Michael F. Sheahan

Michael F. Sheahan (born 1944/1945) is an American politician and sheriff. He formerly served as Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois and as a Chicago alderman.

Michael F. Sheahan
Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois
In office
December 1990 – December 2006
Preceded byJames E. O'Grady
Succeeded byTom Dart
Chicago Alderman from the 19th Ward
In office
April 16, 1979 (April 16, 1979) – December 1990
Preceded byJeremiah E. Joyce
Succeeded byVirginia Rugai
Personal details
Born1944 or 1945
Alma materGovernors State University (M.Ed.)
Saint Joseph's College

Early life

Sheahan was born in 1944 or 1945.[1]

He received a Master of Education from Governors State University and a bachelor's degree from Saint Joseph's College.[1]

Early career

Sheahan worked as a high school teacher and coach from 1967 through 1971.[1] From 1971 through 1979, he worked as an officer for the Chicago Police Department.[1]

Chicago alderman

In 1979, Sheahan was elected alderman from Chicago's 19th Ward, taking office in the Chicago City Council on April 16, 1979.[2]

He was reelected in 1983 and 1987.

During the Council Wars of the mayoralty of Harold Washington, Sheahan was a member of the Vrdolyak 29, a bloc of alderman, led by Edward Vrdolyak, which stood in opposition to Washington.[3] Amid the Washington mayoralty, Sheahan even spoke of possibly switching to the Republican Party.[4]

During the period in which Eugene Sawyer was mayor, he was considered supportive of the mayor.[5] He was also considered a political ally of mayor Richard M. Daley.[6]

Cook County Sheriff

1990 election
Main article: 1990 Cook County, Illinois elections § Sheriff

Corruption allegations had taken a toll on incumbent Republican James E. O'Grady's prospects for reelection.[7] O'Grady ultimately had failed to live up to his 1986 campaign promises of disposing of politics and corruption in the Cook County Sheriff's Office, and had become unpopular among his constituents.[8]

Amid the 1990 campaign, a Cook County correctional officer was shot and critically wounded while hanging signs for Sheahan outside of the South Side bar.[9] Three men, including a correctional officer who supported O'Grady, were arrested for this.[9] This led to a decline of O'Grady's support in the polls.[9] Additionally, an incident soon after occurred where Sheahan had a campaign office shot at.[10]

In 1990, Sheahan defeated O'Grady by a broad margin.[8] O'Grady suffered one of biggest defeats that a Republican Party nominee had experienced in a countywide Cook County election in years.[8] Sheahan had managed to beat O'Grady in 24 of the county's 30 suburban townships and in every ward of Chicago.[9] Sheahan had even managed to carry many of the county's Republican strongholds.[9]

Tenure

Sheahan was reelected in 1994, 1998, and 2002.[11]

Early into his tenure, he received praise for running what appeared to be a much less corrupt Sheriff's Office than his predecessors had.[4] To "clean up" the office, he ended the practice of soliciting sheriff's workers for political contributions, and he fired dozens of "ghost workers" who were paid for no-show jobs.[4] He also ended the long-corrupt part-time deputy program.[4]

Sheahan received praise for programs such as a boot camp for first-time offenders.[12] He also received criticism over abuse of inmates by jail guards.[12]

Sheahan regularly butted heads with members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.[13]

In November 2005, he announced that he would not be seeking reelection the following year.[12] His term would end in December 2006.[12]

Personal life

Shehan and his wife Nancy have six children, Katie, Michael, Terrence, Timothy, Patrick, and Ryan.[1]

His brother James "Skinny" Sheahan is a civic leader on Chicago's Southwest Side.[14] Richard M. Daley appointed him as Chicago's Director of Special Events in 1993.[6] He would long serve as a Daley aid.[15] James sits on the board of Special Olympics Chicago.[16]

Electoral history

Aldermanic
1979 Chicago 19th Ward aldermanic election
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Michael F. Sheahan
Nonpartisan
Total votes 100
1983 Chicago 19th Ward aldermanic election
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Michael F. Sheahan
Nonpartisan
Total votes 100
1987 Chicago 19th Ward aldermanic election
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Michael F. Sheahan
Nonpartisan Maurice E. Johnson
Total votes 100


