Lennington "Len" Small (June 16, 1862 – May 17, 1936) was an American politician who served as the 26th Governor of Illinois from 1921 to 1929. He previously was a member of the Illinois state senate from the 16th District from 1901 to 1903 and was Illinois state treasurer, from 1905 to 1907, and from 1917 to 1919. He is known for accusations of

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

brought against him.

Early life

Small was born in

Kankakee County, Illinois Kankakee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 113,449. Its county seat is Kankakee. Kankakee County comprises the Kankakee, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History St ...

, and attended public education at Northern Indiana Normal School, now Valparaiso University, through his senior year. After schooling, became a teacher, and invested in real estate, eventually owning a farm, a bank, and Kankakee's daily newspaper. In 1883, Small married Ida Moore, and they had three children together. Six months after the Governor's inauguration, on June 26, 1922, Ida Moore Small died suddenly from apoplexy (the term at the time for a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

) at the age of 60 while Small and his wife were being welcomed home following his acquittal on charges of

Political career

Small began his political career in 1901 when he became a member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

. He served in the Illinois Senate from 1901 to 1905. Small was the

Illinois Treasurer The Treasurer of Illinois is an elected official of the U.S. state of Illinois. The office was created by the Constitution of Illinois. Current Occupant The current Treasurer of Illinois is Democrat Mike Frerichs. He was first elected to head t ...

from 1905 to 1907, and again from 1917 to 1919. He served as the assistant U.S. Treasurer in charge of the sub treasury at Chicago from 1908 to 1912, and was a delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois in 1908, 1912, and 1932. Small was elected governor of Illinois in 1920 and was reelected in in 1924. He was indicted, six months after becoming governor, for embezzling over a million dollars in a money-laundering scheme in which he placed state funds into a fake bank while he was state treasurer. He was acquitted, but eight jurors later got state jobs, raising suspicions of jury tampering. As governor, Small pardoned 20 members of the

Communist Labor Party of America The Communist Labor Party of America (CLPA) was one of the organizational predecessors of the Communist Party USA. The group was established at the end of August 1919 following a three-way split of the Socialist Party of America. Although a legal ...

, convicted under the Illinois Sedition Act. He also pardoned or paroled over 1000 convicted felons, including Harry Guzik, brother of the Chicago Outfit's Jake Guzik, of Posen, Illinois, who was convicted of kidnapping young girls and forcing them into lives of

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

(then commonly called white slavery). In 1923, bootlegger Edward "Spike" O'Donnell of Southside Chicago was released from prison by Small. O'Donnell returned to Chicago as the leader of one of the most powerful bootlegging gangs in the city. Small's reputation for corruption finally caught up with him at the ballot box when he was defeated in the 1928 Republican " Pineapple Primary" by a margin of 63% to 37% against Louis Lincoln Emmerson, the incumbent Illinois Secretary of State. Small made a failed run for governor in 1932, and another in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

Death

Small died on May 17, 1936. He is buried at Mound Grove Cemetery in

Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee is a city in and the county seat of Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. As of 2020, the city's population was 24,052. Kankakee is a principal city of the Kankakee-Bourbonnais-Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area. It serves as an ...

References

External links

National Governors Association

Illinois State Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Small, Len 1862 births 1936 deaths Republican Party governors of Illinois Republican Party Illinois state senators People from Kankakee, Illinois Valparaiso University alumni State treasurers of Illinois Illinois politicians convicted of corruption

Early life

Political career

Death

References

Further reading

External links