James E. O'Grady facts for kids

James E. O'Grady (born 1929) is a former police official from Chicago. He led the Chicago Police Department and later became the Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois.

Early Life and Police Career

James O'Grady was born in Chicago in 1929. His father was also a police officer. In 1952, O'Grady joined the Chicago Police Department.

He became known for his work against organized crime and other illegal activities. During his career, he faced dangerous situations. In 1968, he was knocked out by a rock during a public disturbance. In 1971, while off-duty, he was shot in the hip while chasing a purse-snatcher.

By the mid-1970s, O'Grady had risen through the ranks to become the department's Chief of Detectives.

Superintendent of Police

First Term as Superintendent

On April 10, 1978, Mayor Michael A. Bilandic appointed O'Grady as the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

During his time as leader, O'Grady was praised for fighting against corruption within the police force. He also promoted the first Black woman to the rank of sergeant in the department's history.

However, his leadership also faced challenges. The media reported that officers were performing improper searches on women stopped for minor traffic violations. O'Grady ended this practice after it became public.

When Jane Byrne ran for mayor in 1979, she promised to replace O'Grady. After she won the election, O'Grady resigned. He had been superintendent for just over a year.

Return to the Police Department

After leaving, O'Grady worked as the undersheriff for the Cook County Sheriff's Office for two years.

In 1981, he returned to the Chicago Police Department as the First Deputy Superintendent. Mayor Byrne, who had previously criticized him, now supported his return.

On April 29, 1983, O'Grady was appointed as the temporary superintendent again. He served until a permanent replacement was chosen a few months later. After this, O'Grady retired from the police force after a 32-year career.

Cook County Sheriff

After retiring from the police, O'Grady started a private security company.

Running for Sheriff in 1986

In 1985, O'Grady decided to run for public office. He had been a member of the Democratic Party his whole life, but he switched to the Republican Party to run for Cook County Sheriff.

He ran against the current sheriff, Richard Elrod. O'Grady promised to remove political influence from the sheriff's office and improve jail security. Many police officers and voters in the suburbs supported him.

O'Grady won the election, which was a major victory for the Republican Party in a county that usually voted for Democrats.

Time as Sheriff

At first, Sheriff O'Grady was very popular. People even talked about him running for bigger offices like mayor or governor.

However, his time as sheriff was troubled by accusations of corruption. His undersheriff, James Dvorak, became the head of the Cook County Republican Party. This raised concerns about politics mixing with police work, which O'Grady had promised to stop.

Newspapers reported that the sheriff's office was not properly investigating certain crimes. There were also claims that people were paying for jobs and promotions in the department. These problems led to federal investigations into O'Grady and some of his top staff.

Because of these issues, O'Grady's popularity dropped. He did not live up to his campaign promises to run a clean and fair department.

1990 Reelection Campaign

The many accusations of wrongdoing hurt O'Grady's chances of being reelected. His opponent was a Democrat named Michael F. Sheahan.

During the campaign, an incident where a campaign worker for Sheahan was injured made O'Grady look bad in the polls.

O'Grady lost the 1990 election by a large margin. He lost in the city of Chicago and in the suburbs, including areas that had strongly supported him four years earlier.

Electoral history

1987

1990

References