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John E. Traeger

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American politician
John E. Traeger
Cook County Sheriff
In office
December 3, 1928 – December 1930
Preceded byCharles E. Graydon
Succeeded byWilliam D. Meyering
In office
December 1914 – December 1918
Preceded byMichael Zimmer
Succeeded byCharles W. Peters
Chicago City Comptroller
In office
April 1911 – December 1914
Preceded byWalter W. Wilson
Succeeded byMichael Zimmer
Chicago City Treasurer
In office
April 1907 – April 1911
Preceded byFred W. Blocki
Succeeded byIsaac N. Powell
Chicago City Collector
In office
June 1905 – March 1907
Preceded byEdward M. Lahiff
Succeeded byErnest J. Magerstadt
Cook County Coroner
In office
December 1900 – December 1904
Preceded byGeorge Berz
Succeeded byPeter M. Hoffman
Lake, Illinois Town Collector
In office
1897–1899
Personal details
BornNovember 13, 1859
DiedOctober 16, 1946 (aged 88)
Chicago, Illinois
Political partyDemocratic

John Edward Traeger (November 13, 1859–October 16, 1946) was an American politician who served as Cook County Sheriff, Cook County Coroner, and Chicago City Treasurer. He also served as Chicago city comptroller, Chicago city collector, Lake, Illinois city collector, and as a member of the Cook County Jury Commission.

Early life

Traeger was born November 13, 1859.

Traeger was educated in Chicago Public Schools.

In 1884, Traeger got married.

Beginning in the late 1880s, Traeger began residing on Chicago's South Side.

Traeger became employed in the pork meatpacking business.

In 1904, he became vice president of the newly organized Stockmen's Trust and Savings Bank, a job that he would hold for decades.

Lake Town Collector

Being elected in 1897 and reelected in 1898 and 1899, Traeger served as the town collector for Lake Township, Cook County, Illinois, from 1897 through 1899.

Cook County Coroner

In 1900, with the backing of Carter Harrison Jr. and Robert E. Burke, Traeger was nominated by the Democratic Party for the Cook County coroner election. He was the only Democrat to win election to a countywide office that year.

Traeger took office in December 1900.

On December 30, 1903, the county saw great tragedy when the Iroquois Theatre caught fire, killing more than 600 people. Traeger arrived at the theater soon after the fire had started, and would work throughout the following night to remove deceased and injured victims from the building. As coroner, he was responsible for the inquest into the fire. The day after the fire, Traeger empaneled a jury. The formal inquest was launched January 7, 1904, being held in the chambers of the Chicago City Council. It lasted 29 days. Traeger played a role in the introduction of safety measures such as steel curtains for theaters and a role mandating that fire escape doors must be unlocked.

Other deadly disasters that occurred in Cook County during his tenure as coroner included the St. Luke's Sanitarium fire and the 1904 Doremus train wreck.

In 1904, Traeger was nominated for reelection as treasurer. His Republican opponent was Peter M. Hoffman, who was a very popular politician. Traeger lost the 1904 election to Hoffman by a broad 60,000 margin.

Chicago City Collector

In June 1905, Mayor Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne appointed Trager as Chicago city collector. Traeger held this position through March 1907.

During his tenure, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Cook County sheriff in 1906. Instead, James J. Gray received the nomination at the Democratic Party's county convention.

Chicago City Treasurer

In April 1907, Traeger was elected Chicago city treasurer. He was the only Democratic nominee to win a citywide office in that year's Chicago municipal elections. Traeger, one of the county's most popular German American figures, was seen as benefiting from the support of the same German American electorate that overwhelmingly supported Republican Fred A. Busse in the coinciding mayoral election. Notably, after the 1907 municipal elections, the offices of mayor, city treasurer, county coroner, and county sheriff all became held by German Americans. Trager's Republican opponent in the 1908 treasurer election had been considered a weak candidate.

The Chicago Tribune would later credit him as being the first Chicago city treasurer, "to collect interest for the order to benefit of the various pension funds."

In the 1911 Chicago mayoral election, Trager backed Carter Harrison Jr. in his successful Democratic primary election challenge to the incumbent Dunne.

Chicago City Comptroller

After Harrison became mayor again, having won the 1911 mayoral general election, he appointed Traeger as Chicago city comptroller.

First tenure as Cook County Sheriff

Traeger considered either running for mayor in 1915, or for Cook County Treasurer in 1914. He instead, successfully, ran for Cook County Sheriff as the Democratic nominee.

