Benjamin F. Lewis

Benjamin Franklin Lewis (December 2, 1909 – February 28, 1963) was an American politician who served as alderman of Chicago's 24th ward from 1958 until he was murdered in his ward office in 1963. He remains the last elected official to be assassinated in Chicago's history; the case remains unsolved.

A native of Georgia but a longtime resident of Chicago, he was the first African-American political leader of a ward that had previously been dominated by Jews. Known for his brash fashion and quick-witted personality, he lived a luxurious life and at the time of his murder was the presumptive future leader of Chicago's African-American community.

Decades after his death he was fondly remembered in his ward for his service to the community, and the local alderman had the City Council designate the local stretch of Pulaski Road "Benjamin F. Lewis Road" in his honor in 1993. On the other hand, he was notoriously corrupt and thus there were many possible suspects for his murder.

Early life
Benjamin Franklin Lewis was born in Macon, Georgia, on December 2, 1909 and moved to Chicago's west side with his family as a child, attending Crane High School and Crane Junior College. He worked for the United States Unemployment Service as a clerk from 1938 to 1941 and served as a second lieutenant in World War II, moving to the 24th ward after the war. He served as a bus driver for the Chicago Transit Authority prior to quitting that job in 1955. He became a precinct captain in 1952, the first African-American one in the 24th ward.

Aldermanic tenure
Chicago's 24th ward encompassed the North Lawndale community area, known locally as "Lawndale". It was traditionally a Russian Jewish stronghold prior to white flight in the 1950s, after which it became predominantly African-American. Despite the Jewish flight in the 1950s, whites continued to control the ward and fought to retain that control; this was a common setup on Chicago's west side, where such wards were known as "plantation wards" in contrast to the south side which had had African-American political representation for decades.

Working as a city housing inspector at the time, Lewis was elected as the 24th ward alderman to replace Sidney D. Deutsch, who had been appointed City Treasurer and consequently vacated the office on September 24, 1957. He defeated the attorney Arthur N. Hamilton, who subsequently petitioned the county court to void the election and either declare Hamilton the alderman or to hold a new election, alleging such irregularities as election judge misconduct and voter bribery. Judge Carl H. Smith dismissed the suit on June 6, holding the complaint to be insufficient. Lewis took office on April 8, 1958. During his tenure he again courted controversy when he referred clients to his own insurance business despite receiving $50 a month and 5% on commissions of business for referring clients to another insurance agent, Arthur X. Elrod, Inc. He reached a settlement with Elrod, Inc. in July 1962 in which he promised to not refer clients of Elrod, Inc. to his own business while the contract was still valid. Arthur X. Elrod had been the ward's committeeman prior to his death in 1960.

Lewis was the first African-American alderman of the 24th ward. He often made disparaging remarks towards South Side African-American leaders such as William L. Dawson. When asked how he stood on an unsuccessful attempt by Dawson and others to replace 5th ward alderman Leon Despres with an African-American, he expressed indifference, replying that "I stand right at Kedzie and Roosevelt in my ward." He was flashy and liked to be called "Big Cat", and was also known as the "Duke of Dixieland". Despite having an annual salary of $8,000, he had several mistresses, took vacations in Acapulco, held much real estate, and was known for his flashy wardrobe consisting almost entirely of suits costing at least $200. He was also noted for his quick wit, although during Council business he was soft-spoken and rarely made a speech. During his tenure actual power in the ward was held by Irwin Horowitz, a real estate manager living in the Gold Coast.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt had called the 24th ward "the best Democratic ward in the country," and it continued that reputation in Lewis's time. Lewis was an ardent adherent to the Democratic machine and was selected by Richard J. Daley to become 24th ward committeeman upon Deutsch's death in October 1961. He was the first African-American committeeman of the 24th ward. At the start of his tenure 37 of the ward's 58 precincts had white precinct captains. Lewis gradually replaced the white captains with African-Americans, and, upon hearing of the white captains' complaints, suggested that they go to their respective ward committeemen for patronage positions. At the time of his murder he had signaled his intention to replace the ailing Thomas J. O'Brien as the congressman representing Illinois's 6th congressional district, and was widely pegged to replace Dawson as the main African-American political leader in Chicago.

Murder
In the early hours of February 28, 1963, Lewis was murdered in his ward office on Roosevelt Road, where he had moved the day before. He had heavily won reelection in the aldermanic election two days previously, defeating his opponent Jeff Clifford Alford 13,189 votes to 888. He was found handcuffed to his desk with cigarette burns on his skin and had been shot three times in the back of the head.

The case remains unsolved, but the murder was widely attributed to organized crime at the time. An FBI informant blamed Outfit killers Lenny Patrick and Dave Yaras for the killing, but no charges were ever filed against them. Jimmy Hoffa historian Dan Moldea claimed that the hitman was a friend of Jack Ruby. It was popularly believed at the time that the murder was unsolvable as there were too many suspects given Lewis's activities, a sentiment that was shared by the director of the investigation. An ex-convict boasted about killing Lewis in 1985, but died in a fire before police could question him.

After Lewis's death the office of 24th ward alderman remained vacant until future Congressman George W. Collins assumed it on January 21, 1964.

Legacy
Lewis is the last politician murdered in Chicago as of 2019. According to historian Richard Lindberg, the murder "capped off an open lawlessness in the city with regards to its politicians that [had] been going on ... since the time of Al Capone".

Lewis is also remembered for his contributions to the community. 24th ward alderman Jesse Miller, speaking in 1993, noted that "even today, Ben Lewis is considered to have been a stalwart in the community who was a pioneer in making the 24th Ward an independent ward in the city," and successfully petitioned the City Council to designate Pulaski Road between Harrison Street and Cermak Road as "Benjamin F. Lewis Road".