Chester Anton Chesney (March 9, 1916 – September 20, 1986) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Early life and education

Chesney was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, of Polish descent.Pula, James. "Chesney, Chester Anton". ''Polish American Encyclopedia''. p. 59. He attended St. Hyacinth and Lane Technical High School. He graduated from the

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, in 1938.

Early career

Chesney later played professional football with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

in 1939 and 1940. He entered the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

in June 1941 as a private and was discharged as a major in 1946 with service in the Pacific and European Theaters. He served as assistant chief of special service, Veterans Administration,

Hines, Illinois Hines is an unincorporated community in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located in Proviso Township next to the villages of Broadview, Maywood, Forest Park, and North Riverside. Government and infrastructure The United States Posta ...

, in 1946 and 1947. After the war, he took graduate work at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Graduate Commerce School in 1947. He became an Executive with Montgomery Ward & Co., in 1948 and 1949. He later served as vice-president and director of Avondale Savings & Loan Association.

Political career

Chesney was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Eighty-first Congress (January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1951). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1950 to the Eighty-second Congress, though served as delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Personal life

He was a resident of

Marco Island, Florida Marco Island is a small sea island, or barrier island, on the Gulf Coast of the United States located 20 miles (32 km) south of Naples in Collier County, Florida. Marco Island is an affluent beach and boating resort island with a small-town ...

, until his death there September 20, 1986. He was interred in

St. Adalbert Cemetery St Adalbert Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery located in Niles, Illinois. It is bordered by Milwaukee Avenue on the east, Albion and Hayes Streets on the south, and Harlem Avenue on the west. Various non-cemetery properties separate it from To ...

, Niles, Illinois.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chesney, Chester A 1916 births 1986 deaths American athlete-politicians Politicians from Chicago United States Army Air Forces officers Chicago Bears players American politicians of Polish descent 20th-century American politicians People from Marco Island, Florida Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Military personnel from Illinois