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{{Short description|Former American politician}} |
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{{about|the Chicago political boss|the photographer|Michael Kenna (photographer)}} |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}} |
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[[File:Lords of the levee.jpg|thumb|Cartoons from the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' depicting "Bathhouse" John Coughlin (left) and "Hinky Dink" Kenna (right)]] |
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{{For|the photographer|Michael Kenna (photographer)}} |
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'''Michael "Hinky Dink" Kenna''' (August 20, 1858 – October 9, 1946) was one of the two [[Alderman|aldermen]] elected in [[Chicago]]'s First [[Wards of the United States|Ward]], from 1897 to 1923. |
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{{Infobox officeholder |
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|name=Michael Kenna |
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|image=Michael Kenna 1901.png |
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|caption=Alderman Kenna in 1901 |
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|office1=Alderman of the [[Chicago City Council]] |
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|term_start1=April 12, 1939 |
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|term_end1=April 9, 1943 |
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|predecessor1=Vacant, previously [[John Coughlin (alderman)|John Coughlin]] |
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|successor1=John Budinger |
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|term_start2=April 19, 1897 |
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|term_end2=April 16, 1923 |
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|alongside2=John Coughlin |
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|predecessor2=Francis P. Gleason |
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|successor2=John Coughlin |
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|constituency1=1st ward |
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|constituency2=1st ward |
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|office3=Member of the [[Cook County Democratic Party]] Central Committee |
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|term_start3=December 21, 1893 |
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|term_end3=April 1944 |
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|successor3=Joe Clark |
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|alongside3=John P. Leindecker (1893 – 1895)<br/>John Coughlin (after 1895) |
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|constituency3=1st ward |
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|party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] |
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|birth_date=August 20, 1857{{efn|name="dob"}} |
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|birth_place=[[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S. |
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|death_date={{Death date and age|1946|10|9|1857}} |
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|death_place=[[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S. |
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}} |
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'''Michael Kenna''' (August 20, 1857{{efn|name="dob"|Wendt & Kogan give his birth as happening during a winter night in 1858.<ref>p. 73</ref> The ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'''s obituary states that a baptismal record gives his birth as August 20, 1857,<ref name=rites/> which is also the date given by his death certificate.<ref name="deathcert">{{cite web |title=Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NQHK-66B |publisher=Public Board of Health |location=Springfield, IL |url-access=registration |accessdate=August 10, 2019 |via=FamilySearch.org |date=March 8, 2018}}</ref> The [[Associated Press]] indicates a death age of either 88 or 91, implying a birth year of 1854–1855 or 1857–1858, and notes confusion on the matter in both the official record and Kenna's own words.<ref name="APObit">{{cite news |title=Michael Kenna, former Chicago alderman, dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/542977458/ |url-access=subscription |accessdate=July 21, 2019 |work=Streator Daily Times-Press |location=Streator, IL |agency=Associated Press |volume=20 |issue=209 |page=1 |date=October 9, 1946 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Birth certificates were not mandatory in Illinois until 1877.<ref name="Birth certificate">{{cite web |title=Vital Records |url=https://www.genealoger.com/illinois/il_vital_records.htm |website=Illinois Genealogy |accessdate=April 26, 2019}}</ref> }} – October 9, 1946), also known as '''"Hinky Dink"''', was an American politician who served as [[Chicago City Council|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 Democratic party committeeman of the 1st ward 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 [[John Coughlin (alderman)|"Bathhouse John" Coughlin]], controlled the ward for most of the first half of the 20th century. |
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A part of 1st ward politics for more than 60 years, Kenna possessed great influence on the municipal affairs of Chicago, being able to make or break the prospects of Democratic candidates for the mayoralty. Possessing such influence despite his short stature and unassuming presence, he and Coughlin constructed a political machine that would last for the better part of the 20th century. In large part with Kenna's help Coughlin would serve as alderman of the ward for 46 years, a citywide record that would stand for nine decades. |
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At age 10, Kenna left school and began selling newspapers.<ref name="rites">{{cite news | title = Rites Saturday for Hinky Dink, An Era's Symbol | newspaper = Chicago Tribune | location = Chicago, IL | pages = 4 | publisher = Tribune Co. | date = 1946-10-10 }}</ref> By age 12, he had borrowed $50 from a [[barkeeper]] and purchased a [[newsstand]] at the corner of Monroe Street and Dearborn Street. He was so successful that he was able to pay back the loan within a month. According to legend, it was at this time that Kenna got his nickname from ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' publisher [[Joseph Medill]], because of his small stature. Even as an adult, Kenna stood just 5 foot 1 inch (156 cm) tall.<ref>{{cite book | last = Wendt | first = Lloyd | authorlink = Lloyd Wendt |author2=Herman Kogan | title = Bosses in Lusty Chicago (a.k.a. [[Lords of the Levee]]) | publisher = Indiana University Press | year = 1974 | page =73 | isbn = 0-253-20109-8}}</ref> |
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Kenna was notoriously corrupt; he, Coughlin, and several other aldermen led what was known as the "[[Gray Wolves (Chicago)|Gray Wolves]]", a group that attracted much scorn from reformers and was infamous across the nation and globe. Of particular note were his tactics involving bribing homeless people to vote as desired and performing voter fraud for his candidates. He was also intimate with several figures of organized crime in the city; he and Coughlin were known as the "[[Lords of the Levee]]" after the [[The Levee, Chicago|Levee]] vice district in the 1st ward which provided them with the financial and political support of sex workers, pimps, tavern owners, and gamblers in exchange for protection from law enforcement. |
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In addition to being an alderman, Kenna ran a [[Bar (establishment)|saloon]], The Workingman's Exchange, located on [[Clark Street (Chicago)|Clark Street]]. Kenna doled out meals to the indigent in exchange for votes.<ref>{{cite book | last = Abbott | first = Karen | authorlink = Karen Abbott | title = Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul | publisher = Random House | year = 2007 | location = New York, NY | page = 58 | isbn = 978-1-4000-6530-1}}</ref> |
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==Early life== |
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Kenna and his partner, fellow First Ward alderman [[John Coughlin (alderman)|"Bathhouse" John Coughlin]], were known as the "[[Lords of the Levee]]", [[The Levee, Chicago|a district]] included in their ward which provided them with the support of prostitutes, pimps, tavern-owners and gamblers. |
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Michael Kenna was born in the late 1850's{{efn|name="dob"}} to Catherine ({{nee}} Ferrel) and John Kenna, both natives of [[County Cork]].<ref name="deathcert"/> He was born at the corner of Polk and Sholto (modern-day Carpenter) streets at the edge of "Connelly's Patch" on Chicago's [[Near West Side, Chicago|Near West Side]].{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=73|ps=none}} At age 10 he left school and began selling newspapers.<ref name="rites">{{cite news | title = Rites Saturday for Hinky Dink, An Era's Symbol |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371557942/ |url-access=subscription |accessdate=July 21, 2019 |newspaper = Chicago Tribune |volume=105 |issue=243 |page=4 |date = October 10, 1946 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>{{sfn|Abbott|p=58|ps=none}} At age 12, by then an orphan,<ref name="Tribune 95">{{cite news |title="Hinky Dink" is in it |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/355232640/ |accessdate=April 18, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |location=Chicago, IL |volume=54 |issue=26 |page=6 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com |date=January 26, 1895}}</ref> he borrowed $50{{efn|${{Inflation|US|50|1870|2018|fmt=c|r=-3}} in 2018}} from a barkeeper and purchased a [[newsstand]] at the corner of Monroe Street and Dearborn Street. He was so successful that he was able to pay back the loan within a month, and would sell newspapers at the stand until 1877.<ref name="Tribune '23"/> According to legend, it was at this time that Kenna got the nickname "Hinky Dink" from ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' publisher [[Joseph Medill]] due to his small stature;{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan||p=73|ps=none}} as an adult he stood {{convert|5|ft|4|in|cm}} tall.{{efn|Abbott<ref>p. 58</ref> gives a height of {{convert|5|ft|1|in|cm}}.}}<ref name="Life">{{cite news |title=The Passing of Hinky Dink |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iU0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA53#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-access=limited |accessdate=August 9, 2019 |work=LIFE Magazine |page=53 |date=October 28, 1946}}</ref> Kenna variously professed ignorance of the nickname's origin<ref name="Tribune 95"/> or claimed that it arose at "th' old swimming hole."{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=74|ps=none}} He was also known as "the little fellow".<ref name="Life"/>{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan||p=346|ps=none}} In 1879 he moved to [[Leadville, Colorado]] to work for a newspaper in the area, returning to Chicago in 1881.<ref name="Tribune 95"/> |
