Bernard Carey

Bernard Carey was an American politician who served as Cook County State's Attorney from 1972 through 1980. Afterwards, he would serve on the Cook County Board of Commissioners and as a judge on the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Bernard Carey
Judge on the Circuit Court of Cook County
In office May 5, 1988 – 1995
Preceded by	George M. Marovich
Member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from suburban Cook County
In office December 1982 – December 1986
Cook County State's Attorney
In office December 1972 – December 1980
Preceded by	Edward Hanrahan
Succeeded by	Richard M. Daley
Personal details
Died	June 1, 2018 (age 83) Naples, Florida
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary Rita
Children	5
Alma mater	Saint Mary's University of Minnesota DePaul University College of Law

A Republican, he was twice elected (in 1972 and 1976) State's Attorney in strongly Democratic Cook County, Illinois. In 1980, Carey was narrowly unseated by Democrat Richard M. Daley.

Early life and education

Carey was the son of a school principal.[1]

Carey graduated from De La Salle Institute in 1952.[1][2] He graduated from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.[1][2] He graduated from DePaul University College of Law in 1958.[1][2]

While he would later be a Republican politician, during his time at Saint Mary's University he chaired the school's chapter of Young Democrats.[1]

Early career

Carey worked as an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[3] He met Joseph I. Woods while working there.[1]

Working for Richard B. Ogilvie, Carey worked in Illinois state government, working to organize the Illinois Bureau of Investigation.

1970 Cook County Sheriff campaign

In 1970, Carey was drafted to run as the Republican nominee for Cook County Sheriff, after incumbent Republican Joseph I. Woods opted to run for president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners instead of the seeking a second term. Carey narrowly lost the election to Democrat Richard Elrod.[1][4]

Cook County State's Attorney

1972 election

In 1972, Carey was nominated by the Republican Party for Cook County State's Attorney.

His victory over incumbent Democrat Edward Hanrahan was attributed largely to African-American voters' outrage over the 1969 police killings of Black Panther Party leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark under Hanrahan's leadership.[2] Hanrahan had also been facing charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice relating to these killings until being acquitted the day before the general election.[3]

Hanrahan had won the Democratic Party's primary, and thereby its nomination, despite the Cook County Democratic Party, led by Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, refusing to back his bid for reelection and supporting a primary challenger to him.[2]

Carey's campaign was managed by Don Rose.[2]

Carey won most of Chicago's black wards, which largely since the 1930s had typically been won by Democratic candidates in elections.[2][3] He performed competitively in all fourteen black wards, and won ten of them.[3]

Carey ran as a reformer.[1] Carey had pledged that he would investigate allegations of voter fraud, political corruption, kickbacks, and other crimes by the Democratic establishment of Chicago and Cook County.[3]

Carey ran what was described as an "understated" campaign.[1]

As a candidate, Carey referred himself as, "a professional , not a politician".[1]

Tenure

Among the investigations Carey launched was a police spying scandal, involving the so-called "Red Squad" of the Chicago Police Department infiltrating public organizations.[2] Ultimately, after eleven years of litigation that arose, a 1985 court decision would end the Chicago Police Department's unlawful surveillance of political dissenters and their organizations.[5]

Carey has received credit for lying the groundwork for the investigation that would become Operation Greylord.[1][2]

Carey's office was in change of the prosecution of serial killer John Wayne Gacy.[1][2]

Under Carey, the office doubled its number of attorneys to around 500 and expanded its felony review program.[1] It also quadrupled its felony cases.[1]

After Carey's 2018 death, Richard A. Devine, a Democrat who had served as Cook County State's Attorney from 1996 through 2008, remarked, "Bernie was a good guy. He worked hard to do a good job. He recruited professional prosecutors."[2]

In 1972, he was reelected over Edward J. Egan, a Democrat who had stepped down from the Illinois Appellate Court in order to run against Carey.[6] Egan had been recruited by Richard J. Daley to run against Carey.[1] Carey campaigned against Egan, in part, by tying him to Richard J. Daley.[1] Carey won what was seen as a strong victory, even carrying every single township of suburban Cook County.[7]

In 1980, Carey was narrowly unseated by Democrat Richard M. Daley, the son of the late Richard J. Daley.

Subsequent career

In 1982, Carey ran for both as the Republican nominee for President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and a Republican nominee to be a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from suburban Cook County. He lost the race for president, but won election to be a member of the board.

In 1986, Carey made an unsuccessful run for Illinois Attorney General, replacing James T. Ryan as the Republican nominee after Ryan withdrew from the race due to domestic violence allegations.[8][9][10] This meant that Carey had to withdraw from the race to win reelection to the Cook County Board of Commissioners, thus meaning his tenure on the board ended that December.

