John M. Bolton (October 5, 1901 – July 9, 1936) was an American businessman and politician in Chicago.

Biography

Bolton was born in

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

and attended Chicago public schools. He was in the floral business and insurance business. 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 ...

, he was first elected to the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

, representing the Second District, in the fall of 1930, taking office in early 1931. He was re-elected in 1932, and in 1934 (unopposed). Bolton was shot to death following a car chase in Chicago shortly after midnight on July 9, 1936. The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

reported that he may have been assassinated by

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

figures due to his efforts to legalize some forms of betting, and the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' attributed his death to "gangsters" in a page-one story. The ''Tribune'' also published photos of Bolton's car, which had crashed at Washtenaw Avenue and Harrison Street, and noted that Bolton had a brother who had been a

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

gangster. A follow-up story by the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

reported that Bolton may have been killed because he was unsuccessful in helping some prisoners in the Joliet Penitentiary get

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

. Bolton was buried at

All Saints Cemetery All Saints Cemetery is a cemetery of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, and is located at 700 North River Road, in Des Plaines, Illinois. The original 1923 East cemetery was expanded in 1954 to include All Saints West. The cemetery include ...

in Chicago. His assailants were not caught and remain unknown. Bolton was married and had two foster children at the time of his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, John M. 1901 births 1936 deaths 1936 murders in the United States 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople Politicians from Chicago Businesspeople from Chicago Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives People murdered in Illinois Male murder victims Assassinated American politicians Deaths by firearm in Illinois Unsolved murders in the United States Assassinated American State House representatives