Thompson, William Hale, 1869–1944, American politician, b. Boston. His family moved to Chicago when he was nine years old, and there he later entered politics as an alderman (1900–1902). He became commissioner of Cook co. (1902–4) and served (1915–23, 1927–31) three terms as mayor of Chicago. A flamboyant figure, he attracted much attention during the 1927 mayoralty campaign by his tirades against England. As mayor he was criticized for his failure to take effective action against the gangs led by Al Capone and others. In 1936 he ran for governor of Illinois but was defeated.
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