Morris Jerome "Marshall" Korshak (February 6, 1910 – January 19, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Democratic member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

Early life

Marshall Korshak 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 ...

on February 6, 1910. His brother was

Sidney Korshak Sidney Roy Korshak (June 6, 1907 – January 20, 1996) was an American lawyer and " fixer" for businessmen in the upper echelons of power and the Chicago Outfit in the United States. His reputation as the Chicago mob's man in Los Angeles ma ...

. He was raised in the then-predominantly Jewish Lawndale area and graduated from

Marshall Metropolitan High School John Marshall Metropolitan High School (commonly known as simply Marshall) is a public four-year high school located in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the west side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1895, Marshall is operate ...

. He then went to

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

and received his law degree from

Chicago-Kent College of Law The Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of the Illinois Institute of Technology, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois (after Northwestern Law). Chicago-Kent wa ...

. He was admitted to the Illinois bar. He served as the Secretary to Cook County Treasurers

Robert Sweitzer Robert M. Sweitzer (May 10, 1868 – April 6, 1938) was an American politician. A Democrat, Sweitzer served as Cook County Clerk for 24 years, and briefly served as Cook County Treasurer until his removal from office due to allegations of financ ...

and later Joseph L. Gill from 1934 to 1939. He then moved to the Civil Department of the Cook County State's Attorney's office and served there from 1939 to 1947. He then entered private practice.

Illinois Senate

Korshak served in the

from 1951 to 1963 and was 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 ...

. During his first term in the Senate, he was assigned the following committees: Education; Industrial Affairs; Judiciary; and Municipalities. He also served as a member of the Illinois Public Aid Commission and the Commission on Sex Offenders.

Post-legislative career

He then served as a trustee for the Chicago Metropolitan Samitary District and as director of the Illinois Revenue Department. In 1967, Korshak was elected

City Treasurer of Chicago The city treasurer of Chicago is an elected official of the City of Chicago. Current occupant The current city treasurer of Chicago is Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Melissa Conyears. Conyears was elected by Chicago citizens on April ...

on Mayor

Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Chicago from 1955, and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party from 1953, until his death. He has been called "the last of ...

's slate. As Korshak could not succeed himself as Treasurer, Daley slated Joseph G. Bertand and Bertrand was elected as Korshak's successor. Korshak died in a hospital in Chicago, Illinois.

Notes

1910 births 1996 deaths Politicians from Chicago University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Chicago-Kent College of Law alumni Lawyers from Chicago Democratic Party Illinois state senators 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly City treasurers of Chicago {{Illinois-statesenator-stub