Henry Horner was an American judge, governor of Illinois, and Lincoln collector.
Background
Horner was born in Chicago, in 1878, the second in a family of two sons of Solomon A. and Dilah (Horner) Levy. The boy's parents separated when he was four years old. His mother resumed her maiden name, which he also took and retained throughout his life.
Education
Horner attended Chicago public schools and the Chicago-Kent College of Law, a night school, from which he was graduated in 1898.
Career
He began practice with Frank Whitney, whose father, Henry C. Whitney, had been a friend and biographer of Abraham Lincoln. The association aroused Horner's interest in Lincoln and led him to start the Lincoln collection that was to be his lifelong avocation.
Horner's political career began in 1914, when he was elected probate judge of Cook County. In this capacity he found a field for the exercise of the strong human sympathy that was one of the marked traits of his character. He instituted a system of daily personal conferences that softened formal court procedures, compelled undertakers to scale their charges to the size of probated estates, and devised an economical administration of veterans' estates. His fairness and probity became so well known that he was reelected four times, polling in 1930 more than twice as many votes as his Republican opponent.
In 1932 Horner's proved ability to win votes and his impeccable reputation led the Democratic organization to nominate him for governor. In the election he defeated Len Small, the time-worn Republican nominee, by a vote of 1, 930, 330 to 1, 364, 043. Horner faced problems of the utmost gravity upon his inauguration. The state of Illinois stood on the verge of bankruptcy, business was stagnant, hundreds of thousands were out of work. The new governor moved with speed and boldness.
At his instance the legislature adopted a sales tax, which produced an increased revenue. At the same time he reduced governmental expenses. In relief measures the state cooperated fully with the federal government, and many thousands were soon restored to public and private payrolls. Having met the immediate emergency, Horner initiated a program of legislation which resulted in increased aid to the public schools, the extension of the state's secondary road system by several thousand miles, and the modernization of the public charitable institutions and mental hospitals. Before the end of his first term, Horner clashed with the Kelly-Nash machine, which had taken over the Cook County Democratic organization after the death of Anton J. Cermak in 1933. Refusing to yield to what he called "arrogant bossism, " Horner vetoed many organization-sponsored bills. As a result, he faced a bitter primary battle in 1936, when the organization backed Herman N. Bundesen for the Democratic nomination.
By that time Horner had won a large following in downstate Illinois – a remarkable feat for a Jew and a Chicagoan – and this following enabled him to win the nomination. In the election he polled a record vote to defeat C. Wayland Brooks, Republican, by a plurality of 385, 176. The intraparty battle was renewed two years later, when Horner supported Scott W. Lucas against Michael L. Igoe for the Democratic nomination to the United States Senate. Lucas won both nomination and election. But Horner paid a high price for demonstrating his mastery of Illinois politics.
He had overworked for six years, and the extra burden of his part in the Lucas campaign in 1938 broke his health. On the night of November 8, while listening to the election returns, he suffered a severe heart attack. Thereafter he was at best a semi-invalid. In periods of partial recovery he conducted the affairs of the state; at other times the government was entrusted to a small group of advisers. Disliking and distrusting the lieutenant governor, who would succeed him, Horner refused to relinquish office. In the summer of 1940 he took a house at Winnetka, where he hoped that proximity to Lake Michigan would be beneficial, but he declined steadily and died there early in October. After a ceremonial funeral, he was buried in Mount Mayriv Cemetery, Chicago.
Personality
Though a hard fighter in politics, Horner was a man of great personal kindness whose acts of generosity often exceeded his means. A faithful Reformed Jew, he was known for the catholicity of his friendships. He lavished affection on his friends, their children – in fact, all children – and on the state of Illinois, which he cherished almost as a mistress.