In 1885 he was elected South Town Supervisor. In 1915 he was a member of the Illinois Commission to the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco. He served on the State Council of Defense during World War I and the Illinois Commission for A Century of Progress Exposition 1933–1934. In 1919 he was elected to the Illinois Constitutional Convention. He was a member of the Chicago Real Estate Board, the Union League Club, and numerous civic organizations.