William Emmett Dever | |
|---|---|
 Dever in 1923 | |
| 42nd[1] Mayor of Chicago | |
| In office April 16, 1923 – April 18, 1927 | |
| Preceded by | William Hale Thompson |
| Succeeded by | William Hale Thompson |
| Justice of Illinois' First District Appellate Court | |
| In office 1916–1923 | |
| Justice of the Superior Court of Cook County | |
| In office 1910–1916 | |
| Alderman of the Chicago City Council | |
| In office 1902–1910 Serving with [note 1] Lewis D. Sitts | |
| Preceded by | Frank Oberndorf |
| Succeeded by | Stanley S. Walkowiak |
| Constituency | 17th ward |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 13, 1862 Woburn, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | September 3, 1929 (aged 67) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Katherine Conway Dever |
| Residence(s) | Chicago, Illinois |
William Emmett Dever (March 13, 1862 – September 3, 1929) was an American politician. He was the mayor of Chicago from 1923 to 1927. He had previously served as a judge and before that an alderman. As an alderman and judge he would work to become the Democratic candidate for mayor for over two decades.
Born in Massachusetts but moving to Chicago in young adulthood, William Dever became an alderman and prominently supported municipal ownership of mass transit. He was a member of the Dunne wing of the local Democratic party.
As mayor, he focused on reform and infrastructure during his tenure. Later he would turn his attention to the enforcement of Prohibition despite his personal opposition to it. Such enforcement was initially effective, but indifference from government at other levels limited its efficacy and the lower amount of alcohol increased violence among bootleggers, souring Chicagoans' view on it. Losing to William Hale Thompson in 1927 over the issue, he is the last Democratic nominee in a partisan Chicago mayoral election to lose. Never in particularly good health, he retired from politics after the election and would die of pancreatic cancer two years later.
- ^ "Chicago Mayors". Chicago Public Library. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
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