William Emmett Dever

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	(1862-03-13)March 13, 1862 Woburn, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	September 3, 1929(1929-09-03) (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.

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