Richard J. Elrod (February 17, 1934 – April 19, 2014) was an American jurist, sheriff, and legislator.

Biography

Born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family 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 ...

, Elrod received his bachelor's and law degrees from

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 ...

. Elrod's father was Arthur X. Elrod, a Democratic Party operative who would go on to serve as a Cook County Commissioner and Chicago's 25th ward's committeeman. Elrod was Chicago's Assistant Corporation Counsel from 1958 through 1970, and its Chief City Prosecutor from 1960 through 1970. Elrod served in 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 ...

, in 1969, as a Democrat. While serving in the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in ...

, Elrod was seriously injured and left paralyzed while helping a Chicago police officer capture Brian Flanagan during the Days of Rage conflict in 1969. Flanagan and two witnesses maintained that Elrod sustained his injury after attempting to tackle Flanagan and instead impacting the corner of a building, while Elrod and several police officers claimed that Flanagan repeatedly kicked him in the neck with construction boots. Flanagan would go to trial for several charges related to the incident, including attempted murder, but was acquitted of all of them. Elrod was elected

Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois The Cook County Sheriff is the Sheriffs in the United States, sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, heading the Cook County Sheriff's Office. Office description Terms are currently four-years in length. Officeholders Elect ...

in 1970, defeating Republican nominee Bernard Carey. He would serve four terms. He was reelected three times, first in 1974 (defeating Republican Peter Bensinger), then in 1978 (defeating Republican Donald Mulack), then in 1982 (defeating Republican Joseph Kozenczak). In 1986, he lost reelection to Republican

James E. O'Grady James E. O'Grady (born 1929) is a former law enforcement official who served as Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department and Sheriff of Cook County, Illinois. Early life O'Grady was born in 1929 in Chicago. His father was a police officer. ...

. From 1986 until 1988, he worked as the Senior Assistant Attorney General, working under

Illinois Attorney General The Illinois attorney general is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by statewide election. Based in Chicago and Springfield, the attorney general ...

Neil Hartigan Cornelius Francis Hartigan (born May 4, 1938) is an American politician, lawyer, and judge who served as the 38th Attorney General of Illinois and the 40th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. He is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), ...

. Elrod was then appointed as a judge on the Circuit Court of Cook County in August 1988, where he continued to serve until his death in 2014. He died of cancer in Chicago, Illinois.'Illinois Blue Book 1969-1970,' Biographical Sketch of Richard J. Elrod, pg. 214-215

Personal life

In 1955, he married Marilyn Mann; they had two children: Steven Elrod and Audrey Elrod Lakin. After his death, services were held at Temple Am Shalom in

Glencoe, Illinois Glencoe () is a lakefront village in northeastern Cook County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,849. Glencoe is part of Chicago's North Shore and one of the wealthiest communities in Illinois. According to t ...

. His sister was Gloria Sheppard Bliss.

In popular culture

Elrod appears as a character in

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; June 10, 1915April 5, 2005) was a Canadian-American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only write ...

's 1982 novel The Dean's December, both for the Days of Rage injury he received early in the novel and later in the protagonist Albert Corde's friendship during Elrod's career as Sheriff of Cook County.

Notes

1934 births 2014 deaths Lawyers from Chicago Politicians from Chicago Northwestern University alumni Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County Sheriffs of Cook County, Illinois 20th-century American Jews Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Deaths from cancer in Illinois 20th-century Illinois state court judges 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American Jews Burials at Westlawn Cemetery 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-Democratic-stub