USA > Illinois > Cook County > Growth of Cook County; a history of the large lake-shore county that includes Chicago, Vol. I > Part 8
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three commissioners and national economy was on a scale uncomparable to that of today, the salary of a board member was $1.50 per day, and that only for days on which the board met. Records are replete with resignations of early-day com- missioners before their terms expired.
As members of the present-day county board, the commis- sioners are appointed by the president, with board concurrence, to serve on various administrative committees. The standing committees are those on finance, public service, roads and bridges, building, legislation, civil service, rules, tax delin- quency, and zoning.
The work of the public service committee is so voluminous, however, that here the commissioners divide themselves into smaller sub-committees to deal with separate phases. These sub-committees, the names of which are in some cases descrip- tive, follow:
County hospital, Oak Forest hospital, department of wel- fare, county jail and criminal court, court house, Cook County School of Nursing, judiciary and city relations, family court and Arthur J. Audy Home for Children (Juvenile Detention), education, stationery and printing, and license.
In addition, the commissioners serve on many special com- Inittees that function on matters not specifically related to duties of regular committees.
Functions Of County Board
The functions of the Cook county board are various, many and far-reaching. The most important, grouped under broad classifications rather than by individual departments, probably are as follows:
The giving of care, both medical and otherwise, for those of the county's nearly five million residents who are finan- cially unable to provide for themselves.
The construction and maintenance of roads and express- ways adequate to accommodate the ever-increasing traffic within
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such a great metropolitan area.
The provision and maintenance of buildings necessary to house both the charitable institutions and the many public offices and departments engaged in the administration of county government.
Acting as the fiscal agent that raises money, thru the levying of taxes or otherwise, and directly or indirectly supervising expenditures for all branches of county government.
The collecting of delinquent real estate taxes thru certain fore- closure proceedings.
Establishing and supervising the enforcement of regulations pertaining to such public matters as health, rabies control, and build- ing and zoning.
When sitting as the forest pre- serve board, the commissioners' added duty of establishing and maintaining nearly 50,000 acres of forest preserve recreation lands that surround Chicago is no small chore.
Lee J. Howard, first and only auditor Cook county ever had. When appointed March 1, 1.923, his staff consisted of one assistant and a secretary. In 1959 it num- bered 170. Thruout the years, changing administrations have leaned heavily upon Howard for wise and friendly counsel in all matters affecting Cook county.
The president of the county board since 1934 has been the ex-officio liquor control commissioner of Cook county, issuing (sometimes revoking) licenses for the operation of taverns, roadhouses, and package liquor stores in the unincorporated areas. As of 1959 there were some 325 such licenses in effect. (The president's actions as liquor control commissioner do not require county board approval.)
Nor does the county board ever know when its functions are to be increased. One of the last such added duties developed as an outgrowth of the rabies scare of 1953.
With an unusual number of cases of the dread disease break-
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ing out among dogs thruout the state, endangering all citi- zenry, the state legislature on July 6, 1953, enacted a rabies control law, administered by the state department of agriculture, specifying that county boards should establish departments, appoint inspectors, and otherwise take all measures necessary to eradicate the menace.
Traffic safety was a recognized problem a half-century ago, even as it is today. Appearing in a 1912 public report issued by Peter M. Hoffman, then coroner of Cook county, were these illustrations showing how accidents can happen. Styles of vehicles change, but basic safety principles remain much the same.
On the following Feb. 10 (1954) the board created the Cook county rabies control division and appointed as its head Dr. Edward C. Khuen, a veterinary, and named all licensed veterinarians within the county as deputy inspectors.
The new department, fortunately, has proved no added ex- pense to the taxpayers. Fees charged for compulsory vaccina- tion of dogs thruout the city and county has more than offset departmental costs.
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"Safety First !
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LOOK OUT
THE SAME OLD STORY. NEVER STOPPED, LOOKED OR LISTENED. FOUR FUNERALS NEXT SUNDAY THE RESULT"
Graphic poster used by Coroner Peter M. Hoffman in 1912 tells its own story.
The powers of the county board are broad. As pointed out by A. L. Hornick, assistant to the board president and, himself, a lawyer and authority on government, the state constitution specifically says:
"The county affairs of Cook county shall be managed by a board of commissioners . . in such manner as may be provided by law."
