April 6, 1931: The Birth of the Chicago Political Machine

April 6, 1931: A political revolution occurs in Chicago, and a "machine" is born.

Antonín Josef Čermák was born on May 9, 1873, in Kladno, in the Austrian Empire, now in Czechia (a.k.a. the Czech Republic). His family took him to Chicago as a baby, and he ran a horse-drawn pushcart. This allowed him to make some connections, and rise in politics. He was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1902, the City Council in 1909, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 1922, and Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party in 1928.

Before Cermak, the Democratic Party in Cook County, Illinois, which includes Chicago, was run by Irish-Americans. The Irish first became successful in politics since they spoke English, and because, coming from an island on the edge of Europe, they had few ancestral enemies. As the old saying went: "A Lithuanian won't vote for a Pole, and a Pole won't vote for a Lithuanian. A German won't vote for either of them. But all three will vote for a turkey: An Irishman."

As Cermak climbed the local political ladder, the resentment of the party leadership grew. When the bosses rejected his bid to become the mayoral candidate, Cermak swore revenge. He formed his political army from the non-Irish elements, and even persuaded a leading politician, future Congressman William L. Dawson, to switch from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. Cermak's political and organizational skills helped create one of the most influential political organizations of his day.

William Hale Thompson, "Big Bill," was elected Mayor as a Republican in 1915 and 1919, was defeated by Democrat William E. Dever in 1923, and regained the office in 1927. He, too, ran what would later become known as a "political machine," although no one called it that at the time.

He received the open support of Chicago's leading gangster, Al Capone. For this reason, the Chicago Tribune, the Midwest's biggest newspaper, and the Midwest's leading conservative media voice, did not support him.

Thompson, who represented Chicago's existing Irish-dominated power structure, responded with an ethnic slur filled ditty that ridiculed his teamster past: "I won't take a back seat to that Bohunk. Chairmock, Chermack, or whatever his name is." Then, to the tune of "Sidewalks of New York" -- the theme song of Governor Al Smith of New York, the 1928 Democratic Presidential nominee, and invoking the Century of Progress Fair that Chicago was scheduled to host in 1933 and '34, during the next Mayoral term -- Thompson and some cronies were filmed singing:

Tony, Tony, where’s your pushcart at?

Can you picture a World's Fair mayor with a name like that?

Cermak replied, "It's true: I didn't come over on the Mayflower. But I came over as soon as I could." It was a sentiment to which ethnic Chicagoans could relate, and Thompson's bigotry backfired. On April 6, 1931, Cermak won 58 percent of the vote. Part of it was voters sensing a kinship with him, a "He's one of us" vote. Part of it was a backlash against Thompson: His reputation as a buffoon, the corruption of his machine, and his inability or unwillingness to clean up organized crime. And part of it was simply the Republican Party's national identification with the Great Depression, which was getting worse.

After Thompson's defeat, the Tribune wrote:

For Chicago Thompson has meant filth, corruption, obscenity, idiocy and bankruptcy... He has given the city an international reputation for moronic buffoonery, barbaric crime, triumphant hoodlumism, unchecked graft, and a dejected citizenship. He nearly ruined the property and completely destroyed the pride of the city. He made Chicago a byword for the collapse of American civilization. In his attempt to continue this he excelled himself as a liar and defamer of character.

Thompson ran for Governor of Illinois in 1936. Unable to get the Republican nomination, he ran a 3rd-party campaign, and got just 3 percent of the vote. He sought the Republican nomination for Mayor in 1939, but lost. He died in 1944. Soon thereafter, 2 safe deposit boxes in his name were discovered to contain nearly $2 million in cash. No one ever found out where it came from, but guesses were easy.

Cermak managed to streamline city services, and ran a clean administration. But, with the Depression raging, he founded it difficult to fund the city and its operations. In February 1933, he went on vacation with President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, hoping to convince FDR to help Chicago out through his "New Deal."

On February 15, 1933, at Bayfront Park in Miami, an anarchist named Giuseppe Zangara fired shots at FDR. He missed the President-elect, but hit Cermak. Cermak hung on until March 6, 2 days after FDR's Inauguration. He was a few weeks short of his 60th birthday.

The following year, his daughter, Helena, married Otto Kerner Jr., then a young lawyer. He would serve as Governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968.

Big Bill Thompson remains the last Republican to serve as Mayor of Chicago. Although Cermak couldn't live long enough to complete 1 term, the new machine he put in place made the Democratic Party synonymous with getting things done. Edward J. Kelly won the special election to serve out Cermak's term, and remained through 1947. He was been followed by Martin Kennelly, 1947-1955; Richard J. Daley, 1955-1976, died in office; Michael Bilandic, 1976-1979; and Jane Byrne, 1979-1983.

In 1983, Harold Washington ran to become the City's 1st black Mayor, and the 1st Mayor since Thompson to run against the Democratic machine. He beat Byrne and Daley's son, Richard M. Daley, in the Democratic Primary, and, at his victory speech, said, "The machine is dead! I know the machine is dead! And you know the machine is dead! I asked the machine: 'Machine, are you dead?' The machine didn't answer! You know why? Because it's dead!"

Washington was re-elected in 1987, but, with some irony, died before the year was out. Eugene Sawyer became the interim Mayor. When a special election was held in 1989, Richard M. Daley won it. He ended up breaking his father's record for longest-serving Mayor. He retired in 2011, and Rahm Emanuel became the city's 1st Jewish Mayor. In 2019, Lori Lightfoot was elected the city's 1st openly gay Mayor. (UPDATE: In 2023, Brandon Johnson defeated Lightfoot for re-election.)

*

April 6, 1931 was a Monday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. The Stanley Cup Finals were in progress, although this day fell between games, so there were no scores on this historic day. Interestingly, Chicago was in the Finals for the 1st time: The Chicago Black Hawks, founded in 1926, were tied with the defending Champions, the Montreal Canadiens, after 2 games. The Canadiens would win the series, 3 games to 2. The Hawks have since won the Cup in 1934, 1938, 1961, 2010, 2013 and 2015.