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==Political career== |
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Kenna and associate [[John Coughlin (alderman)|John Coughlin]] served as the bosses of the 1st ward for almost half a century. Coughlin, who had in his early life served as a bathhouse masseur, was popularly known as "Bathhouse John" or "The Bath". Coughlin was the public face of the machine while Kenna would work in the background.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=217|ps=none}} |
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Corruption was not uncommon in late 19th-century Chicago; aldermen would charge for licenses and infrastructural projects within their wards, a practice known as "boodling". A group of aldermen known as the "[[Gray Wolves (Chicago)|Gray Wolves]]" were particularly infamous for their propensities towards boodling. They were regularly decried by reformers, among them Kenna and Coughlin in particular. Supporters of the pair fought back, claiming among other things that Kenna and Coughlin were unfairly targeted by the reformers and dutifully reelected by their constituents every election cycle.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=326|ps=none}} |
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===1st ward=== |
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Chicago had grown rapidly in the 19th century. Upon its incorporation as a city in 1837 it was divided into six wards which each elected two aldermen and one of which was the 1st. Chicago had a reputation of bad morals in the late 19th century and central to it was the 1st ward, home to a teeming vice district.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=11|ps=none}} At the time of Kenna's ascendancy the vice elements of the 1st ward and throughout the city were protected by "King Mike" McDonald, who had lived in the city since the late 1850's and controlled its gambling since shortly thereafter, and was credited with first saying "[[there's a sucker born every minute]]."{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=27|ps=none}} However, by 1890, his reign began to end and a power vacuum started developing.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|pp=27–28|ps=none}} |
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===Early career=== |
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Upon his return to Chicago{{sfn|Sawyers|p=141|ps=none}} Kenna opened a saloon on [[Clark Street (Chicago)|Clark Street]] known as The Workingman's Exchange where he doled out meals to the indigent in exchange for votes.{{sfn|Abbott|p=58|ps=none}} Above the Workingman's Exchange was the Alaska Hotel, which could provide space for 300 men, up to 600 during elections.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=170|ps=none}} By 1882 his saloon was a success and he was a fixture in the 1st ward Democratic organization under Chesterfield Joe Mackin; his work in securing [[Grover Cleveland]]'s victory in the [[1884 United States presidential election|1884 election]] led Mackin to make him captain of his precinct immediately prior to being imprisoned for fraud related to that election.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=75|ps=none}} It was at this time that Kenna first encountered Coughlin, although the two would not become close friends for a while.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=75|ps=none}} When Coughlin was first elected as alderman in 1892, Kenna helped the campaign as he normally would but did not make any extra effort.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=76|ps=none}} When [[Carter Harrison Sr.|Carter Harrison]] ran for mayor in 1893 Kenna was to quick to support him while Coughlin was one of the last holdouts, straining relations between the two.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=76|ps=none}} However, Harrison's betrayal of Kenna by prosecuting him for gambling just like others in the 1st ward,{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=76|ps=none}} as well as the rise of the detested rival Billy Skakel, led Kenna to reconsider an alliance with Coughlin as McDonald's influence started to wane.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=77|ps=none}} In 1893, Kenna proposed an alliance which Coughlin readily accepted.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=77|ps=none}} |
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Kenna started the new organization by proposing that a defense fund be organized from protection money from brothel keepers and gamblers to legally defend members of the organization who got into trouble.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=79|ps=none}} From such fund two lawyers would be retained at $10,000{{efn|${{Inflation|US|10000|1893|2018|fmt=c|r=-4}} in 2018}} a year to represent organization members; Kenna and Coughlin themselves paid the initial $10,000.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=79|ps=none}} The future judge John R. Caverly, who would later preside over the trials of [[Leopold and Loeb]],<ref name="Caverly">{{cite web |last1=Linder |first1=Douglas O. |title=Judge John R. Caverly |url=https://famous-trials.com/leopoldandloeb/1664-caverly |website=Famous-Trials.com |accessdate=August 19, 2019}}</ref> received his first fees from this fund.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=79|ps=none}} Kenna is noted as a member of the [[Cook County Democratic Party]] Central Committee for the 1st ward as of December 21, 1893, serving alongside John P. Leindecker.<ref name="Eagle committee">{{cite news |title=The New Democratic Committee |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/339077530/ |url-access=subscription |accessdate=April 27, 2019 |work=Chicago Eagle |volume=9 |issue=220 |page=4 |date=December 23, 1893 }}</ref> |
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An early example of Kenna's organizational prowess was the 1894 aldermanic election. Coughlin was unanimously nominated as the Democratic nominee{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=97|ps=none}} in what [[Lloyd Wendt]] and [[Herman Kogan]] would later call "the briefest political convention in Chicago's history"<ref>p. 97</ref> and was reported by the ''Chicago Herald'' as lasting "only a few minutes as the delegates were in a hurry to get away to attend a prize fight."{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=98|ps=none}} However, rival Billy Skakel, who specialized in offering and soliciting gambling on fraudulent stock quotations and hated Coughlin for allowing local Prince Hal Varnell to cut into his turf,{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=98|ps=none}} formed his own Independent Democratic Party.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=99|ps=none}} Working with Sol van Praag, who had ambitions of his own to rule the 1st ward,{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=98|ps=none}} he ran as a rival to Coughlin for the race and was endorsed by such publications as ''Mixed Drinks: The Saloon Keepers' Journal''.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=99|ps=none}} Fearing for his career despite Kenna's insistence that he would win, Coughlin visited Mayor [[John Patrick Hopkins]], who unsuccessfully asked Skakel to withdraw from the race.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=100|ps=none}} Coughlin then presented a petition to get Skakel's name removed from the ballot,{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=100|ps=none}} which was initially accepted by the election board but would later be overturned by a local judge and backfire on Coughlin.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=101|ps=none}} Nevertheless, Kenna reassured Coughlin of victory{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=101|ps=none}} and used his organizational skills to bribe the homeless with fifty cents,{{efn|${{Inflation|US|0.5|1894|2018}} in 2018}} as much food as desired, and a place to stay for each voter.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=102|ps=none}} Kenna also suggested that Coughlin visit Hopkins once again and remind him of how the duo had helped him avoid scandal in a gas-boodling concern.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=103|ps=none}} After Hopkins once again pled with Skakel to withdraw to no avail, he ordered the police department in the 1st ward to detain any Skakel supporters seen and to close any saloons supporting Skakel immediately at midnight.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=103|ps=none}} Kenna also recruited members of the notorious Quincy Street gang to protect any voters of Coughlin, noting that the police would ignore any tactics used to that effect; in such efforts he preceded van Praag, who had had a similar idea, by a few hours.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=104|ps=none}} Coughlin would win the election with 2,671 votes while independent Republican J. Irving Pearce received 1,261 and Skakel received 1,046.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=107|ps=none}} The tactics used in the election received much scorn in the press,{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=103|ps=none}} with the ''Chicago Tribune'' writing that "Bathhouse John's election was secured by methods which would have disgraced even the worst river parishes of Louisiana,"{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=108|ps=none}} but neither Coughlin nor Kenna cared about such reception.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=108|ps=none}} |
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Van Praag and Skakel would get revenge when Kenna ran for alderman in 1895. Prior to the election, the City Council had passed an ordinance granting the dubious Ogden Gas Company the rights to [[Manufactured gas|manufacture]], distribute, and sell gas for 50 years.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=119|ps=none}} This proved an outrage to Chicagoans and would prove a disaster to the local Democratic party{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=120|ps=none}} and especially Kenna's aldermanic aspirations.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=121|ps=none}} Irked about 1894,{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=122|ps=none}} van Praag and Skakel backed Republican candidate Francis P. Gleason in the race,{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=121|ps=none}} and a few days before the election Kenna found much of his vote-getting money having been spent to get the Ogden Gas ordinance passed while van Praag had much money of his own.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=122|ps=none}} Kenna ended up losing to Gleason by 366 votes.<ref name="1895 results">{{cite news |title=Vote on Aldermen in the Wards |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/349485242/ |url-access=subscription |accessdate=April 27, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |volume=54 |issue=96 |page=6 |date=April 6, 1895}}</ref> The papers rejoiced in his defeat, with the ''Chicago Tribune'' writing him the following poem: |
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{{Quote|"I t'ink"<br/> Said Hink- <br/> Y Dink, <br/> "I'll take a drink."{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=122|ps=none}}}} |
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It was found after the election that van Praag and Skakel had aided Gleason by giving the local GOP the names and addresses of hundreds of Kenna's registered voters, some of whom were deceased.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=123|ps=none}} |
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The 1895 elections had produced a Republican mayor and a Republican majority in the City Council,{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=125|ps=none}} both of whom [[Charles Tyson Yerkes]] would fight in his efforts to construct the Loop during the [[Chicago Traction Wars]].{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=126|ps=none}} Kenna, recouping his forces in preparation for the 1897 race, saw that Coughlin could be of great use for Yerkes, and arranged for an alliance between him and rival 19th ward alderman [[John Powers (alderman)|John Powers]].{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=125|ps=none}} However, Powers had betrayed Coughlin by December, collaborating with Yerkes and the Republican majority to the exclusion of Coughlin and introducing most of Yerkes's ordinances which by custom should have been introduced by Coughlin.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=136|ps=none}} Coughlin and Kenna took their revenge on Powers by defeating his bid for the chair of the [[Cook County Democratic Party]] Central Committee in favor of [[free silver]]ite Tommy Gahan.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|pp=136–137|ps=none}} |
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Kenna successfully entered the City Council in 1897. That same year [[Carter Harrison Jr.]] would be elected mayor in large part due to Kenna's organizational skills in the 1st ward.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=164|ps=none}} Kenna repeated his tactics of paying the homeless for votes, much to the horror of the Republican-dominated Special Committee for the Detection and Prevention of Vote Frauds.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=164|ps=none}} Despite the best efforts of Republican Congressman [[William Lorimer (politician)|William Lorimer]] to arrest those of dubious voter credentials,{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=166|ps=none}} Kenna continued to attract homeless voters from other parts of the city.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=167|ps=none}} The Saturday before the election Harry G. Darrow, the proprietor of the new saloon The Bon Ton, issued an invitation for its grand opening, claiming that Kenna, Coughlin, and Harrison would be present.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|pp=167–168|ps=none}} Coughlin came and socialized with the guests but Kenna and Harrison refused to come.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=168|ps=none}} Nevertheless, Kenna openly displayed his gambling affiliation in response to a condemnation to that effect by the reform-minded Municipal Voters' League (MVL), stating "Sure, I associate with gamblers. Why shouldn't I? I like a good game myself."{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=169|ps=none}} Kenna defeated Gleason by 4,373 votes to 1,811{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=169|ps=none}} and took office on April 19.<ref name="1897 date">{{cite news |title=First Night of the New Council |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/34183529/ |url-access=subscription |accessdate=July 25, 2019 |work=The Daily Inter Ocean |volume=26 |issue=28 |page=6 |date=April 21, 1897 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> |
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Immediately upon assumption of office as a reward for his work for Harrison he was made Chairman of the Police committee, and was a member of the committees of Railroads; Gas, Oil, and Electricity; the Water Department; Elections; and Markets, which were considered among the best committees of the Council.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=173|ps=none}} Kenna made his introduction to the Council by quietly introducing an order for an ambulance division in the police department.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=174|ps=none}} |
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===Influence and notoriety=== |
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After his election to the City Council Kenna's organizational prowess became known nationwide, to the extent that Tammany Hall boss [[Richard Croker]] asked his help to get [[Robert Van Wyck]] elected as the Mayor of the new [[City of Greater New York]]. He succeeded, and Van Wyck won with a plurality of 86,000 votes.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=180|ps=none}} |
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In 1901 he and four other saloonkeepers were arrested for violating ordinances regarding saloon hours.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=235|ps=none}} The arrest came after deputy state health inspector Jacob Ball investigated the saloons in the 1st ward and found almost 1,000 homeless people lodged in 18 saloons.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|pp=234–235|ps=none}} The prosecutor in the case, Thomas F. Scully, was unprepared to prosecute the case and Kenna was acquitted by the jury, leading to Scully's suspension for thirty days.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=235|ps=none}} A 1902 editorial on Coughlin referred to his "sole claim to even political strength [as] rest[ing] on his being a parasitical partner" of Kenna.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=236|ps=none}} |
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In the [[1911 Chicago mayoral election]] Kenna backed Harrison, allowing him to get the Democratic nomination.<ref name="Tribune '23">{{cite news |title=Kenna quitting Council to "Give John a chance" |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/354949792/ |url-access=subscription |accessdate=May 21, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |volume=82 |issue=16 |page=10 |date=January 18, 1923 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Things would turn out differently in [[1915 Chicago mayoral election|1915]]. Scandal had befallen the duo with an exposé on the exploits of the Levee, leading to county judge John Owens's insisting that Kenna and Coughlin be ejected from the Democratic committee.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=322|ps=none}} Harrison acquiesced to these demands, declaring that Kenna's and Coughlin's careers were finished unless they towed the line and supported his entire slate of candidates, including Owens.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=323|ps=none}} Angry about this turn of events,{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=323|ps=none}} the two joined the Democratic chieftain Roger Sullivan in leading a rebellion against Harrison that several other Democrats would join, including Powers and the nascent [[Anton Cermak]].{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=324|ps=none}} In that same election he selected Scully as the candidate for county judge against Owens despite several red light district leaders supporting the latter, and successfully worked hard to get him elected.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|pp=324–325|ps=none}} Harrison was defeated in the mayoral primary by the Sullivan-backed candidate Robert M. Sweitzer,{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=325|ps=none}} who lost the general election to [[William Hale Thompson]], an avowed enemy of the duo.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=327|ps=none}} |
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===Lord of the Levee=== |
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[[File:Lords of the levee.jpg|thumb|A 1916 cartoon from the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' depicting Coughlin (left) and Kenna (right)]] |
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Coughlin and Kenna were also known for hosting the [[First Ward Ball]], an annual fundraiser which brought together gangsters, safecrackers, prostitutes, politicians, businessmen, gamblers, and other types as well. The event raised more than $50,000 a year for the two men until it was closed down in 1909 by Mayor [[Fred Busse]]. By the time it was banned, the ball was so large that it had to be held in the [[Chicago Coliseum]], the city's major convention center. Besides its notoriety in attracting many unsavory characters it often ended with the police having to curb disorderly conduct bordering on rioting. |
Coughlin and Kenna were also known for hosting the [[First Ward Ball]], an annual fundraiser which brought together gangsters, safecrackers, prostitutes, politicians, businessmen, gamblers, and other types as well. The event raised more than $50,000 a year for the two men until it was closed down in 1909 by Mayor [[Fred Busse]]. By the time it was banned, the ball was so large that it had to be held in the [[Chicago Coliseum]], the city's major convention center. Besides its notoriety in attracting many unsavory characters it often ended with the police having to curb disorderly conduct bordering on rioting. |
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Upon his election as mayor in 1915, Thompson opened up the city to vice and liquor.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=328|ps=none}} However, it was under his orders and the duo's rule over the ward remained insecure.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=328|ps=none}} In particular protege [[Big Jim Colosimo]] started to surpass Coughlin and Kenna and would soon take over representing the interests of vice.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=329|ps=none}} Within the ward the two were nevertheless safe as Thompson refused to challenge them directly, Colosimo remained on good enough terms with them, and the relief of vice obligations allowed them to concentrate on other matters.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=330|ps=none}} |
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In 1923, the number of aldermen per ward was lowered from two to one, and Kenna stepped aside to become a Ward Committeeman, leaving the alderman's position of the First Ward to his partner. Aldermen were elected by their constituents and were paid a salary while Committeeman were elected by precinct captains and were paid from the coffers of their political party. Hinky Dink remained First Ward Committeeman until his death from myocarditis and diabetes at age 89 on October 9, 1946.<ref name="rites" /> |
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===Prohibition=== |
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Although he left his heirs an estate worth over one million dollars, and an additional thirty-three thousand dollars to be used to erect a mausoleum for his remains to repose in, his heirs took all of the money and bought him an eighty-five dollar tombstone instead. |
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After Prohibition was enacted The Workingman's Exchange had to close and Kenna ran a candy, sandwich, and cigar store in its place.{{sfn|Sawyers|p=141|ps=none}} In 1923 the [[Illinois General Assembly]] reduced the number of aldermen per ward from two to one, and Kenna, who never cared much for Council meetings,{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=345|ps=none}} stepped aside to leave the alderman's position of the 1st ward to Coughlin.<ref name="Tribune '23"/> Coughlin would find that the legislation increased his voting power in the council, while Kenna stated that he was content in his cigar store, where he hung up pictures of friends and prominent figures in the 1st ward.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=345|ps=none}} |
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The power of the duo began to diminish in the 1920s as mobsters such as [[Johnny Torrio]] and [[Al Capone]] began to take control of the ward.{{sfn|Sawyers|p=141|ps=none}} Capone, who had originally worked for Torrio, would fight his way to the top of the vice scene in the area, and throughout the city.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|pp=343–344|ps=none}} Capone had no need for the two and could have removed them from politics if he wanted.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=344|ps=none}} However, Capone took a liking to them, having noticed their previous loyalty to both Colosimo and Torrio.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|pp=344–345|ps=none}} This increased the stature of the pair as Capone had prestige in the politics of the time, and Kenna had a position in the Cook County Democratic Party equal to Cermak, who was the president of the [[Cook County Board of Commissioners]] and known as the "Mayor of Cook County".{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=345|ps=none}} |
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Cermak was elected mayor in [[1931 Chicago mayoral election|1931]], and given that Capone had recently been convicted for tax evasion the duo hoped that from their ardent support of him they could regain lost glory.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|pp=350–351|ps=none}} However, Cermak turned out to spurn the old style of urban feudalism that had characterized their reign.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|pp=350–351|ps=none}} Throughout the 1930s the new Democratic organization gave committemen new powers but also subordinated them to the machine.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|pp=352–353|ps=none}} It limited Coughlin's voting power such that the MVL insisted that he had mellowed his record, to which Coughlin responded with indignation and Kenna jocularly suggested that Coughlin sue them.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=353|ps=none}} In the later years of Coughlin's life Kenna prevented some of the younger members of the 1st ward organization from attempting to take Coughlin's aldermanic seat before his death.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=353|ps=none}} |
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===Return to City Council and later years=== |
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Coughlin died of pneumonia on November 11, 1938. Kenna was elected unopposed to fill his vacancy in the following year's [[1939 Chicago aldermanic election|aldermanic election]].<ref name="Tribune 1939">{{cite news |title=Arvey and Kenna assured seats in City Council |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/370446663 |accessdate=April 19, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |volume=98 |issue=34 |page=2 |date=February 9, 1939 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Coughlin's death had caused a surge of factionalism within the 1st ward, and Kenna was thought to be the best candidate to ensure peace.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|pp=356–357|ps=none}} Rich and aging, he had no desire to return to the City Council but was assured that his involvement would be minimal.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=357|ps=none}} Three opponents initially tried to contest him, but all had withdrawn by February 9.<ref name="Tribune 1939"/> |
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He received a special ovation at the inaugural ceremony of the new Council on April 12.<ref name="Inauguration">{{cite news |last1=Kinsley |first1=Philip |title=Pull Together! Kelly urges in inaugural talk |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/369851930/ |accessdate=April 19, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |volume=98 |issue=88 |page=1 |date=April 13, 1939 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription}}</ref> He rarely spoke at Council meetings and would soon stop coming altogether, sending his orders of the Council via his secretary Joe Clark.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=357|ps=none}} At that point Kenna was a figurehead, being present for name value and with power being held by others within the 1st ward.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=357|ps=none}} |
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Kenna declined reelection to the Council in 1943. Two candidates appeared to take his seat. John Budinger had previously been alderman of the then-4th ward from 1910 to 1912 and a County Commissioner, and had the backing of the Democratic organization.<ref name="Smith">{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Harold |title=Vote Tuesday on bitter ward fights |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/195826370/ |url-access=subscription |accessdate=August 18, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |issue=Part 3 |page=1 |date=February 21, 1943 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> James McVittie was the owner of an electroplating business and had the endorsements of the Business Men's Committee and Better Government Association.<ref name="Smith"/> The contest was particularly aggressive;<ref name="Smith"/> both candidates' petitions were contested in court,<ref name="Petitions contested">{{cite news |title=57 candidates for alderman are challenged |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/372828388/ |url-access=subscription |accessdate=June 4, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |volume=102 |issue=22 |page=3 |date=January 26, 1943 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and McVittie accused Budinger of being falsely registered as a 1st ward voter and actually living in [[Woodlawn, Chicago|Woodlawn]], with the Business Men's Committee threatening to challenge Budinger if he attempted to vote in the 1st ward.<ref name="Smith"/> Budinger overwhelmingly won the election in the first round with what McVittie's supporters claimed were illegal and illegitimate tactics such as voter intimidation<ref name="1943 aftermath">{{cite news |last1=Doherty |first1=James |title=Charge threats and intimidation win in first ward |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371386419/ |url-access=subscription |accessdate=August 18, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |volume=102 |issue=47 |page=3 |date=February 24, 1943 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and took office April 9.<ref>{{cite news |title=New City Council |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/372045300/ |url-access=subscription |accessdate=August 18, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |volume=102 |issue=83 |page=2 |date=April 7, 1943 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> |
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Kenna stepped down as 1st ward committeeman in 1944. He endorsed Fred M. Morelli as his successor,<ref name="Morelli endorsement">{{cite news |last1=Tagge |first1=George |title=Orlikoski Pushed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/369881328/ |url-access=subscription |accessdate=June 4, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |volume=103 |issue=40 |page=11 |date=February 16, 1944 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and Morelli would be unopposed to succeed him as Democratic leader of the ward.<ref name="Morelli">{{cite news |last1=Schreiber |first1=Edward |title=Ward battles, like flowers, have odor, too |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/372296233/ |url-access=subscription |accessdate=June 4, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |volume=103 |issue=10 Part 3 |page=2 |date=March 5, 1944 |via=Newspapers.com |quote=Fred M. Morelli is unopposed to succeed the aged Michael [Hinky Dink] Kenna as Democratic ward ruler.}}</ref> |
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In 1943 [[Lloyd Wendt]] and [[Herman Kogan]] released the book ''[[Lords of the Levee]]'', which concerns Coughlin and Kenna's exploits. During the research for the book the pair interviewed Kenna and relatives of Coughlin.<ref name="Levee Lord">{{cite news |last1=Shinnick |first1=William |title=Lusty Chicago comes to Life Again in Absorbing Biography |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/372839372 |url-access=subscription|issue=Blue Ribbon Fiction 14|page=13 |accessdate=May 21, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=January 31, 1943 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> |
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==Personal life and death== |
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Kenna was a [[teetotaler]].{{sfn|Sawyers|p=141|ps=none}} |
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In his later years Kenna lived in hotels in the Loop.{{sfn|Sawyers|p=142|ps=none}} He died on October 9, 1946, at [[the Blackstone Hotel]] of diabetes and [[myocarditis]].<ref name="rites"/> |
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===Probate issues=== |
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In contrast to the penniless Coughlin, Kenna was a millionaire at the time of his death. His heirs fought over his estate. Although Kenna left his heirs an estate worth over $1 million,{{efn|${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|1000000|1946|2018|r=-6}}}} in 2018}} and an additional $33,000{{efn|${{Inflation|US|33000|1946|2018|r=-5|fmt=c}} in 2018}} to be used to erect a mausoleum for his remains to repose in, his heirs took all of the money and bought him an $85{{efn|${{Inflation|US|85|1946|2018|r=-2|fmt=c}} in 2018}} tombstone instead.<ref name="NBC Chicago"/> |
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==Legacy== |
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A 2012 retrospective by NBC News Chicago ranked Coughlin and Kenna as the 3rd and 4th most corrupt public officials in Illinois history, behind Thompson and Illinois Secretary of State [[Paul Powell (politician)|Paul Powell]].<ref name="NBC Chicago">{{cite web |last1=McClelland |first1=Edward |title=The 12 Most Corrupt Public Officials in Illinois History: The Complete List |url=https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/The-12-Most-Corrupt-Public-Officials-in-Illinois-History-The-Complete-List-138128988.html |website=NBC Chicago |accessdate=March 17, 2019}}</ref> |
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David K. Fremon argues in his book ''Chicago Politics Ward by Ward'' that while Coughlin and Kenna "are generally viewed as living cartoon characters[,]... both were astute men in their time. Were they to appear today [in 1988], they would probably have made their fortunes through law, insurance, or real estate[.]"<ref>p. 25</ref> |
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The last surviving link to Coughlin and Kenna was Anthony C. Laurino, who served as an assistant precinct captain under their tutelage{{sfn|Fremon|p=254|ps=none}} and would later serve as alderman of the 39th ward from 1965 to 1994, dying in 1999. |
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===Subsequent history of the 1st ward=== |
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It was thought that after Kenna stepped down the 1st ward would be moved south and the Loop would be divided across multiple wards.{{sfn|Wendt|Kogan|p=358|ps=none}} Upon redistricting in 1948, the 1st ward was combined with the erstwhile "Bloody 20th" across the [[Chicago River]]'s south branch.<ref name="1st ward redistrict"/> The 1st ward committeemen of both parties resigned in favor of their counterparts of the old 20th ward, largely due to the fact that the old 20th could have outvoted the old 1st.<ref name="1st ward redistrict">{{cite news |last1=Gentry |first1=Guy |title=Hot contests expected for jobs in wards |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/195810398/ |url-access=subscription |accessdate=June 4, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune |issue=Part 3 |page=2 |date=January 18, 1948 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1991 allies of Mayor [[Richard M. Daley]] proposed a new redistricting map that renumbered much of the 1st ward as the 42nd ward at the request of businesses in the area, who felt that the 1st ward had gained too much of a negative connotation. The 1st ward itself was moved to [[West Town, Chicago|West Town]], where it remains to this day. {{As of|2019}} the 42nd ward alderman is [[Brendan Reilly (politician)|Brendan Reilly]] and the 1st ward alderman is [[Daniel La Spata]]. |
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==See also== |
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*[[List of Chicago aldermen since 1923]] |
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==Notes== |
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{{notelist}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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== |
==Bibliography== |
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*{{cite book | last = Abbott | first = Karen | authorlink = Karen Abbott | title = Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul | publisher = Random House | year = 2007 | location = New York, NY |ref={{harvid|Abbott}} | isbn = 978-1-4000-6530-1}} |
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*{{Find a Grave|34306771}} |
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*{{cite book |last=Fremon |first=David K. |title=Chicago Politics Ward by Ward |date=1988 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington, Indiana and Indianapolis, Indiana |ref={{harvid|Fremon}} |isbn=0-253-31344-9}} |
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*{{cite book |last=Sawyers |first=June Skinner |title=Chicago Portraits: Biographies of 250 Famous Chicagoans |date=1991 |publisher=Loyola University Press |location=Chicago, Illinois |ref={{harvid|Sawyers}} |isbn=0-8294-0700-6}} |
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*{{cite book | last = Wendt | first = Lloyd | authorlink = Lloyd Wendt | last2=Kogan | first2=Herman |authorlink2 = Herman Kogan | title = Bosses in Lusty Chicago (a.k.a. [[Lords of the Levee]]) | publisher = Indiana University Press |ref={{harvid|Wendt|Kogan}} | year = 1971 | isbn = 0-253-20109-8}} |
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{{s-start}} |
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{{s-off}} |
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{{s-bef | before = Francis P. Gleason}} |
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{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[Chicago City Council]]<br>1st Ward |
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|years=1897{{spaced ndash}}1923|alongside=[[John Coughlin (alderman)|John Coughlin]]}} |
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{{s-aft|after = [[John Coughlin (alderman)|John Coughlin]]}} |
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{{s-vac|last=[[John Coughlin (alderman)|John Coughlin]]}} |
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{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[Chicago City Council]]<br>1st Ward |
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|years=1939{{spaced ndash}}1943}} |
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{{s-aft|after = John Budinger}} |
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{{s-end}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
{{Authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenna, Michael}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenna, Michael}} |
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[[Category:1857 births]] |
[[Category:1857 births]] |
Revision as of 01:14, 19 September 2019
Michael Kenna | |
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Alderman of the Chicago City Council | |
In office April 12, 1939 – April 9, 1943 | |
Preceded by | Vacant, previously John Coughlin |
Succeeded by | John Budinger |
Constituency | 1st ward |
In office April 19, 1897 – April 16, 1923 Serving with John Coughlin | |
Preceded by | Francis P. Gleason |
Succeeded by | John Coughlin |
Constituency | 1st ward |
Member of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee | |
In office December 21, 1893 – April 1944 Serving with John P. Leindecker (1893 – 1895) John Coughlin (after 1895) | |
Succeeded by | Joe Clark |
Constituency | 1st ward |
Personal details | |
Born | August 20, 1857[a] Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Died | October 9, 1946 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | (aged 88–89)
Political party | Democratic |
Michael Kenna (August 20, 1857[a] – October 9, 1946), 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 Democratic party committeeman of the 1st ward 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.
A part of 1st ward politics for more than 60 years, Kenna possessed great influence on the municipal affairs of Chicago, being able to make or break the prospects of Democratic candidates for the mayoralty. Possessing such influence despite his short stature and unassuming presence, he and Coughlin constructed a political machine that would last for the better part of the 20th century. In large part with Kenna's help Coughlin would serve as alderman of the ward for 46 years, a citywide record that would stand for nine decades.
Kenna was notoriously corrupt; he, Coughlin, and several other aldermen led what was known as the "Gray Wolves", a group that attracted much scorn from reformers and was infamous across the nation and globe. Of particular note were his tactics involving bribing homeless people to vote as desired and performing voter fraud for his candidates. He was also intimate with several figures of organized crime in the city; he and Coughlin were known as the "Lords of the Levee" after the Levee vice district in the 1st ward which provided them with the financial and political support of sex workers, pimps, tavern owners, and gamblers in exchange for protection from law enforcement.
Early life
Michael Kenna was born in the late 1850's[a] to Catherine (née Ferrel) and John Kenna, both natives of County Cork.[3] He was born at the corner of Polk and Sholto (modern-day Carpenter) streets at the edge of "Connelly's Patch" on Chicago's Near West Side.[6] At age 10 he left school and began selling newspapers.[2][7] At age 12, by then an orphan,[8] he borrowed $50[b] from a barkeeper and purchased a newsstand at the corner of Monroe Street and Dearborn Street. He was so successful that he was able to pay back the loan within a month, and would sell newspapers at the stand until 1877.[9] According to legend, it was at this time that Kenna got the nickname "Hinky Dink" from Chicago Tribune publisher Joseph Medill due to his small stature;[6] as an adult he stood 5 feet 4 inches (163 cm) tall.[c][11] Kenna variously professed ignorance of the nickname's origin[8] or claimed that it arose at "th' old swimming hole."[12] He was also known as "the little fellow".[11][13] In 1879 he moved to Leadville, Colorado to work for a newspaper in the area, returning to Chicago in 1881.[8]
Political career
Kenna and associate John Coughlin served as the bosses of the 1st ward for almost half a century. Coughlin, who had in his early life served as a bathhouse masseur, was popularly known as "Bathhouse John" or "The Bath". Coughlin was the public face of the machine while Kenna would work in the background.[14]
Corruption was not uncommon in late 19th-century Chicago; aldermen would charge for licenses and infrastructural projects within their wards, a practice known as "boodling". A group of aldermen known as the "Gray Wolves" were particularly infamous for their propensities towards boodling. They were regularly decried by reformers, among them Kenna and Coughlin in particular. Supporters of the pair fought back, claiming among other things that Kenna and Coughlin were unfairly targeted by the reformers and dutifully reelected by their constituents every election cycle.[15]
1st ward
Chicago had grown rapidly in the 19th century. Upon its incorporation as a city in 1837 it was divided into six wards which each elected two aldermen and one of which was the 1st. Chicago had a reputation of bad morals in the late 19th century and central to it was the 1st ward, home to a teeming vice district.[16] At the time of Kenna's ascendancy the vice elements of the 1st ward and throughout the city were protected by "King Mike" McDonald, who had lived in the city since the late 1850's and controlled its gambling since shortly thereafter, and was credited with first saying "there's a sucker born every minute."[17] However, by 1890, his reign began to end and a power vacuum started developing.[18]
Early career
Upon his return to Chicago[19] Kenna opened a saloon on Clark Street known as The Workingman's Exchange where he doled out meals to the indigent in exchange for votes.[7] Above the Workingman's Exchange was the Alaska Hotel, which could provide space for 300 men, up to 600 during elections.[20] By 1882 his saloon was a success and he was a fixture in the 1st ward Democratic organization under Chesterfield Joe Mackin; his work in securing Grover Cleveland's victory in the 1884 election led Mackin to make him captain of his precinct immediately prior to being imprisoned for fraud related to that election.[21] It was at this time that Kenna first encountered Coughlin, although the two would not become close friends for a while.[21] When Coughlin was first elected as alderman in 1892, Kenna helped the campaign as he normally would but did not make any extra effort.[22] When Carter Harrison ran for mayor in 1893 Kenna was to quick to support him while Coughlin was one of the last holdouts, straining relations between the two.[22] However, Harrison's betrayal of Kenna by prosecuting him for gambling just like others in the 1st ward,[22] as well as the rise of the detested rival Billy Skakel, led Kenna to reconsider an alliance with Coughlin as McDonald's influence started to wane.[23] In 1893, Kenna proposed an alliance which Coughlin readily accepted.[23]
Kenna started the new organization by proposing that a defense fund be organized from protection money from brothel keepers and gamblers to legally defend members of the organization who got into trouble.[24] From such fund two lawyers would be retained at $10,000[d] a year to represent organization members; Kenna and Coughlin themselves paid the initial $10,000.[24] The future judge John R. Caverly, who would later preside over the trials of Leopold and Loeb,[25] received his first fees from this fund.[24] Kenna is noted as a member of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee for the 1st ward as of December 21, 1893, serving alongside John P. Leindecker.[26]
An early example of Kenna's organizational prowess was the 1894 aldermanic election. Coughlin was unanimously nominated as the Democratic nominee[27] in what Lloyd Wendt and Herman Kogan would later call "the briefest political convention in Chicago's history"[28] and was reported by the Chicago Herald as lasting "only a few minutes as the delegates were in a hurry to get away to attend a prize fight."[29] However, rival Billy Skakel, who specialized in offering and soliciting gambling on fraudulent stock quotations and hated Coughlin for allowing local Prince Hal Varnell to cut into his turf,[29] formed his own Independent Democratic Party.[30] Working with Sol van Praag, who had ambitions of his own to rule the 1st ward,[29] he ran as a rival to Coughlin for the race and was endorsed by such publications as Mixed Drinks: The Saloon Keepers' Journal.[30] Fearing for his career despite Kenna's insistence that he would win, Coughlin visited Mayor John Patrick Hopkins, who unsuccessfully asked Skakel to withdraw from the race.[31] Coughlin then presented a petition to get Skakel's name removed from the ballot,[31] which was initially accepted by the election board but would later be overturned by a local judge and backfire on Coughlin.[32] Nevertheless, Kenna reassured Coughlin of victory[32] and used his organizational skills to bribe the homeless with fifty cents,[e] as much food as desired, and a place to stay for each voter.[33] Kenna also suggested that Coughlin visit Hopkins once again and remind him of how the duo had helped him avoid scandal in a gas-boodling concern.[34] After Hopkins once again pled with Skakel to withdraw to no avail, he ordered the police department in the 1st ward to detain any Skakel supporters seen and to close any saloons supporting Skakel immediately at midnight.[34] Kenna also recruited members of the notorious Quincy Street gang to protect any voters of Coughlin, noting that the police would ignore any tactics used to that effect; in such efforts he preceded van Praag, who had had a similar idea, by a few hours.[35] Coughlin would win the election with 2,671 votes while independent Republican J. Irving Pearce received 1,261 and Skakel received 1,046.[36] The tactics used in the election received much scorn in the press,[34] with the Chicago Tribune writing that "Bathhouse John's election was secured by methods which would have disgraced even the worst river parishes of Louisiana,"[37] but neither Coughlin nor Kenna cared about such reception.[37]
Van Praag and Skakel would get revenge when Kenna ran for alderman in 1895. Prior to the election, the City Council had passed an ordinance granting the dubious Ogden Gas Company the rights to manufacture, distribute, and sell gas for 50 years.[38] This proved an outrage to Chicagoans and would prove a disaster to the local Democratic party[39] and especially Kenna's aldermanic aspirations.[40] Irked about 1894,[41] van Praag and Skakel backed Republican candidate Francis P. Gleason in the race,[40] and a few days before the election Kenna found much of his vote-getting money having been spent to get the Ogden Gas ordinance passed while van Praag had much money of his own.[41] Kenna ended up losing to Gleason by 366 votes.[42] The papers rejoiced in his defeat, with the Chicago Tribune writing him the following poem:
"I t'ink"
Said Hink-
Y Dink,
"I'll take a drink."[41]
It was found after the election that van Praag and Skakel had aided Gleason by giving the local GOP the names and addresses of hundreds of Kenna's registered voters, some of whom were deceased.[43]
The 1895 elections had produced a Republican mayor and a Republican majority in the City Council,[44] both of whom Charles Tyson Yerkes would fight in his efforts to construct the Loop during the Chicago Traction Wars.[45] Kenna, recouping his forces in preparation for the 1897 race, saw that Coughlin could be of great use for Yerkes, and arranged for an alliance between him and rival 19th ward alderman John Powers.[44] However, Powers had betrayed Coughlin by December, collaborating with Yerkes and the Republican majority to the exclusion of Coughlin and introducing most of Yerkes's ordinances which by custom should have been introduced by Coughlin.[46] Coughlin and Kenna took their revenge on Powers by defeating his bid for the chair of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee in favor of free silverite Tommy Gahan.[47]
Kenna successfully entered the City Council in 1897. That same year Carter Harrison Jr. would be elected mayor in large part due to Kenna's organizational skills in the 1st ward.[48] Kenna repeated his tactics of paying the homeless for votes, much to the horror of the Republican-dominated Special Committee for the Detection and Prevention of Vote Frauds.[48] Despite the best efforts of Republican Congressman William Lorimer to arrest those of dubious voter credentials,[49] Kenna continued to attract homeless voters from other parts of the city.[50] The Saturday before the election Harry G. Darrow, the proprietor of the new saloon The Bon Ton, issued an invitation for its grand opening, claiming that Kenna, Coughlin, and Harrison would be present.[51] Coughlin came and socialized with the guests but Kenna and Harrison refused to come.[52] Nevertheless, Kenna openly displayed his gambling affiliation in response to a condemnation to that effect by the reform-minded Municipal Voters' League (MVL), stating "Sure, I associate with gamblers. Why shouldn't I? I like a good game myself."[53] Kenna defeated Gleason by 4,373 votes to 1,811[53] and took office on April 19.[54]
