page_title: William Hale Thompson
section_title: First mayoralty (1915–1923)
hierarchical_section_title: William Hale Thompson / Political career / First mayoralty (1915–1923)
caption_attribution_description: English: A full-length portrait of William Hale Thompson, striking a speaking pose, in a room in Chicago, Illinois. He is looking at the camera and holding up one finger. CREATED/PUBLISHED ca. 1915 Feb. 5 DN-0009693, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society.
context_page_description: William Hale Thompson was an American politician who served as mayor of Chicago from 1915 to 1923 and again from 1927 to 1931. Known as "Big Bill", he is the most recent Republican to have served as mayor of Chicago. Historians rank him among the most unethical mayors in American history, mainly for his open alliance with Al Capone. However, others recognize the effectiveness of his political methods and publicity-oriented campaigning, acknowledging him as a "Political Chameleon" and an effective political machine. TIME magazine said in 1931, "chief credit for creating 20th Century Politics Chicago Style" should go to William Thompson.
  Thompson was known for his over-the-top campaigning and uncensored language that, along with his towering height and weight, earned him the nickname "Big Bill". Upon his reelection in 1919, Thompson was at the forefront of the movement for the Chicago Public Library system and education officials to censor and ban many texts and historical recollections coming from the United Kingdom.
context_section_description: In 1915, Thompson was elected as the 41st Mayor of Chicago, beating County Clerk Robert M. Sweitzer, John H. Hill, Seymour Steadman, and Charles Thompson. He was the last Republican to be elected into office since, aside from his third term in 1928
  Thompson was sworn in on April 26, 1915.
  As Thompson entered the first term of his mayorship, he appointed Fred Lundin as chairman on the committee of patronage. Early in his mayoral career, Thompson began to amass a war chest to support an eventual run for the Presidency, by charging city drivers and inspectors $3 per month.
  Early in his mayoralty Thompson had to cut short a July 1915 trip to San Francisco to deal with the aftermath of the Eastland disaster. While Thompson was out of town, acting-mayor Moorhouse had turned the Chicago City Hall into a makeshift hospital for first aid and a morgue for bodies recovered from the tragedy. Once Thompson returned to Chicago he organized and heavily promoted a relief fund and ordered an investigation into the casual negligence responsible for the tragedy.
  Thompson gained national attention and condemnation for his neutral attitude toward the events of World War I. By declining the visit of the French Mission to Chicago and refusing to control or act against anti-war or anti-conscription meetings, Thompson is "credited with characterizing Chicago as the sixth German city of the world," also earning the nickname "Kaiser" Bill Thompson. These facts later went on to hurt his chances in his 1918 Senatorial campaign.
  In his Inaugural Address, given April 26, 1915, Thompson spoke of his ambitions for Chicago to become "the greatest in the world", but also that his acts as mayor should not be swayed by corruption. He also emphasized the importance of public safety (as enforced by the Chicago Police Department), the improvement of public transit, secure and permanently lowered gas prices, Chicago being allowed to have Home rule and more efforts being placed into Chicago's commercial interests in order to create jobs and improve the city's economy. His efforts to expand and publicly improve the streets of Chicago earned him another nickname of "Big Bill the Builder". In his time as mayor, he oversaw the completion of the Michigan Avenue link bridge, the Twelfth Street widening, and the extension and widening of Ogden Avenue. Along with his big dreams for Chicago's geographical expansion, he wished for Chicago to expand politically and economically. He believed that Chicago should be able to enforce laws on their own terms, particularly without what he claimed to be the interference of British government or totalitarian rule. He ended his Inaugural speech by stating:
  "I am a firm believer in the separation of the three co-ordinate branches of government – Executive, Legislative and Judicial – peculiar to our American system, and that one should not intrude upon or violate, the prerogatives of the other. I do not intend to exceed the rights and privileges of the executive nor transgress upon the legislative or judicial functions. I shall impartially execute the laws made by the proper legislative authorities and interpreted by the judiciary." 
  He was reelected mayor in 1919, beating out Robert Sweitzer once again along with Adolph S. Carm, John Collins, John Fitzpatrick, and Maclay Hoyne. Thompson was said to have had control of the 75,000 black voters in his day. In his campaign he claimed to be an advocate for the people against public utility companies and the rich who avoided taxes. This inspired Thompson to enforce a five-cent streetcar fare to promote his campaign, which was also used to threaten the action of streetcar companies. Eventually, however, despite his protests, the fare was raised to seven cents.
  Early into his second term, the city dealt with the Chicago race riot of 1919.
  In his Inaugural Address on April 28, 1919, Thompson looked towards drastically expanding Chicago, saying that "Chicago is greater than some nations". This expansion included the extension and widening of streets to cross over more of the city, new post off
caption: Thompson during his 1915 mayoral campaign
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