Edward Rowan Finnegan (June 5, 1905 – February 2, 1971) was an attorney and politician 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 ...

. He served as a member of the

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

from 1961 to 1964 and a judge of the

Circuit Court of Cook County The Circuit Court of Cook County is the largest of the 25 Illinois circuit courts, circuit courts (trial courts of original jurisdiction, original and general jurisdiction) in the judiciary of Illinois as well as one of the largest unified cour ...

from 1964 until his death.

Biography

Finnegan was born in Chicago and attended the parochial schools. He graduated from St. Rita High School, and attended

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

and

Northwestern University Law School The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. The law school is located on the univer ...

. Finnegan graduated from

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 ...

with a

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in 1930. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1931 and practiced in Chicago. In 1939, Finnegan unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for municipal court judge. In 1945, he was appointed an assistant

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...

, and served until 1956. He served as an assistant city

corporation counsel The corporation counsel is the title given to the chief legal officer who handles civil claims against the city in some U.S. municipal and county jurisdictions, including negotiating settlements and defending the city when it is sued. Most corp ...

from 1956 to 1957. In 1960, Finnegan was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

from

' 12th district. After redistricting, he was reelected from the 9th district in 1962. He served from January 1961 until resigning in December 1964. Finnegan ran in the newly configured 9th district in 1962 because incumbent

Sidney R. Yates Sidney Richard Yates (August 27, 1909 – October 5, 2000) was an American attorney and Democratic Party politician who represented the state of Illinois in the United States House of Representatives for twenty-four terms from 1949 to 1963 a ...

won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator. In the general election, Yates was unsuccessful in his campaign against Republican incumbent

Everett Dirksen Everett McKinley Dirksen (January 4, 1896 – September 7, 1969) was an American politician. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he represented Illinois in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. As P ...

. Finnegan was renominated for the US House in April 1964. Later that month, he nearly drowned while swimming at the Lake Shore Club. A lifeguard administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation for several minutes before he regained consciousness, and he was hospitalized for several days. Finnegan decided later in 1964 that he preferred to serve as a judge, while Yates desired to return to the U.S. House. In October 1964, Finnegan resigned the U.S. House nomination. Yates was chosen as his replacement and easily won the November election. Finnegan was nominated for judge of the

. He won his November 1964 election, then resigned from Congress shortly before the expiration of his term. Finnegan served on the bench from December 1964 until his death. Finnegan died at a Chicago hospital on February 2, 1971. He was buried at All Saints Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum in

Des Plaines, Illinois Des Plaines () is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situat ...

Family

Finnegan's first wife, Katherine, died in 1961. They were the parents of three daughters—Sara, Moira, and Kathleen. In 1964, Finnegan married Iris McCreevey, who survived him.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finnegan, Edward Rowan 1905 births 1971 deaths Politicians from Chicago Loyola University Chicago alumni DePaul University College of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century Illinois state court judges 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives