Thomas J. Courtney (December 23, 1892 – December 3, 1971) was an influential Illinois Democratic politician and attorney for roughly 50 years in the mid-20th Century. Courtney was born in Chicago, Illinois to James R. Courtney and Catherine (Hussey) Courtney. In 1917 he married Kathryn Foley. In 1927 he was elected to the Illinois State Senate from the 11th District, serving one term of six years. In his last year in the legislature, Courtney ran successfully for Cook County State's Attorney, and for the next dozen years held that office. During his tenure, Courtney frequently made local and even national news for such actions as the "railroaded" prosecution of mobster

Roger Touhy Roger Touhy (September 18, 1898 – December 16, 1959) was an Irish American mob boss and prohibition-era bootlegger from Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. He is best remembered for having been framed for the 1933 faked kidnapping of gan ...

for the fake kidnapping of Jake "The Barber" Factor; investigating a

CTA CTA may refer to: Legislation *Children's Television Act, American legislation passed in 1990 that enforces a certain degree of educational television *Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 *Criminal Tribes Act, British legislation in India passed in 1871 wh ...

"L" crash where 20 persons died, raiding betting parlors, and raiding slot machines. Numerous raids in 1938 netted headlines but no convictions and are viewed by historians as political show. While State's Attorney Courtney was twice a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

. In the late 1930s, Courtney tried to ally himself with Governor Henry Horner in the latter's political feud with Chicago mayor

Ed Kelly Edmond Kelly, also known as "Ed" or "Eddie" and nicknamed the Silver Fox (born October 24, 1948 in Dublin, Ireland), is an Irish-American former soccer player. He played in the American Soccer League and one season in the North American Socc ...

and Democratic boss Patrick A. Nash, going so far as to challenge Kelly in the 1939 mayoral primary. Horner, however, had reconciled with the Democratic bosses, and without Horner's support, Courtney was beaten by a 2:1 margin. In 1944, Courtney was the Democratic nominee for governor of Illinois, losing in the general election to Republican incumbent

Dwight H. Green Dwight Herbert Green (January 9, 1897 – February 20, 1958) was an American politician who served as the 30th Governor of the US state of Illinois, serving from 1941 to 1949. From childhood to early adulthood Green was born in Ligonier, No ...

. The next year, 1945, he became a judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County and served on the bench for the next quarter-century, until 1970. He died the year after he left the bench, in 1971, in Chicago. Courtney was a Catholic and a member of the Knights of Columbus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtney, Thomas J. 1892 births 1971 deaths Illinois state court judges Democratic Party Illinois state senators District attorneys in Illinois 20th-century American legislators Politicians from Chicago 20th-century American judges 20th-century Illinois politicians