Frederic R. DeYoung (September 12, 1875 – November 16, 1934) was an American jurist and politician who served as a judge on the

Supreme Court of Illinois The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the judiciary of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the ...

(1924–1934), judge on the

Superior Court of Cook County The Superior Court of Cook County was a court in Cook County, Illinois, which existed (under different names) from 1845 up until Cook County's courts were merged in 1964 to form the current incarnation of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The cou ...

(1923–1924), judge on the original

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 ...

(1921), member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

(1915–1919), and the city attorney of

Harvey, Illinois Harvey is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,324 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Harvey is bordered by the villages of Dixmoor, Illinois, Dixmoor and Riverdale, Illinois, Riverdale to the north; ...

(1908–1919), among other public offices. DeYoung ran as a Republican for most of his political career. However, in his last campaign (his 1933 reelection to the Supreme Court of Illinois), he ran instead 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 ...

. While serving on the Supreme Court of Illinois, DeYoung authored more than 440

opinions An opinion is a judgement, Point of view (philosophy), viewpoint, or Proposition, statement that is not conclusive, as opposed to facts, which are truth, true statements. Definition A given opinion may deal with subjectivity, subjective matters ...

. Among the more notable opinions which DeYoung authored was the opinion he authored for the ''City of Aurora v. Burns'' case which supported the constitutionally of

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

. This opinion was quoted at length in the opinion for the landmark

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

decision ''

Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. ''Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co.'', 272 U.S. 365 (1926), more commonly known as ''Euclid v. Ambler'', was a Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark ca ...

'', which upheld the national constitutionally of land use zoning.

Early life and education

DeYoung was born September 12, 1874, in

Chicago 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 ...

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 ...

, to parents that had both immigrated as children to the United States from

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. At the time of his birth, his family resided in one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the city. However, when he was five years of age, DeYoung's family moved to the village of Roseland, Illinois, which was ethnically Dutch at the time. Several years later, his family moved to

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

, Illinois, which was a main center of

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities ...

's Dutch population. DeYoung was educated until leaving school at the age of twelve when his family returned to the

West Side West Side or Westside may refer to: Places Canada * West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario * West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia United Kingdom * West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Westside, Birmingham ...

of Chicago in 1887. He never completed

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

. In Chicago, he worked for a local

jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmithing, goldsmithing, stone setting, engraving, ...

. In 1890, when he was fifteen, he began working as a timekeeper at a

Pullman Company The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

factory near where he lived. He left this job to enroll at

Bryant & Stratton Bryant & Stratton College (informally Bryant & Stratton or simply BSC) is a private college with campuses in New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as an online education division. Founded in 1854, the college offers associate degree ...

Business College, but stopped attending after health issues prevented him from doing so. After this, DeYoung was sent to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

by his father. Upon returning, he enrolled at

Northern Indiana Normal School Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luther ...

(which is today known as Valparaiso University), and graduated in 1895. After this, he enrolled at

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 ...

, and received a

Bachelor of Laws 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 1897 at the age of twenty-two. In 1901, DeYoung met Miriam Cornell, who he had met while attending Northern Indiana Normal College. Together, they settled in Harvey, Illinois, where they would live for nearly twenty-five years, until his election to the Supreme Court of Illinois.

Early legal and political career

As both a law student and in his early law career, he worked for the law office of I. T. Greenacre. In private practice, he was associated with numerous prominent lawyers, including then-former

Illinois state representative The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representative ...

Louis J. Pierson (who would later return to the state house in 1915, incidentally being elected to represent the 7th district alongside DeYoung). Through his connections, he became involved in Republican Party politics.

Harvey City Attorney

In 1907, DeYoung was elected Harvey City Attorney. He was twice reelected, and served until 1919.

Illinois House of Representatives

In 1914, DeYoung was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives from the seventh district, representing some of the south suburbs of Chicago. In 1916, he was elected to a second two-year term. In his second term, he served as chairman of the judiciary committee.

1918 Cook County Probate Court campaign

Instead of seeking reelection to the state house, he opted to run for a judgeship on the Cook County Probate Court. However, he was defeated by incumbent

Henry Horner Henry Horner (November 30, 1878 – October 6, 1940) was an American politician. Horner served as the 28th Governor of Illinois, serving from January 1933 until his death in October 1940. Horner was noted as the first Jewish governor of Illinois. ...

. Horner won 176,839 votes, a plurality of 48,259 over DeYoung's 122,081 votes. In the city of Chicago, DeYoung won 143,362 votes to Horner's 191,621 (a result of 59.16% to 40.84%). However, DeYoung led the vote in suburban Cook County, winning 21,281 over Horner's 14,782 votes there. After losing his 1918 campaign, he would serve as the first assistant attorney for the Sanitary District of Chicago. In November 1919, he was elected to serve as one of two delegates to the 1920 Illinois Constitutional Convention from the seventh legislative district of Illinois.