Immediately upon assumption of office as a reward for his work for Harrison he was made Chairman of the Police committee, and was a member of the committees of Railroads; Gas, Oil, and Electricity; the Water Department; Elections; and Markets, which were considered among the best committees of the Council.[55] Kenna made his introduction to the Council by quietly introducing an order for an ambulance division in the police department.[56]
Influence and notoriety
After his election to the City Council Kenna's organizational prowess became known nationwide, to the extent that Tammany Hall boss Richard Croker asked his help to get Robert Van Wyck elected as the Mayor of the new City of Greater New York. He succeeded, and Van Wyck won with a plurality of 86,000 votes.[57]
In 1901 he and four other saloonkeepers were arrested for violating ordinances regarding saloon hours.[58] The arrest came after deputy state health inspector Jacob Ball investigated the saloons in the 1st ward and found almost 1,000 homeless people lodged in 18 saloons.[59] The prosecutor in the case, Thomas F. Scully, was unprepared to prosecute the case and Kenna was acquitted by the jury, leading to Scully's suspension for thirty days.[58] A 1902 editorial on Coughlin referred to his "sole claim to even political strength [as] rest[ing] on his being a parasitical partner" of Kenna.[60]
In the 1911 Chicago mayoral election Kenna backed Harrison, allowing him to get the Democratic nomination.[9] Things would turn out differently in 1915. Scandal had befallen the duo with an exposé on the exploits of the Levee, leading to county judge John Owens's insisting that Kenna and Coughlin be ejected from the Democratic committee.[61] Harrison acquiesced to these demands, declaring that Kenna's and Coughlin's careers were finished unless they towed the line and supported his entire slate of candidates, including Owens.[62] Angry about this turn of events,[62] the two joined the Democratic chieftain Roger Sullivan in leading a rebellion against Harrison that several other Democrats would join, including Powers and the nascent Anton Cermak.[63] In that same election he selected Scully as the candidate for county judge against Owens despite several red light district leaders supporting the latter, and successfully worked hard to get him elected.[64] Harrison was defeated in the mayoral primary by the Sullivan-backed candidate Robert M. Sweitzer,[65] who lost the general election to William Hale Thompson, an avowed enemy of the duo.[66]
Lord of the Levee
Coughlin and Kenna were also known for hosting the First Ward Ball, an annual fundraiser which brought together gangsters, safecrackers, prostitutes, politicians, businessmen, gamblers, and other types as well. The event raised more than $50,000 a year for the two men until it was closed down in 1909 by Mayor Fred Busse. By the time it was banned, the ball was so large that it had to be held in the Chicago Coliseum, the city's major convention center. Besides its notoriety in attracting many unsavory characters it often ended with the police having to curb disorderly conduct bordering on rioting.
Upon his election as mayor in 1915, Thompson opened up the city to vice and liquor.[67] However, it was under his orders and the duo's rule over the ward remained insecure.[67] In particular protege Big Jim Colosimo started to surpass Coughlin and Kenna and would soon take over representing the interests of vice.[68] Within the ward the two were nevertheless safe as Thompson refused to challenge them directly, Colosimo remained on good enough terms with them, and the relief of vice obligations allowed them to concentrate on other matters.[69]
Prohibition
After Prohibition was enacted The Workingman's Exchange had to close and Kenna ran a candy, sandwich, and cigar store in its place.[19] In 1923 the Illinois General Assembly reduced the number of aldermen per ward from two to one, and Kenna, who never cared much for Council meetings,[70] stepped aside to leave the alderman's position of the 1st ward to Coughlin.[9] Coughlin would find that the legislation increased his voting power in the council, while Kenna stated that he was content in his cigar store, where he hung up pictures of friends and prominent figures in the 1st ward.[70]
The power of the duo began to diminish in the 1920s as mobsters such as Johnny Torrio and Al Capone began to take control of the ward.[19] Capone, who had originally worked for Torrio, would fight his way to the top of the vice scene in the area, and throughout the city.[71] Capone had no need for the two and could have removed them from politics if he wanted.[72] However, Capone took a liking to them, having noticed their previous loyalty to both Colosimo and Torrio.[73] This increased the stature of the pair as Capone had prestige in the politics of the time, and Kenna had a position in the Cook County Democratic Party equal to Cermak, who was the president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and known as the "Mayor of Cook County".[70]
Cermak was elected mayor in 1931, and given that Capone had recently been convicted for tax evasion the duo hoped that from their ardent support of him they could regain lost glory.[74] However, Cermak turned out to spurn the old style of urban feudalism that had characterized their reign.[74] Throughout the 1930s the new Democratic organization gave committemen new powers but also subordinated them to the machine.[75] It limited Coughlin's voting power such that the MVL insisted that he had mellowed his record, to which Coughlin responded with indignation and Kenna jocularly suggested that Coughlin sue them.[76] In the later years of Coughlin's life Kenna prevented some of the younger members of the 1st ward organization from attempting to take Coughlin's aldermanic seat before his death.[76]
Return to City Council and later years
Coughlin died of pneumonia on November 11, 1938. Kenna was elected unopposed to fill his vacancy in the following year's aldermanic election.[77] Coughlin's death had caused a surge of factionalism within the 1st ward, and Kenna was thought to be the best candidate to ensure peace.[78] Rich and aging, he had no desire to return to the City Council but was assured that his involvement would be minimal.[79] Three opponents initially tried to contest him, but all had withdrawn by February 9.[77]
He received a special ovation at the inaugural ceremony of the new Council on April 12.[80] He rarely spoke at Council meetings and would soon stop coming altogether, sending his orders of the Council via his secretary Joe Clark.[79] At that point Kenna was a figurehead, being present for name value and with power being held by others within the 1st ward.[79]
Kenna declined reelection to the Council in 1943. Two candidates appeared to take his seat. John Budinger had previously been alderman of the then-4th ward from 1910 to 1912 and a County Commissioner, and had the backing of the Democratic organization.[81] James McVittie was the owner of an electroplating business and had the endorsements of the Business Men's Committee and Better Government Association.[81] The contest was particularly aggressive;[81] both candidates' petitions were contested in court,[82] and McVittie accused Budinger of being falsely registered as a 1st ward voter and actually living in Woodlawn, with the Business Men's Committee threatening to challenge Budinger if he attempted to vote in the 1st ward.[81] Budinger overwhelmingly won the election in the first round with what McVittie's supporters claimed were illegal and illegitimate tactics such as voter intimidation[83] and took office April 9.[84]
Kenna stepped down as 1st ward committeeman in 1944. He endorsed Fred M. Morelli as his successor,[85] and Morelli would be unopposed to succeed him as Democratic leader of the ward.[86]
In 1943 Lloyd Wendt and Herman Kogan released the book Lords of the Levee, which concerns Coughlin and Kenna's exploits. During the research for the book the pair interviewed Kenna and relatives of Coughlin.[87]
Personal life and death
Kenna was a teetotaler.[19]
In his later years Kenna lived in hotels in the Loop.[88] He died on October 9, 1946, at the Blackstone Hotel of diabetes and myocarditis.[2]
Probate issues
In contrast to the penniless Coughlin, Kenna was a millionaire at the time of his death. His heirs fought over his estate. Although Kenna left his heirs an estate worth over $1 million,[f] and an additional $33,000[g] to be used to erect a mausoleum for his remains to repose in, his heirs took all of the money and bought him an $85[h] tombstone instead.[89]
Legacy
A 2012 retrospective by NBC News Chicago ranked Coughlin and Kenna as the 3rd and 4th most corrupt public officials in Illinois history, behind Thompson and Illinois Secretary of State Paul Powell.[89]
David K. Fremon argues in his book Chicago Politics Ward by Ward that while Coughlin and Kenna "are generally viewed as living cartoon characters[,]... both were astute men in their time. Were they to appear today [in 1988], they would probably have made their fortunes through law, insurance, or real estate[.]"[90]
The last surviving link to Coughlin and Kenna was Anthony C. Laurino, who served as an assistant precinct captain under their tutelage[91] and would later serve as alderman of the 39th ward from 1965 to 1994, dying in 1999.
