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| Turnout | 82% | ||||||||||||||||
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The1931Chicago mayoral election was held to elect theMayor of Chicago. FormerCook County Board of Commissioners PresidentAnton Cermak defeated incumbent mayorWilliam Hale Thompson (who remains to date the last Republican mayor of Chicago) by a 17-point margin of victory.[1][2]
Primary elections were held by both major parties to select their nominees. Mayor Thompson won renomination in theRepublican Party primary over challenges fromMunicipal Court of Chicago Judge John Homer Lyle and 43rd WardChicago Alderman Arthur F. Albert. In theDemocratic Party primary, Cermak only faced a weak opponent inperennial candidate John B. DeVoney.
Primaries were held on Feb 24, 1931.[3]
Anton Cermak won the Democratic nomination. Cermak was the incumbent President of theCook County Board of Commissioners, having served in that position since 1923.
Cermak defeatedperennial candidate John B. DeVoney, a weak opponent. Returns reported in theChicago Tribune on the day after the election found Cermak winning 235,260 votes to DeVoney's 9,829 votes.[4]
Incumbent mayor William Hale Thompson warded off challenges fromMunicipal Court of Chicago JudgeJohn Homer Lyle, 43rd Ward aldermanArthur F. Albert, George K. Schmidt (the 1922 Republican nominee for the Cook County Board of Assessors),[5] and Eugene McCaffrey.
John Homer Lyle was characterized byTime magazine as a "publicity-crazed Municipal Judge."[6] Previously an obscure figure, his political stock had risen massively in September 1930 when he had some of Chicago's most prominent gangsters arrested under an obscure vagrancy law and attempted to keep them imprisoned by setting an extremely high bail, a tactic which failed to work.[6] The majority of his campaign was based on attacking Thompson for his presumed closeness with organised crime, especiallyAl Capone.[6] Lyle also claimed that Chicago's economic success under Thompson's mayoralty had not been due to the mayor, stating in a speech that "an Eskimo from the North Pole might as well have been mayor" when referring to Thompson taking credit for the construction of skyscrapers.[6]
Ugly name-calling took place between Thompson and Lyle.[6] Thompson derided Lyle as a "nutty judge".[6] Lyle called Thompson "WilliamHalitosis Thompson" and characterized him as having the "flabby jowls of a barnyard hog, two jackass ears, a cowboy hat and an empty space between."[6] Other insults slung around between the two included dirty rat,hoodlum, lazybloodsuckingjobber, blustering loudmouth, irresponsiblemountebank, blubbering jungle hippopotamus, shambling imbecile, skunk, and a "chambermaid in a ranch bunkhouse".[6]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | William Hale Thompson (incumbent) | 296,204 | 46.65 | |
| Republican | John Homer Lyle | 227,986 | 35.90 | |
| Republican | Arthur F. Albert | 99,137 | 15.61 | |
| Republican | George K. Schmidt | 10,782 | 1.70 | |
| Republican | Eugene McCaffrey | 907 | 0.14 | |
| Total votes | 635,016 | 100.00 | ||
With theCentury of Progress approaching, Chicago would be electing a mayor that (barring extraordinary circumstances) was going to represent the city in front of an international audience.
The campaign became uncivil at a relatively early stage.[9] During the campaign Thompson made many appeals tonativism. One such example was his appeal toantisemitism by villainization of Jewish businessmanJulius Rosenwald. In one speech delivered in March he said of Rosenwald, "Well, we got a great philanthropist in this town, and he's a Jew, and he's trying to edge his way out of hell by giving part of the money he steals."[10][11]
Since Cermak was an immigrant fromBohemia, Thompson lodged ethnic attacks
Cermak was able to respond effectively to these attacks, "He doesn't like my name...It's true I didn't come over on theMayflower, but I came over as soon as I could," which was a sentiment to which ethnic Chicagoans could relate, so Thompson's slurs largely backfired.[13][9][12]
In the midst of the campaign, theChicago Tribune ran articles outliningAl Capone's financial contributions to Republican politicians.[14] The newspapers also covered allegations thatSamuel Insull had contributed money to Thompson's campaign.[14] TheTribune wrote, "When thetraction case was settled during Thompson's third term Insull was given a perpetual franchise that could not be terminated even for misuse non use or mal use".[14]
Gossip of Thompson's ties to Al Capone gained new strength after one of Thompson's top city officials, also a friend of Capone, was indicted for conspiring with merchants to use short weights to cheat $54 million.[9]
Thompson accused Cermak of being in cahoots with bootleggers and gamblers, and accused Cermak of having profited from misconduct alleging that he had, "saved six million out of a $10,000 salary."[9]
The election took place amid theGreat Depression.[13] The Depression (taking place under the administration of presidentHerbert Hoover, who was a member of the Republican Party) may have ultimately contributed to Thompson's defeat as a bearer of the Republican label.[13]
Cermak received strong support from the city's teachers organizations. He was personally endorsed byMargaret Haley, president of theChicago Teachers Federation.[15]
Manyliberal Republicans, in protest of Thompson, threw their support behind Cermak. Among them wereJane Addams,Louise DeKoven Bowen,Charles Edward Merriam, and Julius Rosenwald.[16]
For the election, Cermak had managed to overhaul his public image. Long viewed as a political infighter, Cermak rebranded himself as a "master executive" who would be able to help the city of Chicago survive the Great Depression.[17]
Cermak managed to unite the different factions of the local Democratic Party.[18] He made use of both threats and incentives to garner the backing of political rivals such asCook County CoronerHerman Bundesen andCook County Recorder of DeedsClayton F. Smith .[18] Bundesen had been considered a potential independent candidate, but, in March 1931, he ruled out a run.[19] Cermak's "ethnic credentials" and anti-Prohibition stance also managed to appeal to manyworking class and ethnic voters that the party had lost to Thompson in the previous election.
Voter turnout was remarkably high, with 82% of registered voters participating.[13]
Cermak carried 45 wards, while Thompson carried five.[9] The five wards that Thompson carried all had sizable black populations.[9]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Anton Cermak | 671,189 | 58.44 | |
| Republican | William Hale Thompson (incumbent) | 476,922 | 41.53 | |
| Unknown | John M. Collins | 219 | 0.02 | |
| Unknown | Otto H. Wangerin | 124 | 0.01 | |
| Unknown | Herman N. Bundesen | 4 | 0.00 | |
| Unknown | Charles Cutteng | 1 | 0.00 | |
| Unknown | Dallas Killiam | 1 | 0.00 | |
| Unknown | R.J. Williamson | 1 | 0.00 | |
| Unknown | Carter Harrison | 1 | 0.00 | |
| Unknown | Louis J. Orr | 1 | 0.00 | |
| Unknown | Winfield O. Williams | 1 | 0.00 | |
| Unknown | Judge Lagle | 1 | 0.00 | |
| Turnout | 1,148,465 | 100.00 | ||
Thompson carried only five of the city's fifty wards.[20]
Cermak received 76.80% of thePolish-American vote, while Thompson received 23.20%.[21]
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1 tenure as acting officeholder. 2 Election declared null and void. | ||
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