# Ben Adamowski > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ben_Adamowski > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ben_Adamowski.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Adamowski > Source revision: 1348807191 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American politician and lawyer (1906–1982)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = | image = Ben Adamowski circa 1939 (3x4).jpg | image_size = | caption = Adamowski, circa 1939 | office = [Cook County State's Attorney](/source/Cook_County_State's_Attorney) | term_start = 1956 | term_end = 1960 | predecessor = [John S. Boyle](/source/John_S._Boyle) | successor = [Daniel P. Ward](/source/Daniel_P._Ward) | office1 = Member of the [Illinois House of Representatives](/source/Illinois_House_of_Representatives) from the 25th district | term_start1 = 1931 | term_end1 = 1941 | predecessor1 = | successor1 = | alma_mater = [DePaul University College of Law](/source/DePaul_University_College_of_Law) | party = [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) (since 1955) | other_party = [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) (until 1955) | birth_date = November 20, 1906 | birth_place = | death_date = March 1, 1982 (age 75) | death_place = }} '''Benjamin S. Adamowski''' (November 20, 1906{{snd}}March 1, 1982) was a politician and lawyer. ==Early life== His father, Max Adamowski, was an [alderman](/source/alderman) in [Chicago](/source/Chicago), as well as a [real estate agent](/source/real_estate_agent) in [Logan Square](/source/Logan_Square%2C_Chicago), and [tavern](/source/tavern) owner.{{cite book |last1=Cohen |first1=Adam |last2=Taylor |first2=Elizabeth |title=American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley - His Battle for Chicago and the Nation |date=2001 |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=978-0-7595-2427-9 |page=74 |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=nGem2g467GAC |language=en}} He graduated from [DePaul University Law School](/source/DePaul_University_Law_School) in 1928. ==Career== He served in the [Illinois House of Representatives](/source/Illinois_House_of_Representatives), representing the 25th District from 1931 through 1941.'Illinois Blue Book 1939-1940,' biographical sketch of Benjamin Adamowski, pg. 194-195 In the legislature, he distanced himself from the [machine politics](/source/machine_politics) his father had been aligned with, and aligned himself with liberal reformist governor [Henry Horner](/source/Henry_Horner). In 1940, Adamowski unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination in the [special U.S. Senate election](/source/1940_United_States_Senate_special_election_in_Illinois).{{cite web|title=OFFICIAL VOTE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION, NOV. 5, 1940 JUDICIAL ELECTIONS, 1939-1940 PRIMARY ELECTION GENERAL PRIMARY, APRIL 9, 1940|url=https://www.elections.il.gov/DocDisplay.aspx?doc=Downloads/ElectionOperations/VoteTotals/Archived/1940/PE%20and%20GE%201940.pdf|publisher=Illinois State Board of Elections|accessdate=3 September 2020|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624113817/https://www.elections.il.gov/DocDisplay.aspx?doc=Downloads/ElectionOperations/VoteTotals/Archived/1940/PE%20and%20GE%201940.pdf|url-status=dead}} In 1941, Adamowski left the legislature to serve as the Corporation Counsel of Chicago under Mayor [Martin H. Kennelly](/source/Martin_H._Kennelly), a role he held for at least three years. He was a [Democrat](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) until 1955, when he was defeated by [Richard J. Daley](/source/Richard_J._Daley) in [the Democratic primary for mayor](/source/1955_Chicago_mayoral_election). In later campaigns for State's Attorney and [a second bid for mayor against Daley in 1963](/source/1963_Chicago_mayoral_election) he ran as a [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)).{{cite web|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1982/03/02/page/4/article/ben-adamowski-dies-at-75-longtime-political-maverick|title=Chicago Tribune - Historical Newspapers|date=8 April 2024 |publisher=}} He served from 1957 to 1960 as [State's Attorney of Cook County.](/source/Cook_County%2C_Illinois_State's_Attorney){{Cite web|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-03-17/news/ct-per-flash-kennedy-ohare-0317-20130317_1_bombers-edward-butch-o-hare-daleys|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610024200/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-03-17/news/ct-per-flash-kennedy-ohare-0317-20130317_1_bombers-edward-butch-o-hare-daleys|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 10, 2016|title=In 1963, Kennedy's dedication of O'Hare gave Daley a welcome boost|website=tribunedigital-chicagotribune|access-date=2016-05-14}} In May 1959, he uncovered a $500,000-a-year ticket-fixing scandal in Chicago Traffic Court, and indicted four court employees on corruption charges. He died at Presbyterian-St. Luke's Hospital in Chicago on March 1, 1982.{{cite news|title= Ben Adamowski Mass Set for Thursday in Oak Park|work=[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune)|date= March 3, 1982|page= 13, section 4}} ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Cook County State's Attorney|state=collapsed}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Adamowski, Ben}} Category:1906 births Category:1982 deaths Category:DePaul University College of Law alumni Category:Politicians from Chicago Category:Illinois Democrats Category:Illinois Republicans Category:Members of the Illinois House of Representatives Category:20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly Category:Cook County state's attorneys --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ben Adamowski](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Adamowski) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Adamowski?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.