Hail to the chiefs — back to 1849

One relative, one draftee, few repeats among city execs

Earlier this month Robert Sabonjian was sworn in as Waukegan’s 42nd mayor — and the first to be related to a previous Waukegan mayor.

Find out more historical trivia in the following look back at the city’s chief executives. Who was the only mayor to be elected to three separate terms? Who served the shortest term? Who killed a deer on the way to his wedding? We dipped into the Waukegan Historical Society’s archives to find out.

Joseph G. Keber served the shortest term as mayor – just four months. The then- alderman took over for Mayor Robert Coulson, in January 1957, when Coulson was elected to the state Senate.

In April of that year, Robert “The Rock” Sabonjian was elected to his first term of office. Keber, who did not run for mayor, went back to serving as an alderman.

Henry Hutchinson has the distinction of being the only mayor who won election without actively running for office. Though the popular businessman had been urged to run for a number years, he always declined, explaining that he didn’t feel politics and business should mix.

Unknown to him while on vacation in Iowa in 1888, Hutchinson was elected mayor. When he returned, city leaders had to persuade him to accept the seat. And it’s a good thing they did: Hutchinson is credited with bringing a number of factories to the city’s lakefront, including Washburn & Moen Manufacturing Co.

When 30-year-old Theodore Durst was elected mayor in 1923, he was the youngest leader in the city’s history. In 1977, state Sen. Bill Morris was elected mayor at 31. The oldest mayor? Richard Hyde was 77 years old when he was elected in 2005.

S.I. Bradbury served a one-year term as mayor in 1882. He could not have known then that, 130 years later, he’d be better known as the great-grandfather of famed author and Waukegan native Ray Bradbury. S.I. Bradbury was an author of sorts as well — he published of a number of daily and weekly newspapers.

When first-term Mayor Daniel Drew died of a heart attack in 2002, it marked only the second time in city’s history that a mayor died while in office. The first was Theodore Durst, who died during his first term in 1926. Durst was also said to have suffered from heart ailments.

A number of former mayors have streets or parks named after them (Dodge, Steele, Cory, Ballentine, etc.). Fred Finer was the namesake of Finer Street until it was renamed Greenwood Avenue.

Ballentine, Besley, Bidinger, Blodgett, Boardman, Bradbury, Buck and Bullock. By a wide margin, more mayors had surnames beginning with ‘B’ then any other letter of the alphabet.

Frank Wallin was an accomplished musician. The 1940s mayor was a singer and drummer. He also conducted the orchestra at the Genesee Theatre.

For a number of years, the spelling of the city’s last village president’s name was incorrect. James S. Frazer served one year as president in 1858. Until a few years ago, Waukegan’s historical documents presented his name spelled F-R-A-Z-I-E-R. An out-of-state descendent contacted the city earlier this decade and had the spelling changed to F-R-A-Z-E-R. Frazer would go on to serve as a judge in Indiana after resigning his seat in Waukegan.

Waukegan voters around the turn of the century were big fans of W.W. Pearce. The pharmacy owner served three stints as mayor. He was elected to consecutive one-year terms from 1897 to 1900. He won two more one-year terms in 1903 and 1904. And in 1915 he was elected to a four-year term. All of that as a Democrat in a mostly Republican city.

Legend has it that John Powell, mayor in 1881, was quite handy with a rifle. While walking to his wedding in February 1858, Powell reportedly shot and killed a deer. As mayor, he passed a law making it illegal for livestock to roam free in the city.

Waukegan’s leaders

Village PRESIDENTS

D.O. Dickinson, 1849

David Ballentine, 1850

Wm. Boardman, 1851

David Cory, 1852

Warren Smith, 1853

Willard G. Smith, 1854

Charles Steele, 1855

Elisha P. Perry, 1856-1857

James Frazer, 1858

city MAYORS

Elisha P. Ferry, 1859

David Ballentine,

1860-1862

James McKay, 1863-1865

Clarke Upton, 1866-1867

Charles Steele,

1868-1870

C.H Rice, 1871

Jos. L. Williams,

1872-1873

W.B. Werden, 1874-1876

W.B Dodge, 1877-1880

John F. Powell, 1881

S. I. Bradbury, 1882

Asiel Z. Blodgett,

1883-1884

Charles Whitney, 1885

John F. Powell, 1886-1887

Henry C. Hutchinson, 1888-1890

R.J Douglas, 1891

J.W. Besley, 1892

C.A. Partridge, 1893-1894

E.O. DeWolf, 1895-1896

W.W. Pearce, 1897-1900

Fred Finer, 1901-1902

W.W. Pearce, 1903-1904

W. S. Bullock, 1905-1908

Fred Buck, 1909-1911

J.F. Bidinger, 1911-1915

W.W. Pearce, 1915-1919

J. F. Bidinger, 1919-1923

Theodore Durst,

1923-1926

L. J. Yager, 1926-1931

Peter W. Petersen,

1931-1935

Mancel Talcott, 1935-1941

Frank G. Wallin, 1941-49

Robert E. Coulson,

1949-1957

Joseph G. Keber, 1957

Robert Sabonjian,

1957-1977

Bill Morris, 1977-1985

Robert Sabonjian,

1985-1989

Haig Paravonian,

1989-1993

William Durkin, 1993-2001

Daniel Drew, 2001-2002

Richard H. Hyde,

2002-2009

Robert Sabonjian, 2009