Edward J. Rosewell was an American politician who served as

Cook County treasurer The Cook County Treasurer is the treasurer of county government in Cook County, Illinois Office description The Cook County Treasurer oversees what is the United States' second-largest system of property tax collection and distribution. The off ...

Early life

Rosewell was born in 1924 or 1925. He was the youngest son of his parents. His father was a

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

, and his mom was a

homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a hous ...

. Rosewell grew up in the Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago. He went to Our Lady of Sorrows Elementary School and St. Philip High School. He graduated from

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

Career

Rosewell served two years in the

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. Craven began his political career as a young man, working in the 24th Ward of Chicago as a

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. In the 1950s he became involved in a Young Democrats group, helping found the organization. Other members at the time included

Richard Mell Richard F. "Dick" Mell (born May 5, 1938) is an American politician. A Democrat, he served on the Chicago City Council from 1975 to 2013. He retired in 2013 and was succeeded by Deb Mell, his daughter. Early life Mell was born and raised in Musk ...

Ted Lechowicz Thaddeus S. "Ted" Lechowicz (December 20, 1938 – January 5, 2009) was an American politician and businessman. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Lechowicz went to Weber High School in Chicago. He received his associate degree from Wright Junior Col ...

, and Harry Comerford. Rosewell served as executive director of the

Illinois State Toll Highway Authority The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA) is an administrative agency of the U.S. state of Illinois charged with building, operating, and maintaining toll roads in the state. The roads, as well as the authority itself, are sometimes referr ...

. He served as a commissioner of the

Chicago Park District The Chicago Park District is one of the oldest and the largest park districts in the United States. As of 2016, there are over 600 parks included in the Chicago Park District as well as 27 beaches, several boat harbors, two botanic conservatorie ...

. He worked in the private sector a vice president in the public funds division of

Continental Illinois The Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company was at one time the seventh-largest commercial bank in the United States as measured by deposits, with approximately $40 billion in assets. In 1984, Continental Illinois became the largest ...

. He worked there until 1974.

Cook County Treasurer

In 1974,

Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Chicago from 1955 and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee from 1953 until his death. He has been cal ...

asked him to run for

. As the Democratic nominee, he was elected. He was reelected in 1978, 1982, 1986,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, and

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. In 1984, he was acquitted of bank fraud by a jury. He had been

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...

on June 8, 1983. It had been alleged that he had understated debts from a failed clothing venture of his in order to qualify to receive loans from banks which also held substantial deposits from the county government. Under indictment, Rosewell opted not to seek reelection in the 1998 election to what would have been a seventh term. In the autumn of 1998, he resigned after pleading guilty to charges of having put two state legislators ( Bruce Farley and

Miguel Santiago Miguel Santiago (born March 6, 1973) is an American politician, currently serving in the California State Assembly, where he serves as chairman of the Communications and Conveyance Committee. Santiago is a Democrat representing the 53rd Asse ...

) in ghost jobs in the treasurer's office, which gave thousands of dollars in salary and benefits in exchange for little or no work. During his trial, federal prosecutors argued that Rosewell's office had widespread corruption and

nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...

Death

Craven died at Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee, Illinois on July 29, 1999 from a chronic liver ailment related to hepatitis C. After his death, his former spokesman Tom Leach said that he had suffered this ailment since 1996. After his death, a federal judge vacated his conviction, saying that Rosewell had been mentally unfit when he signed his plea agreement.

Personal life

Rosewell as a devout

catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and once met

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. He developed a friendship with Cardinal

Joseph Bernardin Joseph Louis Bernardin (April 2, 1928 – November 14, 1996) was an American Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Cincinnati from 1972 until 1982, and as Archbishop of Chicago from 1982 until his death in 1996 from ...

Works authored

;Articles *Rosewell, Edward J. (August 1, 1991).
Rosewell Begs to Differ
. '' Chicago Reader''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosewell, Edward J Cook County Treasurers 1999 deaths Illinois Democrats Illinois politicians convicted of crimes People from Kankakee, Illinois