In May 1988, the Illinois Supreme Court would appoint Carey a judge on the Cook County Circuit Court, filling the vacancy left when George M. Marovich was appointed to the federal bench. His appointment was effective on May 5, 1988, and lasted until 1990.[6] The constituency of the judgeship was suburban Cook County.[11][12] In 1990, Carey won the Republican nomination for the judgeship unopposed, Carey won reelection in the general election.[13][11][12]

Death

Carey died of stomach cancer on June 1, 2018 at his retirement home in Naples, Florida.[2] His widow, Mary Rita Carey, disclosed his death to the press on June 4.[2] His widow revealed, after his death, that he had been diagnosed with the stomach cancer in November 2017.[2]

Personal life

Carey had met Mary Rita, who would become his wife, at a church dance social at St. John Fisher in Evergreen Park, Illinois.[1][2] He died just over a week shy of what would have been their 60th wedding anniversary.[2]

Carey was a longtime resident of South Holland, Illinois.[2] After he retired at the age of 59, he and his wife moved to Florida in 1995.[2]

Carey and his wife had five children.[1][2] They had ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren by the time of Carey's death.[2]

Electoral history

Cook County Sheriff

1970

1970 Cook County Sheriff election[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Elrod	887,028	50.30
	Republican	Bernard Carey	875,549	49.70
Total votes			1,762,577	100

Cook County State's Attorney

1972

1972 Cook County State's Attorney election[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bernard Carey	1,167,872	52.93
	Democratic	Edward Hanrahan	1,038,666	47.07
Total votes			2,206,538	100

1976

1976 Cook County State's Attorney election[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bernard Carey (incumbent)	1,068,430	51.16
	Democratic	Edward Egan	1,020,095	48.84
Total votes			2,088,525	100

1980

1980 Cook County State's Attorney election[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard M. Daley	1,058,529	50.39
	Republican	Bernard Carey (incumbent)	1,042,287	49.61
Total votes			2,100,816	100

President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners

1982

Cook County Commissioner

1982

1986

1986 Cook County Board of Commissioners suburban Cook County Republican primary[17][18][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bernard Carey (incumbent)	54,525	13.21
	Republican	Mary M. McDonald (incumbent)	47,117	11.43
	Republican	Joseph I. Woods (incumbent)	43,912	10.64
	Republican	Carl R. Hansen (incumbent)	42,499	10.30
	Republican	Harold L. Tyrrell (incumbent)	41,272	10.00
	Republican	Richard A. Siebel (incumbent)	39,733	9.63
	Republican	Joseph D. Mathewson	38,207	9.26
	Republican	Patricia J. Semrow	28,887	7.00
	Republican	Gordon Scott Hirsch	27,229	6.60
	Republican	Thomas E. Brennan	25,365	6.15
	Republican	C. Robert McDonald	23,855	5.78

Illinois Attorney General

1986

1986 Illinois Attorney General election[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Neil Hartigan (incumbent)	1,925,012	61.71
	Republican	Bernard Carey	1,129,193	36.20
	Illinois Solidarity	John Ray Keith	33,702	1.08
	Libertarian	Natalie Loder Clark	24,068	0.77
	Socialist Workers	Scott Dombeck	7,254	0.23
Total votes			3,119,229	100

Circuit Court of Cook County

1990

1990 Circuit Court Judge (vacancy of George M. Marovich) Republican primary[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bernard Carey	115,297	100
Total votes			115,297	100

1990 Circuit Court Judge (vacancy of George M. Marovich)[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bernard Carey	363,357	66.97
	Democratic	Ahmed A. Patel	179,206	33.03
Total votes			542,563	100

References

1. Pratt, Gregory (4 June 2018). "Bernard Carey, former GOP state's attorney who helped spark Operation Greylord, opposed Daleys, dies". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
2. O'Donnell, Maureen (4 June 2018). "Bernard 'Bernie' Carey, former Cook County state's attorney, has died at 83". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
3. Kifner, John Kifner (9 November 1972). "Defeat of Hanrahan for Prosecutor Is a Stunning Blow to Daley's Organization (Published 1972)". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
4. Chicago Tribune, 11/24/1970
5. Storch, Randi. "Red Squad". www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org. Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
6. Mount, Charles (4 May 1988). "CAREY, EGAN RETURN TO JUDICIAL POSTS". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
7. Colby, Peter W.; Green, Paul Michael (October 1979). "Patterns of change in suburban voting". Illinois Issues. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
8. Dold, R. Bruce (30 October 1986). "CAREY FIGHTS HARTIGAN'S LEAD IN ATTORNEY GENERAL CONTEST". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
9. "Former Wheeling Township Supervisor, Former Acting Arlington Heights Mayor Michael Schroeder Dies at 61". Cardinal News. Arlington Cardinal. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
10. Daley, Steve (25 May 1986). "PAPER DIDN'T TRAMPLE PRIVACY WITH SCOOP". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
11. "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS PRIMARY ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1990" (PDF). www.voterinfo.net. Cook County Clerk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2008.
12. "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS GENERAL ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1990" (PDF). voterinfo.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2008.
13. Grady, William (12 March 1990). "TACTICS VARY IN RACES FOR JUDGESHIPS". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
14. 11/09/1972
15. Illinois Elections (p. 72) c. 1986. Publishers, Paul Green, David Everson, Peter Colby, and Joan Parker.
16. Illinois Elections (p. 90) c. 1986. Publishers, Paul Green, David Everson, Peter Colby, and Joan Parker
17. "OFFICIAL FINAL RESULTS PRIMARY ELECTION COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 1986" (PDF). www.cookcountyclerk.com. Cook County Clerk.
18. "COOK COUNTY COMMISSION". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune and League of Women Voters of Illinois. 26 October 1986. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
19. "OFFICIAL VOTE Cast at the GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 4, 1986" (PDF). www.elections.il.gov. Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved 10 April 2020.