The board, normally, does not direct the policies or func- tions of the other elected officials of Cook county, other than by appropriating tax funds for the operation of these offices and providing them with office space and sufficient help.
Such independent county officials who are elected by the people of Cook county are:
Treasurer, recorder, assessor, state's attorney, sheriff, coroner, members of the board of (tax) appeals, county clerk, clerk of the Superior court, clerk of the Circuit court, clerk of the Criminal court, clerk of the Probate court, judge of the Probate court, superintendent of county schools, 20 Circuit
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President Daniel Ryan of the Cook county board (right) and Commissioner William N. Erickson hold raccoons for picture-taking at Sept. 7, 1958 opening of Aux Plaines River Trail Nature Center in county forest preserves three miles north of village of DesPlaines. President Ryan's grandchildren join in fun. Moments later the "tame" raccoon held by Ryan bit the president on thumb.
court judges, and 36 Superior court judges.
(Of these elected judges, six from the Superior court and three from the Circuit court are assigned by the Illinois Supreme court justices to sit in the Illinois Appellate court. Their salaries are borne jointly by Cook county and the state.)
Must Report To County Board
The "independence" of these elected office holders, how- ever, is limited in that they must make full reports at regular intervals to the county board on both financial expenditures and other activities of their offices.
This means that the board, as fiscal agent, has jurisdiction over all offices in cases of suspected malfeasance or even in- . eptness on the part of the office holders.
Legal adviser to the board is the state's attorney-currently
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Benjamin S. Adamowski. His chief of the civil branch who attends all board meetings is Elroy C. Sandquist. (Adamowski was elected in 1956, defeating incumbent John Gutknecht. Under Gutknecht the civil branch chief had been Gordon B. Nash. )
Thus while Cook county has set its government apart from the other two types found in the remaining 101 counties of the state, the county's difference from the others is recognized by the state legislature in still another way.
For the regulation of official fees and salaries, and for other legislative matters, the legislature has divided the counties into three classifications-those of 25,000 population or under, those with populations between 25,000 and 500,000, and those with populations over 500,000. There are 56 counties in the first classification, 45 in the second, and one-Cook- in the third.
$147,000,000 Back Taxes Collected
Altho we here may be breaking the continuity of text, the work of the county board's tax delinquency committee, referred to previously, is so outstanding that we hasten to give it space before it becomes lost in our file of notes.
On May 8, 1959, as public relations director for the county, we wrote the following news release which, tho not of spicy
Charles G. Sauers (left), general superintendent of Cook County Forest Preserve District since 1929, receives 25-year service button late in 1954 from Daniel Ryan, presi- dent of both the county board and the forest preserve board. In center is late Edward Eagle Brown, noted Chicago banker and member of the citizens ad- visory committee of the forest preserve district from 1927 un- til his death Aug. 24, 1959. Brown had been committee chairman since 1937.
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Current (1959) members of Cook county board's tax committee that collected $147,000,000 in delinquent real estate taxes and returned 516,000 properties to active tax-paying rolls since 1942. Top row, left to right, Commissioners Frank Bobrytzke, chairman, and John J. Duffy, vice chairman. Middle row: Commis- sioners John Mackler, Jr. and Jerry Dolezal. Bottom row, left: Commissioner Edward M. Sneed. William G. Donne, lower right, county board secretary and tax committee clerk, prepared all tax cases upon which committee acted. As a commissioner, Daniel Ryan, pictured elsewhere, was chairman from time of tax committee's creation May 1, 1942 until Dec. 1, 1954, when he became board president.
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nature, was widely used in newspapers and mentioned on radio and TV newscasts:
The tax delinquency committee of the county board has collected $147,148,820 in delinquent taxes since its creation in 1942, has placed 516,000 tax-delinquent parcels of real estate back on the active tax- paying rolls, and expects to complete its task within the next two years.
That was the word given out today by Commissioner Frank Bobrytzke, committee chairman, in submitting a committee report to Daniel Ryan, county board president.
