Chester Anton Chesney (March 9, 1916 – September 20, 1986) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Early life and education

Chesney was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, of Polish descent.Pula, James. "Chesney, Chester Anton". ''Polish American Encyclopedia''. p. 59. He attended St. Hyacinth and Lane Technical High School. He graduated from the

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

, in 1938.

Early career

Chesney later played professional football with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in 1939 and 1940. He entered the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

in June 1941 as a private and was discharged as a major in 1946 with service in the Pacific and European Theaters. He served as assistant chief of special service, Veterans Administration,

Hines, Illinois Hines is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, Proviso Township next to the villages of Broadview, I ...

, in 1946 and 1947. After the war, he took graduate work at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Graduate Commerce School in 1947. He became an Executive with Montgomery Ward & Co., in 1948 and 1949. He later served as vice-president and director of Avondale Savings & Loan Association.

Political career

Chesney was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Eighty-first Congress (January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1951). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1950 to the Eighty-second Congress, though served as delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Personal life

He was a resident of

Marco Island, Florida Marco Island is a city and barrier island in Collier County, Florida, south of Naples on the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is the largest barrier island in Southwest Florida's Ten Thousand Islands area, which extends southerly to Cape Sa ...

, until his death there September 20, 1986. He was interred in St. Adalbert Cemetery, Niles, Illinois.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chesney, Chester A 1916 births 1986 deaths American athlete-politicians Politicians from Chicago United States Army Air Forces officers Chicago Bears players American politicians of Polish descent People from Marco Island, Florida Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Military personnel from Illinois DePaul Blue Demons football players 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives