1927 Chicago mayoral election

1927 Chicago mayoral election

← 1923 April 5, 1927 1931 →

Nominee William Hale Thompson William Emmett Dever John Dill Robertson Party Republican Democratic People's Ownership Smash Crime Rings Popular vote 515,716 432,678 51,347 Percentage 51.6% 43.3% 5.1%

Results by ward

Mayor before election William Emmett Dever Democratic Elected Mayor William Hale Thompson Republican

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v t e

The 1927 Chicago mayoral election was held on April 5, 1927. Democratic incumbent William Emmett Dever was defeated by Republican candidate William Hale Thompson, who had served as mayor from 1915 to 1923. John Dill Robertson (the president West Parks Board, as well as former health commissioner and school board president), who had been previously allied with the ex-mayor, broke with Thompson to run on his own and received more than five percent of the vote. It remains as of 2023^[update] the last Chicago mayoral election to be won by a candidate who is not a member of the Democratic Party.

Dever had enforced Prohibition despite being personally opposed to it. This led to increased bootlegging and violence in the city and reduced citizen support. Thompson and Robertson seized the opportunity and entered the race. Thompson promised to end the enforcement of Prohibition and accused the United Kingdom of trying to retake control of the United States, while Robertson promised to quash the crime wave. Thompson bitterly attacked his campaign opponents and it was public knowledge that he was supported and funded by Al Capone. Dever's supporters pushed back against Thompson's rhetoric, asserting that Dever had the sensible policies and the "decency" appropriate for the city. Thompson's victory damaged Chicago's national reputation.

To receive the Democratic nomination, Dever won the party's primary election with 91 percent of the vote, facing only a single weak opponent. Thompson defeated Cook County Board of Review Chairman Edward R. Litsinger in the Republican primary by a 14.61-percent margin of victory.