Peter A. Reinberg (March 5, 1858 – February 21, 1921) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

businessman and politician who was a very successful

florist Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related s ...

, and who served in the offices of

president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners The President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners is the Chief executive officer, chief executive of county government in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois. They are the head of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The presi ...

president of the Chicago Board of Education The Chicago Board of Education is led by a president. Since the 1995 Chicago School Reform Amendatory Act went into effect, the president has been directly appointed by the mayor of Chicago, rather than being elected among the members of the bo ...

, and Chicago alderman.

Early life

Reinberg was born on March 5, 1858, in

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, where he was also raised. He born to Henry and Katherine Reinberg, immigrants who hailed from,

Préizerdaul Préizerdaul () is a commune in western Luxembourg, in the canton of Redange. Until 17 July 2001, it was known as Bettborn, after its administrative centre. Préizerdaul was the first commune to change its name since before the First World War; ...

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. The family lived in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago, living near

Rosehill Cemetery Rosehill Cemetery (founded 1859) is a historic rural cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. At , it is the largest cemetery in the city of Chicago and its first private cemetery. The Entrance Gate and Administration ...

. Reinberg was educated in

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...

Private sector career

Reinberg had a very successful career as a

. He had begun by growing

turnips The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties a ...

and

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

, before experimenting with

roses A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...

and flowers in 1890. He was very successful at growing roses and carnations, and eventually owned

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

s with 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 square meters) of glass. He was among the most famous greenhouse owners in Chicago. He was considered the "Rose King" of Chicago. His business made him a

millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. Many national currencies have, or ...

, and he was among the largest rose growers in the world. He was also considered to be the largest grower of carnations in the United States. Reinberg would serve on the board of directors of Ravenswood Bank.

Chicago City Council

In 1904, Reinberg made his political debut by successfully running as the Democratic nominee for

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the Law and government of Chicago, government of the Chicago, City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 Wards of the United States, wards to serve four-year t ...

in the 26th district. In his campaign, he used the unique gimmick of providing each resident of his ward with carnations to wear. Reinberg was reelected in 1906, 1908, and 1910. Reinberg was unseated in 1912 by Republican nominee George Pretzel. In years such as 1908 and 1910, he had received election endorsements from the Municipal Voters League.

President of the Chicago Board of Education

In the fall of 1912, Reinberg became

. While Reinberg had originally indicated he would retire from the position, he made himself a candidate for another term in January 1914, as Mayor

Carter Harrison IV Carter Henry Harrison IV (April 23, 1860 – December 25, 1953) was an American newspaper publisher and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician who served a total of five terms as mayor of Chicago (1897–1905 and 1911–1915) b ...

had convinced him to stay aboard so that the board would continue to be led by an ally of superintendent

Ella Flagg Young Ella Flagg Young (January 15, 1845 – October 26, 1918) was an American educator who served as superintendent of Chicago Public Schools. She was the first female head of a large United States city school system. She also served as the first fem ...

. Reelected, he served until resigning in December of that year, after becoming

President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners

In 1914, he was elected president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Having been nominated by the Democratic Party, he defeated Progressive Parry

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Alexander A. McCormick. There was no Republican nominee (Republicans had been blocked by the

Illinois Supreme Court 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 fiv ...

from an

electoral fusion Electoral fusion in the United States is an arrangement where two or more United States political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, allowing that candidate to receive votes on multiple party lines in the same election. Electoral fus ...

joint nomination of McCormick). Reinberg led McCormick (the county's leading Progressive Party politician) by more than a 60,000 plurality in the November election. The Democratic Party swept the 1914 Cook County elections. However, unlike in Reinberg's race, for the other countywide offices, Democratic nominees had only won by mere hundreds of votes. Reinberg was sworn in as president on December 7, 1914. He would hold the county board presidency until his

death 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 ...

in 1921. He was reelected in November 1918, defeating Republican Charles N. Goodlow by a much narrower margin than his victory four years prior. During Reinberg's tenure, the county was hit by the 1918

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...

epidemic. Amid this, he ordered the

Cook County Hospital The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (shortened ''Stroger Hospital'', formerly Cook County Hospital) is a public hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of Cook County Health, along with Provident Hospital of Cook Cou ...

closed to all visitors, except those visiting individuals dying from diseases other than the flu. Reinberg was also, by virtue of this position as county board president, the first president of the newly created

Forest Preserve District of Cook County The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is a governmental commission in Cook County, Illinois, that owns and manages land containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes. These land holdings are primarily managed as undeveloped nat ...

. He oversaw its acquisition of more than 18,000 acres of land. He is sometimes considered the "father" of Cook County's forest preserve system.

Death

Reinberg died on February 21, 1921, at his Chicago home of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

Legacy

After his death, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County would name a campground north of

Palatine, Illinois Palatine () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Lake County, Illinois, Lake counties, Illinois, United States. It is a northwestern residential Chicago metropolitan area, suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 c ...

"Camp Reinberg" after him. Chicago Public Schools named its Peter A. Reinberrg Elementary School after Reinberg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reinberg, Peter A. Florists Businesspeople from Chicago Chicago City Council members Presidents of the Cook County Board of Commissioners Presidents of the Chicago Board of Education Illinois Democrats 1858 births 1921 deaths American florists