Seymour Simon keeping secrets

Seymour Simon launched his career as a Machine loyalist when he was elected to his first term as 40th Ward Alderman in 1955.

During his second term, he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Cook County Board of Commissioners. He replaced the County Board President when that fellow died and he was then elected to a full term on his own.       

That’s when he refused to do a favor for 31st Ward Ald. Thomas Keane, Mayor Daley’s City Council floor leader, who subsequently engineered his removal from the party ticket at re-election time. His replacement lost to a Republican.

Simon won back his old City Council seat, and he generally voted against the administration of the Mayor, who was also head of the Cook County Democratic Organization. (The previous Alderman, Nathan Kaplan, had been elevated to a judgeship).

And Simon kept his patronage power as Ward Committeeman, even though he had endorsed a couple of Independent candidates who opposed the Democratic Machine (Elmer Gertz for Con-Con Delegate in 1969 and Theodore Berland for 50th Ward Alderman in 1973).

Simon knew a lot of secrets from his days as County Board President. As long as he kept quiet about those, Daley tolerated him.

You can get more stories about Seymour Simon at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/994143