Circuit Court of Cook County

In 1921,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Frank Lowden Frank Orren Lowden (January 26, 1861 – March 20, 1943) was an American Republican Party politician who served as the 25th Governor of Illinois and as a United States Representative from Illinois. He was also a candidate for the Republican pre ...

appointed him to fill a vacancy on the

. In June, DeYoung was an unsuccessful candidate for election to a full term on the Circuit Court of Cook County. On December 23, 1921, DeYoung won a special contingent election that would have seen him hold a judgeship from the

' seventh district for a term expiring in 1933 had the proposed new Illinois constitution been ratified by voters at that election. Since the new constitution failed to win enough votes to be ratified, the election result was ultimately inconsequential.

Superior Court of Cook County

In 1923, DeYoung was elected to a judgeship on the

Supreme Court of Illinois

In June 1924, DeYoung was elected a Republican to the

. He was reelected as a Democrat in 1933 to serve a second term, but

died in office A death in office is the death of a person who was incumbent of an office-position until the time of death. Such deaths have been usually due to natural causes, but they are also caused by accidents, suicides, disease and assassinations. The deat ...

before finishing that term.

Notable opinions

During his ten years on the court, he authored more than 440 opinions. The 1933 ''People v. Bruner'' was consequential in overturning a law that had been in effect since 1827 allowing juries in criminal cases to determine both law and facts. In his majority opinion, DeYoung held that it was unconstitutional by infringing on the right of judges to interoperate the law. He argued that the juries role was merely to determine matters of guilt or innocence. The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' hailed the decision as being, "the biggest step forward in criminal procedure in the last fifty years". In ''People v. Fisher'', DeYoung's majority decision ruled that, in a felony trail where the plea is not guilty, the defendant can waive a jury trial and have their cause heard and determined by the judge. In ''City of Aurora v. Burns'', DeYoung's wrote the first opinion that supported the constitutionally of

. It would be quoted in length in the landmark

decision ''

'', which upheld the national constitutionally of land use zoning.

Other work

DeYoung served on the Harvey Public Library Board and the

Thornton Township High School Thornton Township High School, often simply referred to as Thornton is a State school, public high school founded in 1899, located in Harvey, Illinois, Harvey, one of the Chicago Southland, South Suburbs of the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The ...

Board. DeYoung was also president of the First National Bank of Harvey.

Personal life

After their 1901 wedding, DeYoung and his wife Mirriam settled in Harvey, Illinois. Together they had a son named Herbert (who would grow up to become a lawyer) and a daughter named

Ruth Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ark ...

(who would grow up to take the name Ruth DeYoung Kohler after marrying Herbert Kohler Sr., and would become a notable journalist and women's rights activist).

Death

DeYoung died on November 16, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois, as a result of a stroke.''Delegates' Manual of the Fifth Constitutional Convention of the State of Illinois, 1920'', Illinois State Journal Company: 1920, Biographical Sketch of Frederic R. DeYoung, pg. 163 Serving as honorary

pallbearers A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles o ...

at his funeral were his fellow Illinois Supreme Court justices and former governors

Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne (October 12, 1853 – May 24, 1937) was an American political figure, politician, lawyer, and jurist who was the 38th mayor of Chicago from 1905 to 1907 and the List of Governors of Illinois, 24th Governor of Illino ...

Charles S. Deneen Charles Samuel Deneen (May 4, 1863 – February 5, 1940) was an American lawyer and Republican politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Illinois, from 1905 to 1913. He was the first Illinois governor to serve two consecutive terms totalli ...

, and Frank Lowden. DeYoung was buried at Oak Lawn Cemetery.

Electoral history

Harvey City Attorney

Illinois House of Representatives

Probate Court of Cook County

Delegate to the 1920 Illinois Constitutional Convention

Cook County Circuit Court

Superior Court of Cook County

Supreme Court of Illinois

''Note: Election was of no effect due to failure of proposed new Illinois Constitution to be ratified by voters''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeYoung, Frederic R. 1875 births 1934 deaths Politicians from Chicago People from Harvey, Illinois Businesspeople from Illinois University of Chicago alumni Valparaiso University alumni Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni School board members in Illinois Illinois state court judges Illinois Republicans Members of the Illinois House of Representatives Judges of the Superior Court of Cook County Chief justices of the Supreme Court of Illinois Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County City and town attorneys in the United States People from South Holland, Illinois Illinois Democrats Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago people Members of Illinois constitutional conventions 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly