Ben Adamowski
{{short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name =
| image = Ben Adamowski circa 1939 (3x4).jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Adamowski, circa 1939
| office = Cook County State's Attorney
| term_start = 1956
| term_end = 1960
| predecessor = John S. Boyle
| successor = Daniel P. Ward
| office1 = Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 25th district
| term_start1 = 1931
| term_end1 = 1941
| predecessor1 =
| successor1 =
| alma_mater = DePaul University College of Law
| party = Republican (since 1955)
| otherparty = Democratic (until 1955)
| birth_date = November 20, 1906
| birth_place =
| death_date = March 1, 1982 (age 75)
| death_place =
}}
Benjamin S. Adamowski (November 20, 1906 – March 1, 1982) was a politician and lawyer.
Early life
His father, Max Adamowski, was an alderman in Chicago, as well as a real estate agent in Logan Square, and tavern owner.{{cite book |last1=Cohen |first1=Adam |last2=Taylor |first2=Elizabeth |title=American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley - His Battle for Chicago and the Nation |date=2001 |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=978-0-7595-2427-9 |page=74 |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=nGem2g467GAC |language=en}} He graduated from DePaul University Law School in 1928.
Career
He served in the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 25th District from 1931 through 1941.'Illinois Blue Book 1939-1940,' biographical sketch of Benjamin Adamowski, pg. 194-195 In the legislature, he distanced himself from the machine politics his father had been aligned with, and aligned himself with liberal reformist governor Henry Horner. In 1940, Adamowski unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination in the special U.S. Senate election.{{cite web|title=OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION, NOV. 5, 1940 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS, 1939-1940 PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, APRIL 9, 1940|url=https://www.elections.il.gov/DocDisplay.aspx?doc=Downloads/ElectionOperations/VoteTotals/Archived/1940/PE%20and%20GE%201940.pdf|publisher=Illinois State Board of Elections|accessdate=3 September 2020|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624113817/https://www.elections.il.gov/DocDisplay.aspx?doc=Downloads/ElectionOperations/VoteTotals/Archived/1940/PE%20and%20GE%201940.pdf|url-status=dead}}
In 1941, Adamowski left the legislature to serve as the Corporation Counsel of Chicago under Mayor Martin H. Kennelly, a role he held for at least three years.
He was a Democrat until 1955, when he was defeated by Richard J. Daley in the Democratic primary for mayor. In later campaigns for State's Attorney and a second bid for mayor against Daley in 1963 he ran as a Republican.{{cite web|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1982/03/02/page/4/article/ben-adamowski-dies-at-75-longtime-political-maverick|title=Chicago Tribune - Historical Newspapers|date=8 April 2024 |publisher=}}
He served from 1957 to 1960 as State's Attorney of Cook County.{{Cite web|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-03-17/news/ct-per-flash-kennedy-ohare-0317-20130317_1_bombers-edward-butch-o-hare-daleys|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610024200/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-03-17/news/ct-per-flash-kennedy-ohare-0317-20130317_1_bombers-edward-butch-o-hare-daleys|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 10, 2016|title=In 1963, Kennedy's dedication of O'Hare gave Daley a welcome boost|website=tribunedigital-chicagotribune|access-date=2016-05-14}} In May 1959, he uncovered a $500,000-a-year ticket-fixing scandal in Chicago Traffic Court, and indicted four court employees on corruption charges.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Cook County State's Attorney|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamowski, Ben}}
Category:DePaul University College of Law alumni
Category:Politicians from Chicago
Category:Members of the Illinois House of Representatives
Category:20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly