Richard J. Elrod (February 17, 1934 – April 19, 2014) was an American jurist, sheriff, and legislator.

Biography

Born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family 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 ...

, Elrod received his bachelor's and law degrees from

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 ...

. Elrod's father was Arthur X. Elrod, a

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

operative who would go on to serve as a

Cook County Commissioner The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the Uni ...

and Chicago's 25th ward's

committeeman In the United States, a political party committee is an organization, officially affiliated with a political party and registered with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), which raises and spends money for political campaigning. Political party ...

. Elrod was Chicago's Assistant Corporation Counsel from 1958 through 1970, and its Chief City Prosecutor from 1960 through 1970. Elrod served in 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 ...

, in 1969, as a Democrat. While serving in the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...

, Elrod was seriously injured and left paralyzed while helping a Chicago police officer capture a man during the

Days of Rage The Days of Rage were a series of protests during three days in October 1969 in Chicago, organized by the emerging Weatherman faction of Students for a Democratic Society. The group planned the October 8–11 event as a "National Action" ...

conflict in 1969. Elrod was elected

Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois The Cook County Sheriff is the Sheriffs in the United States, sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, heading the Cook County Sheriff's Office. Office description Terms are currently four-years in length. Officeholders Rec ...

in 1970, defeating Republican nominee

Bernard Carey Bernard Carey was an American politician who served as Cook County State's Attorney from 1972 through 1980. Afterwards, he would serve on the Cook County Board of Commissioners and as a judge on the Circuit Court of Cook County. A Republican, h ...

. He would serve four terms. He was reelected thrice, first in 1974 (defeating Republican Peter Bensinger), then in 1978 (defeating Republican Donald Mulack), then in 1982 (defeating Republican Joseph Kozenczak). In 1986, he lost reelection to Republican

James E. O'Grady James E. O'Grady (born 1929) is a former law enforcement official who served as Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department and Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois. Early life O'Grady was born in 1929 in Chicago. His father was a police officer. ...

. From 1986 until 1988, he worked as the Senior Assistant Attorney General, working under

Illinois Attorney General The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by statewide election. Based in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, the attorney ...

Neil Hartigan Neil F. Hartigan (born May 4, 1938) is an American lawyer and politician from Illinois. He served as the Attorney General of Illinois, the 40th Lieutenant Governor, and a justice of the Illinois Appellate Court. Hartigan was also the Democra ...

. Elrod was then appointed as a judge on the

Circuit Court of Cook County The Circuit Court of Cook County is the largest of the 24 judicial circuits in Illinois as well as one of the largest unified court systems in the United States — second only in size to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County since that court ...

in August 1988, where he continued to serve until his death in 2014. He died of cancer in Chicago, Illinois.'Illinois Blue Book 1969-1970,' Biographical Sketch of Richard J. Elrod, pg. 214-215

Personal life

In 1955, he married Marilyn Mann; they had two children: Steven Elrod and Audrey Elrod Lakin. After his death, services were held at Temple Am Shalom in

Glencoe, Illinois Glencoe () is a lakefront village in northeastern Cook County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,849. Glencoe is part of Chicago's North Shore and is located within the New Trier High School District. Glenc ...

. His sister was Gloria Sheppard Bliss.

In popular culture

Elrod appears as a character in

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only wr ...

's 1982 novel

The Dean's December ''The Dean's December'' is a 1982 novel by the American author Saul Bellow. Setting The first novel Bellow published after winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1976, it is set in Chicago and Bucharest. Plot The book's main character, Albert ...

, both for the Days of Rage injury he received early in the novel and later in the protagonist Albert Corde's friendship during Elrod's career as Sheriff of Cook County.

Notes

1934 births 2014 deaths Lawyers from Chicago Politicians from Chicago Northwestern University alumni Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County Sheriffs of Cook County, Illinois 20th-century American Jews Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Deaths from cancer in Illinois 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American Jews {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-stub