Activities between tenures as sheriff

Trager left office as Sheriff in 1918, but he would return to that office ten years later. In the interim period, he remained involved in government and politics. Traeger was a delegate to the 1920 Illinois constitutional convention. In 1923, mayor William Emmett Dever appointed Traeger to Chicago's zoning appeal board. He retained this position until his 1928 election to another term as sheriff.

Second tenure as Cook County Sheriff

In 1928, Traeger won the special election for Cook County sheriff. He won the Democratic nomination, running unopposed in the primary. In the general election, he defeated Republican nominee George H. Weideling. This made Traeger the first person to be elected to two terms as Cook County sheriff.

Trager took his oath of office on November 28, 1928, but did not formally take office until 10:30 on December 3, 1928.

After taking office, he hired his son John Ernest Traeger as assistant sheriff.

Traeger encountered a scandal when Cook County judges, including John P. McGoorty, advised him against continuing with patronage hires he had been undertaking, replacing county jail employees with inexperienced political hires.

Trager left office in December 1930.

County Jury Commissioner

Traeger was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Cook County Jury Commission, taking office on January 25, 1935. He was immediately made chairman of the committee. He would serve four terms, holding the office until his death. At the end of his tenure, he was the oldest individual serving as a Cook County official.

Personal life

Traeger's son, John Ernest Traeger, served 18 years as a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, as well two years on the Cook County Board of Assessors, Cook County assistant sheriff (during Traeger's second term as Cook County Sheriff), and a stint as chief deputy clerk of the Cook County Superior Court.

Death

On October 3, 1946, while boarding a Halsted Street streetcar at 55th street, Traeger fell, suffering lacerations to his scalp. He received treatment at Chicago's Evangelical Hospital, and was released from the hospital. However, his condition worsened, and he would die October 16, 1946 at Evangelical Hospital at the age of 88.

References

  1. "$400,000 COAL DEAL RUSHED BY BUSSE REGIME IN LAST DAYS; INDEPENDENTS SHUN BIDDING". Newspapers.com. Chicago Examiner. 16 Apr 1911. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  2. "DOYLE AND BURNS HELD". Newspapers.com. The Day Book (Chicago, Illinois). 4 Dec 1914. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  3. ^ "DUNNE SWEEPS HARRISON LEADERS FROM PAY ROLL". Newspapers.com. The Inter Ocean (Chicago). 20 Jun 1905. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  4. "List of Appointments". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 16 Apr 1907. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  5. ^ "J.E. Traeger County Board Officials, Dies". Newspapers.com. Suburbanite Economist. 14 Feb 1951. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Weilding and Traeger Run for Sheriff; Both Experienced". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 17 Oct 1928. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  7. "JOHN E. TRAGER THE NEXT CORONER OF COOK COUNTY". Newspapers.com. The Broad Ax. 20 Oct 1900. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  8. ^ "JURYMEN FIND OLD MASTER'S ADVICE SOUND". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 8 Aug 1943. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  9. ^ "BOUNCE TRAEGER". Newspapers.com. Chicago Eagle. 22 Nov 1913.
  10. "DEMOCRATS YIELD ALL FOR HARMONY". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 27 Jul 1906. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  11. "Fred A. Busse Elected Mayor of Chicago". Newspapers.com. The Broad Ax. 6 Apr 1907. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  12. "EAGLETS". Newspapers.com. Chicago Eagle. 6 Dec 1913. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  13. The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for ... Chicago Daily News Company. 1921. p. 598.
  14. "WINNERS IN COOK COUNTY". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 11 Apr 1928. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  15. "NEW COUNTY OFFICIALS TAKE OFFICES THEY WON AT ELECTION". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 4 Dec 1928. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  16. "Traeger First of Polls Victors to Take Office". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 29 Nov 1928. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  17. "LIUET. COLLINS NAMED CHIEF OF HIGHWAY POLICE". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 1 Dec 1928.
  18. "TRAEGER'S JAIL SCANDAL". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 27 May 1929. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  19. "JURY COMMISSION MEMBERS RESIGN IN FACE OF QUIZ". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 25 Jan 1935. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  20. ^ "JOHN TRAEGER DIES; OLDEST COUNTY AID HELD OFFICE 49 YEARS". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 16 Oct 1946. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  21. "JOHN E. TRAEGER RITES ATTENDED BY COUNTY AIDS". Newspapers.com. Chicago Tribune. 16 Feb 1951. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
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