taking office Swift signed ordinances repealing the franchises of the company and shortly thereafter revoked the company's permits to do business. [4]
John Patrick Hopkins was born in Buffalo, New York, and dropped out of school at the age of 13. [5] He met and befriended Roger Sullivan, and the two constructed a political machine. [6]
On February 25, 1895, the Chicago City Council met and discussed many trivial items on the agenda; the companies later subject to scandal did not appear. [7] Hopkins left early in the meeting and gave the gavel to alderman Mike Ryan, who recognized fellow alderman John McGillen. [8] McGillen introduced an ordinance to grant a franchise to the Norwood Construction Company for the construction of an electric plant, before substituting for it an ordinance granting the Cosmopolitan Electric Company a 50-year franchise. [9] The Cosmopolitan Electric Company's franchise passed despite the concerns of several aldermen unaffiliated with the scheme and the fact that the company itself was unknown to the council. [9]
Ryan gave the gavel to McGillen, who recognized alderman John Powers. [9] Powers introduced a motion to reconsider a failed 1892 franchise to the City and County Gas Company. [9] After an attempt to delay this was shelved, Powers substituted for it a franchise to the Ogden Gas Company, which also passed despite objections. [9]
The ordinance was called "the most disgraceful act" in the history of the City Council by a local paper. [5] Attempting to determine the identities of those who operated the mysterious companies became fashionable throughout Chicago. [10]
Hopkins's career was ruined in the aftermath of the scandal. [5] He was castigated by opponents as the most corrupt mayor in Chicago's history to that date. [5] He died of Spanish flu in 1918. [5]
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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In the Chicago mayoral election of 1895, was held on tuesday April 2 Republican candidate George Bell Swift was elected, winning a majority of the vote and defeating Democratic nominee Frank Wenter by more than a fifteen point margin.
In the Chicago mayoral election of 1901, Democrat Carter Harrison Jr. was reelected to a third term, defeating Republican candidate Elbridge Hanecy by a 9.5% margin of victory.
The Chicago Traction Wars was a political conflict which took place in Chicago primarily from the mid-1890s through the early 1910s. It concerned the franchise and ownership of streetcar lines. At the time it was one of the dominant political issues in the city and was a central issue of several mayoral elections and shaped the tenures of several mayors, particularly those of Carter Harrison Jr. and Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne.
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