Trailblazing Jewish Democrat #16: Jacob Arvey

Jason Attermann — May 23, 2011 – 4:19 pm | Jewish American Heritage Month 2011 Comments (1) Add a comment

Jacob Arvey was an influential Democratic politician from Chicago. His political clout in Illinois helped the Democratic Party win elections for Mayor, Senator, Governor, and President in 1947-1948. 

Jacob Arvey was born on Chicago’s West Side on November 3, 1895. He attended the Jewish Training School and went on to study at the John Marshall Law School. Beginning in 1920, Arvey practiced law in various Chicago firms, including Arvey, Hodes, Costello & Burman.

His political involvement began as a precinct captain and then as an alderman for the predominately-Jewish 24^th ward in 1923 at the age of 28. Arvey received up to 97% of the vote from his district, the highest Democratic percentages of a local jurisdiction nationally. This overwhelmingly Democratic turnout earned him a reputation for his political skills within the city’s Democratic Party. He assisted the city party by serving as its campaign manager in 1938.

During World War II, Arvey joined the Illinois National Guard as judge advocate general and a civil affairs officer. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, earning him the nickname “The Colonel.” He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Legion of Merit.

Returning to Chicago, Arvey jumped back in to Chicago politics. In 1946, he began his term as Cook County Chairman for the Democratic Central Committee. In 1948 he endorsed Martin Kennelly for the Mayor’s seat. The same year, he was instrumental in electing Paul Douglas to the U.S. Senate and Adlai Stevenson as Illinois Governor by significant margins. With these major Democratic victories, Arvey played a large role in re-electing President Truman by moving Illinois to the Democratic Party. He was a member of the Democratic National Committee from 1950 until 1972.

In 1950, he endorsed police officer Daniel Gilbert for county sheriff who was under investigation for corruption charges. Gilbert lost, and for endorsing the corrupt candidate, Arvey resigned his position as Chair of the Cook County Democratic Central Committee. When Richard J. Daley, his protégé, won his bid for Mayor of Chicago, Arvey’s power began to wean.

Leaving the political realm, Arvey worked on various initiatives to raise money for the new state of Israel. He helped initiate Israeli bonds programs in the United States. In November of 1953, Arvey organized a fundraising event for the Israel Bond campaign in which former President Truman attended and spoke. He served on various boards of directors for Jewish and Zionist organizations, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the World Jewish Congress, and Brandeis University.

Arvey married Edith Freeman in 1916. The couple had three children. He passed away August 25, 1977.

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