Subsequent history of the 1st ward
It was thought that after Kenna stepped down the 1st ward would be moved south and the Loop would be divided across multiple wards.[92] Upon redistricting in 1948, the 1st ward was combined with the erstwhile "Bloody 20th" across the Chicago River's south branch.[93] The 1st ward committeemen of both parties resigned in favor of their counterparts of the old 20th ward, largely due to the fact that the old 20th could have outvoted the old 1st.[93] In 1991 allies of Mayor Richard M. Daley proposed a new redistricting map that renumbered much of the 1st ward as the 42nd ward at the request of businesses in the area, who felt that the 1st ward had gained too much of a negative connotation. The 1st ward itself was moved to West Town, where it remains to this day. As of 2019 the 42nd ward alderman is Brendan Reilly and the 1st ward alderman is Daniel La Spata.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c Wendt & Kogan give his birth as happening during a winter night in 1858.[1] The Chicago Tribune's obituary states that a baptismal record gives his birth as August 20, 1857,[2] which is also the date given by his death certificate.[3] The Associated Press indicates a death age of either 88 or 91, implying a birth year of 1854–1855 or 1857–1858, and notes confusion on the matter in both the official record and Kenna's own words.[4] Birth certificates were not mandatory in Illinois until 1877.[5]
- ^ $1,000 in 2018
- ^ Abbott[10] gives a height of 5 feet 1 inch (155 cm).
- ^ $280,000 in 2018
- ^ $15 in 2018
- ^ $13 million in 2018
- ^ $400,000 in 2018
- ^ $1,100 in 2018
References
- ^ p. 73
- ^ a b c "Rites Saturday for Hinky Dink, An Era's Symbol". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 105, no. 243. October 10, 1946. p. 4. Retrieved July 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947". Springfield, IL: Public Board of Health. March 8, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2019 – via FamilySearch.org.
- ^ "Michael Kenna, former Chicago alderman, dies". Streator Daily Times-Press. Vol. 20, no. 209. Streator, IL. Associated Press. October 9, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved July 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Vital Records". Illinois Genealogy. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 73
- ^ a b Abbott, p. 58
- ^ a b c ""Hinky Dink" is in it". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 54, no. 26. Chicago, IL. January 26, 1895. p. 6. Retrieved April 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Kenna quitting Council to "Give John a chance"". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 82, no. 16. January 18, 1923. p. 10. Retrieved May 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ p. 58
- ^ a b "The Passing of Hinky Dink". LIFE Magazine. October 28, 1946. p. 53. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 74
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 346
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 217
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 326
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 11
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 27
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, pp. 27–28
- ^ a b c d Sawyers, p. 141
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 170
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 75
- ^ a b c Wendt & Kogan, p. 76
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 77
- ^ a b c Wendt & Kogan, p. 79
- ^ Linder, Douglas O. "Judge John R. Caverly". Famous-Trials.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- ^ "The New Democratic Committee". Chicago Eagle. Vol. 9, no. 220. December 23, 1893. p. 4. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 97
- ^ p. 97
- ^ a b c Wendt & Kogan, p. 98
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 99
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 100
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 101
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 102
- ^ a b c Wendt & Kogan, p. 103
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 104
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 107
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 108
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 119
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 120
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 121
- ^ a b c Wendt & Kogan, p. 122
- ^ "Vote on Aldermen in the Wards". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 54, no. 96. April 6, 1895. p. 6. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 123
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 125
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 126
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 136
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, pp. 136–137
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 164
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 166
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 167
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, pp. 167–168
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 168
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 169
- ^ "First Night of the New Council". The Daily Inter Ocean. Vol. 26, no. 28. April 21, 1897. p. 6. Retrieved July 25, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 173
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 174
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 180
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 235
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, pp. 234–235
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 236
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 322
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 323
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 324
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, pp. 324–325
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 325
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 327
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 328
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 329
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 330
- ^ a b c Wendt & Kogan, p. 345
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, pp. 343–344
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 344
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, pp. 344–345
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, pp. 350–351
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, pp. 352–353
- ^ a b Wendt & Kogan, p. 353
- ^ a b "Arvey and Kenna assured seats in City Council". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 98, no. 34. February 9, 1939. p. 2. Retrieved April 19, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, pp. 356–357
- ^ a b c Wendt & Kogan, p. 357
- ^ Kinsley, Philip (April 13, 1939). "Pull Together! Kelly urges in inaugural talk". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 98, no. 88. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Smith, Harold (February 21, 1943). "Vote Tuesday on bitter ward fights". Chicago Tribune. No. Part 3. p. 1. Retrieved August 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "57 candidates for alderman are challenged". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 102, no. 22. January 26, 1943. p. 3. Retrieved June 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Doherty, James (February 24, 1943). "Charge threats and intimidation win in first ward". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 102, no. 47. p. 3. Retrieved August 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "New City Council". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 102, no. 83. April 7, 1943. p. 2. Retrieved August 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Tagge, George (February 16, 1944). "Orlikoski Pushed". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 103, no. 40. p. 11. Retrieved June 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Schreiber, Edward (March 5, 1944). "Ward battles, like flowers, have odor, too". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 103, no. 10 Part 3. p. 2. Retrieved June 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
Fred M. Morelli is unopposed to succeed the aged Michael [Hinky Dink] Kenna as Democratic ward ruler.
- ^ Shinnick, William (January 31, 1943). "Lusty Chicago comes to Life Again in Absorbing Biography". Chicago Tribune. No. Blue Ribbon Fiction 14. p. 13. Retrieved May 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Sawyers, p. 142
- ^ a b McClelland, Edward. "The 12 Most Corrupt Public Officials in Illinois History: The Complete List". NBC Chicago. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
- ^ p. 25
- ^ Fremon, p. 254
- ^ Wendt & Kogan, p. 358
- ^ a b Gentry, Guy (January 18, 1948). "Hot contests expected for jobs in wards". Chicago Tribune. No. Part 3. p. 2. Retrieved June 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
Bibliography
- Abbott, Karen (2007). Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul. New York, NY: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6530-1.
- Fremon, David K. (1988). Chicago Politics Ward by Ward. Bloomington, Indiana and Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-31344-9.
- Sawyers, June Skinner (1991). Chicago Portraits: Biographies of 250 Famous Chicagoans. Chicago, Illinois: Loyola University Press. ISBN 0-8294-0700-6.
- Wendt, Lloyd; Kogan, Herman (1971). Bosses in Lusty Chicago (a.k.a. Lords of the Levee). Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-20109-8.