Bobrytzke said:
"We have only about 84,500 delinquent parcels remaining in Cook county, and with some 20,000 of them being of the small, odd-shaped 'sliver' variety that never will be usable, this means we have only about 64,500 to go. We should have them cleaned up within the next two years.
"Real estate tax collections have risen from some 70 per cent when our committee started, to approximately 99 per cent now. We naturally feel proud of our accomplishments and shall be glad when our work is ended."
The committee, with the cooperation of the state's attorney, insti- gates voluntary tax foreclosure proceedings under which the owner of a property upon which tax delinquencies and penalties exceed its value, agrees to bid a stipulated amount at a tax foreclosure sale to settle the delinquency.
Once the amount is agreed upon, the committee turns the matter over to the state's attorney who files proceedings in either Circuit or Superior court. The court orders the property to public auction. In some cases the owners are outbid by others, which is an advantage to the county.
The owner of a tax delinquent vacant property may settle for as low as 40 per cent of the principal amount of his taxes for 1946 and prior years. The penalties for those years, sometimes amounting to more than the taxes, also will be wiped out.
In order to effect such a settlement, however, the owner must pay all of the outstanding taxes, plus full penalties of one per cent a month, for 1947 and all succeeding years.
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Most of the delinquencies extend back into the 1920's, altho a few cases date back to before the turn of the century, according to William G. Donne, county board secretary who has much to do with prepara- tion of the proceedings.
About two-thirds of the delinquencies are in the rural areas of Cook county, but with so many subdivisions springing up, there now is more incentive for settling the taxes and making the lots available for building purposes, Donne further declared.
Settlement of such vacants now is averaging 45.5 per cent of the principal taxes for 1946 and prior years. Very few delinquencies remain on improved properties, but where they do exist, the owner must settle for a full 100 per cent of the principal taxes if he under- goes settlement. His only advantage here is getting the county to wipe out the penalties prior to 1947.
The committee, in meeting today, approved the starting of volun- tary proceedings against about 3,500 properties. At its last meeting, March 13, it started proceedings against 3,963 properties, of which only 62 were improved. That action resulted in the collection of $1,819,309, Bobrytzke's report to Ryan pointed out.
Members of the committee, in addition to Chairman Bobrytzke, are: Commissioners John J. Duffy, Jerry Dolezal, John Mackler, Jr., and Edward M. Sneed.
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CHAPTER 7
COOK COUNTY'S COURTHOUSES
C OOK COUNTY, in the year 1960, was still in need of a new courthouse, having long-since outgrown its present quar- ters. In fact, there seldom had been a period in the county's history when its courthouses were adequate, even when new.
Principal reason was that few courthouse designers and builders, including public officials, have anticipated the enor- mousness of population growths. Or if they did, they feared to submit to public referendum a request for the extra millions of dollars needed to erect a structure that would be adequate for a period of even 50 or 75 years; the public might defeat such a large bond issue and might even hold resentment against public officials who dared ask for the necessary amounts.
Construction of the present county courthouse-often re- ferred to as the county building-was begun in 1906 and completed in 1907. The structure cost but $3,284,000, con- sidered a low figure even in those days of low prices. Limited alterations since then have increased this figure to some extent.
The builders said the courthouse would adequately accom-
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modate the business of a population of 4,000,000 county resi- dents, or nearly double the population of that time. When, some of them asked, would Cook county's population ever reach four million?
Many of the builders, however, lived to see the four-million figure reached only 25 years later. The 1930 federal census showed Cook county to have 3,982,125 residents.
But even prior to 1930-so early as 1924, in fact-the county was renting space in nearby buildings. Acquaintances1 of the late William Busse of Mount Prospect, a county com- missioner from 1900 to 1954, with the exception of a two- year period from 1912 to 1914, quote him as having remarked upon several occasions:
"The county building was never large enough for the county's needs from the day we moved into it."
The 1958 county budget appropriations for outside rentals and alterations to rented offices totaled $992,988, including welfare department rentals of $380,900. (The county is reim- bursed by the state for a major portion of the welfare rentals, but the entire rent bill still is borne by the taxpayers. )
By 1950 Cook county's population had zoomed to 4,508,792, and some estimates for 1960 were 5,325,000.2 Because popula- tion growths cannot be determined accurately by projecting past yearly averages into the future, the population of Cook county by the end of this century might reach almost anyone's guess.
Cook county has had four courthouses altogether, not count- ing the "powder room" or magazine of Fort Dearborn and private dwellings in which county business was conducted
1. Recalled by Charles J. Mayr, long-time administrative assistant to the Director of Public Welfare of Cook county.
2. Clyde F. Kohn, chairman, Center for Metropolitan Studies, Department of Geography, Northwestern University, in 1956 estimated Cook county's 1960 population, exclusive of Chicago, at 1,450,000 while 1960 estimates for Chicago, made by various persons, average 3,875,000.
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1.
....
First Cook county courthouse, erected in 1835, with stockade jail at rear. Not shown in wood engraving is county's first almshouse, built in 1832, which also shared space within the public square. The almshouse promptly became, in effect, County hospital, No. 1.
Second courthouse, completed in 1853, shown after it was remodeled in 1858.
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CA
Same courthouse, greatly enlarged and remodeled, as it appeared in 1871, prior to its destruction by Chicago fire. It also housed city hall offices.
during the first four years after the county was created by an act of the Illinois legislature on Jan. 15, 1831. From time to time, however, these courthouses were remodeled and enlarged to such an extent that they constituted virtually new structures.
In the "programme" of ceremonies upon the laying of the corner stone for the present courthouse on Sept. 21, 1906 there appears a description of these courthouses, together with other accounts relative to their construction.
Beginning with Courthouse No. 1, erected in 1835 on the same site as today's courthouse, which site was part of a govern- ment grant, the program says:
It was small, but not unsightly, with a pillared portico. In 1851 the corner stone of the second building was laid and this rather pre- tentious structure was completed in 1853. Five years later it was remodeled, and there, on May 1 and 2, 1865, the hallowed remains of Abraham Lincoln lay in state while thousands passed the bier.
Again extensive alterations were made in 1870,1 and in October,
1. Articles found repeatedly in the 1870 issues of the old Chicago Times and other newspapers state that the roof over the east wing collapsed due to faulty construction. Investigations followed in which it was discovered that the roof and other portions of the building had been constructed without blue prints or architectural plans.
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Combined courthouse and city hall, completed in 1882. An explosion and fire in 1905 rendered it unfit for further occupation.
1871, the courthouse was reduced to a heap of ruins by the con- flagration that swept over the city.
One year after the great fire the county and city authorities agreed to erect a courthouse and a city hall identical so far as the exterior was concerned, but it was not until July 4, 1877, that the corner stone of the county building was laid.
Buildings Never Large Enough
Some five years later the structure was completed and occupied, but from the first it proved so unsuited and inadequate to the demands of the county's business that large sums were expended annually for the rental of additional quarters. In January, 1905, an explosion and fire rendered the gloomy pile of masonry practically unfit for further occupation.
The county board faced the dilemma of expending thousands of dollars for repairing a building that was insufficient in size, and, even before the fire, dangerous to occupants and passers-by, or of erecting a new structure.
At the suggestion of President Edward J. Brundage, the board proceeded to the consideration of the problem, and on January 23 (1905) a resolution was adopted providing for a commission of ten, to be composed of members of the county board, other county officials and residents of the county not in the public service, to consider the
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entire question of need of a new courthouse, and to confer with a similar commission, to be appointed by the city, as to a uniform city and county building.
"President Brundage appointed as members of this commission John G. Shedd, Graeme Stewart, Harry G. Selfridge, Walter H. Wilson, Judge Axel Chytraus; County Commissioners Edwin K. Walker, Louis H. Mack and William C. Hartray; Superintendent of Public Service William McLaren and County Architect Harris W. Huehl.
"The commission proceeded to its work immediately. With the assistance of engineers and architects it made a careful inspection of the county building and inquired into its facilities for handling the business of the county. In February the commission made its report, saying:
"The need of a new courthouse is so imperative that a long delay is absolutely out of the question," and recommending that there be submitted to the people a proposition to issue bonds to provide for the erection and equipment of a suitable courthouse.
To the late Graeme Stewart, who died while in the midst of the courthouse activities, more than to any other one citizen, is due the
GIGA
Thousands attend corner-stone laying for present courthouse Sept. 21, 1906. Charles W. Fairbanks, vice president of the United States, is speaking.
