Edward Joseph Kelly Politician
Edward Joseph Kelly (May 1, 1876 – October 20, 1950) served as chief engineer of the Chicago Sanitary District in the 1920s, and later as mayor of Chicago, Illinois (1933–1947); he was a Democrat. Born to Stephen and Helen (née Lang) Kelly, he was the first of five Chicago mayors from Bridgeport. Kelly was the chief engineer of the Sanitary District in the 1920s. He was sponsored by Patrick Nash, the owner of a sewer-contracting company that did millions of dollars of business with the city. He subsequently became president of the South Park Board, a position that presided over the building of Soldier Field. Under his tenure Soldier Field cost $8 million, while a similar Los Angeles stadium only cost $1.7 million.Kelly was Mayor of Chicago during the 1933-34 Century of Progress. He was famous for banning Nelson Algren's book Never Come Morning from the Chicago Public Library; the ban remained in force for decades due to the outcry by Chicago Polonia upon its release.Following the assassination of Mayor Anton Cermak, Kelly was hand-picked by his friend, Patrick Nash, Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party, for the mayoral election of 1933. Together, Kelly and Nash built one of the most powerful, and most corrupt, big city political organizations, called the "Kelly-Nash Machine". In 1947, Kelly acquiesced to the Cook County Democratic Party's decision to slate a candidate with reform credentials for mayor and was succeeded by Martin H. Kennelly.
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