Sheriff
1990
1990 Cook County Sheriff Democratic primary[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael F. Sheahan 402,634 69.86
Democratic Philip Morris 106,237 18.43
Democratic John J. Flood 67,450 11.70
Total votes 576,321 100
1990 Cook County Sheriff election[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael F. Sheahan 719,489 55.41
Republican James E. O'Grady (incumbent) 369,631 28.47
Harold Washington Tommy Brewer 191,101 14.72
Illinois Solidarity William M. Piechuch Sr. 18,318 1.41
Total votes 1,298,539 100
1994
1994 Cook County Sheriff Democratic primary[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael F. Sheahan (incumbent) 388,977 67.41
Democratic Tommy H. Brewer 188,025 32.59
Total votes 577,002 100
1994 Cook County Sheriff election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael F. Sheahan (incumbent)
Republican John D. Tourtelot
Harold Washington William A. Brown
Populist William J. Benson
Total votes 100
1998
1998 Cook County Sheriff Democratic primary[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael F. Sheahan (incumbent) 367,157 100
Total votes 367,157 100
1998 Cook County Sheriff election[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael F. Sheahan (incumbent) 903,053 71.11
Republican LeRoy Martin 366,867 28.89
Total votes 1,269,920 100
2002
2002 Cook County Sheriff Democratic primary[22][23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael F. Sheahan (incumbent) 558,682 100
Total votes 558,682 100
2002 Cook County Sheriff election[24][25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Michael F. Sheahan (incumbent) 984,348 76.88
Republican Ronald Swick 296,062 23.12
Total votes 1,280,410 100

References
  1. "LONGTIME COPS VIE FOR SHERIFF'S BADGE". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. 7 October 1998. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  2. "Centennial List of Mayors, City Clerks, City Attorneys, City Treasurers, and Aldermen, elected by the people of the city of Chicago, from the incorporation of the city on March 4, 1837 to March 4, 1937, arranged in alphabetical order, showing the years during which each official held office". Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  3. Joravsky, Ben (29 October 1998). "What did you do in the Council Wars, daddy?". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  4. Crimmins, Jerry (10 February 1994). "SHERIFF CANDIDATES SPAR OVER THEIR PARTY LOYALTY". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  5. "Chicago Mayor Purges Foes". The New York Times. 15 July 1988. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  6. Davis, Robert (5 January 1993). "SHERIFF'S BROTHER TO SUCCEED OSTERMAN". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune.
  7. Gradel, Thomas J.; Simpson, Dick; Kelly, Tom (18 February 2010). "Corruption in Cook County: Anti-Corruption Report Number 3" (PDF). UIC. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  8. Panagakis, Nick (December 1990). "Cook County's two 'third parties'". Illinois Issues. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  9. O`Connor, Matt (8 November 1990). "GOP'S HOPES FOR O'GRADY GO SOUR". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  10. "Illinois Election 1990. Candidate profiles. Cook County". nwitimes.com. The Times of Northwest Indiana. 4 November 1990. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  11. Stewart, Russ. "BLACK OPPOSITION FIZZLES TO DARTíS SHERIFF BID". Russ Stewart. Archived from the original on 17 June 2007.
  12. "Sheriff to call it quits". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. 22 November 2005.
  13. Calhoun, Ben (21 November 2005). "Cook County Sheriff Calls it Quits". WBEZ Chicago. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  14. Ruthart, Bill; Pratt, Gregory; Perez Jr., Juan (25 March 2019). "How Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle are courting the white voters who didn't support them in February". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  15. "I Deserve Every Penny". Better Government Association. 31 March 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  16. Ludwig, Howard (6 September 2017). "Ald. Matt O'Shea Will Run The Chicago Marathon Again For Special Olympics". DNAinfo Chicago. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  17. "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS PRIMARY ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, MARCH 20, 1990" (PDF). www.voterinfo.net. Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2008.
  18. "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1990" (PDF). voterinfo.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2008.
  19. "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS PRIMARY ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 1994 DEMOCRATIC PARTY" (PDF). Cook County Clerk. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  20. "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS PRIMARY ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 1998" (PDF). www.cookcountyclerkil.com.
  21. "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1998" (PDF). results.cookcountyclerkil.gov.
  22. "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE GENERAL PRIMARY ELECTION HELD IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO ON TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 2002 A.D." (PDF). Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  23. "SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY RESULTS". voterinfonet.com. Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original on 9 February 2005.
  24. "SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY RESULTS COUNTY WIDE". voterinfo.net. Archived from the original on 9 February 2005.
  25. "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION HELD IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2002 A.D." (PDF). Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
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