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"Half a loaf is better than no loaf," said Chicagoans in 1908, a year after the new Cook county courthouse (shown on right) had been completed, and a year before the old city hall half of building (left) had been torn down to make way for new city hall of matching architecture.
Traffic regulations, if any, apparently were not enforced. Horse-drawn vehicles and early-day automobiles, shown in picture, traveled on any side of street, in any direction, and were parked where their drivers pleased. Detective Jack Muller, Chicago's champion traffic ticket writer of the late 1950s, could have had a field day.
credit for this action. His great influence as a citizen and publicist was actively exercised in the agitation for a new courthouse. He urged immediate abandonment of the old structure and the erection of a building that would be an honor to Cook county.
The county board ordered that the question of issuing $5,000,000 of county bonds be submitted to the people at a special election April 4 (1905), coincident with the city and town elections. The proposition carried by a majority of nearly 40,000 and before the end of that month quarters for most of the county offices in other buildings had been obtained. The contract for wrecking the old build- ing was let August 16, and the work of tearing it down was begun October 1.
Architects were invited to enter an open competition for plans for the new courthouse, and thirteen sets were submitted anonymously. These were passed upon by a jury consisting of John G. Shedd, Prof. William R. Ware, of Boston, David B. Jones, William McLaren and John M. Ewen.
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Combined county building (courthouse) and city hall, as seen from Washing- ton and Clark streets, 1959.
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County board's assembly room in new courthouse, December, 1907. Board is in session, with President William Busse presiding. Except for light fixtures and personnel, scene remains unchanged more than a half-century later.
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Upon its recommendation, the design submitted by Holabird & Roche was accepted, and that firm was employed as the architects of the building. The services of John M. Ewen were secured as con- sulting engineer for the county. The entire county board was made a permanent building committee.
The contract for the caisson foundations of the building was awarded December 11, and actual digging began January 18, 1906. The caissons were completed and the foundations turned over to the building contractor on contract date, May 15.
The contract for the construction of the building was let February 15, 1906, the contract price being $3,284,000. The first steel was put in place June 12, when the basement girders were set. The first granite was set August 28.
Entire Block Owned By County
The county building occupies the entire east half of the block bounded by Clark, Randolph, LaSalle and Washington streets; the city hall, the west half. The entire block of land, however, is the property of Cook county. Under a contract entered into in 1872 the city of Chicago is given the use of the west half so long as it is occupied by a city hall, with the provision that the county building and city hall shall be uni- form in general exterior design and appearance.
The courthouse, eleven stories high, rests upon 130 concrete caissons that extend down to the solid rock, 115 feet beneath the surface. It contains 11,000 tons of structural steel, 14,000 tons of granite, and 33,000 tons of concrete.
The building has three basements, the first one being full, and the other two only part full. Under the third basement is the narrow gauge railroad which suspended operations in 1958. (This was a portion of the 62-mile underground rail system formerly used in hauling ashes and debris from large buildings in Chicago's central business district. The county building and city hall were among the beneficiaries of these services. )
At the time of its construction, Cook county's present court- house reputedly was the largest county building in the United
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COMMITTEE MEETINGS
* STANDING COMMITTEES
EDUCATION
BUILDING
HOSPITAL
CIVIL SERVICE
INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS
FINANCE
GISLATION
Jur
-BUC SERVICE
JADS & BRIDGES
SUB -
STIONS
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MORG
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Twelve of the fifteen members of the County Board, and the committee clerk, pictured following 1914 elections. Seated, left to right, Committee Clerk Peter J. Ellert, Commissioner Daniel Ryan (became president in 1921 and was the father of the Daniel Ryan who has been president since 1954), President Peter Reinberg, and Commissioners Owen O'Malley and William H. Maclean. Standing, left to right, Commissioners Thomas Kasperski, George A. Miller, Bartley Burg, Joseph Carolan, Daniel Moriarty, Wil- liam Busse (once president), Albert Nowak and Frank Ragen. Not in picture were Commissioners Joseph M. Fitzgerald, Dudley D. Pierson and William D. Scott. All except Miller are deceased.
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