LeRoy Martin

Martin was born the fourth of five children in 1929[1] in Chicago, Illinois.[2] His parents migrated to Chicago from Grenada, Mississippi in the early-1920s.[2] Martin's father was a pullman porter. Martin was raised in the North Lawndale neighborhood on the city's west side, attending Richard T. Crane Technical High School.[2] Martin later earned a master's degree in Public Administration and a bachelor's degree from Roosevelt University.[5]

In the 1950s, Martin worked as a bus driver for the Chicago Transit Authority.[5] Martin joined the Chicago Police Department in 1955 as a patrolman in the Woodlawn and Burnside neighborhoods on the city's south side.[5] Martin was appointed superintendent of the Chicago Police Department by mayor Harold Washington on November 18, 1987. Martin served as superintendent until January 1992.[5] After his term as superintendent, Martin served as the Director of Public Safety for the Chicago Housing Authority from 1992 until 1994.[5] Thereafter, Martin worked in the private sector security director for Central Management Services.[5] In 1998, Martin ran as a Republican, challenging Michael F. Sheahan to be the Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois.[5] Martin was unsuccessful.