Dan Dinneen

Dan Dinneen
Official portrait, 1935
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
from the 28th district
In office
January 1935 – December 6, 1948
Preceded byWilliam C. Chynoweth
Mayor of Decatur, Illinois
In office
1911–1919
Preceded byCharles M. Borchers
Succeeded byCharles M. Borchers
Personal details
Born(1870-10-06)October 6, 1870
Decatur, Illinois, U.S
DiedDecember 6, 1948(1948-12-06) (aged 78)
Decatur, Illinois, U.S.
PartyRepublican
Professiongrocer, mediator, railroad laborer

Dan Dinneen (October 6, 1870–December 6, 1948) was an American politician who served as mayor of Decatur, Illinois, (1911–1919) and a member the Illinois House of Representatives (1935–1948).

Early life

Dinneen was born in Decatur, Illinois on October 6, 1879,[1][2] the son of John and Rose Dinneen.[3] He attended the Decatur parochial schools and Decatur High School.[1][2][4] Dinneen's father held office as the county coroner and as a city alderman (city councilor).[2]

At the age of fifteen, Dinneen took a job firing engines on the Wabash Railroad.[2] In 1894, his father opened a grocery store in Decatur[2] and Dinneen began working there.[1] After his father died in 1896, Dinneen took ownership of the store.[2] In 1904, Dinneen was selected as president of the Decatur Grocer's Association. After being elected mayor in 1911,[3] he sold the grocery business.[3][4]

Mayoralty (1911–1919)

Portrait of Dinneen, circa 1911

A Republican, Dinneen served as mayor of Decatur from 1911 to 1919.[2]

Mayoral campaigns

1911

Portrait of Dinneen, circa 1911

Dinneen won election in 1911, challenging incumbent mayor Charles M. Borchers[5] The other contenders in the nonpartisan primary were manufacturer W. C. Field, as well as fellow grocers George A. Stadler and W. O. Kiser.[6]

The 1911 city primary was on March 14 and the general election was on April 18. The 1911 mayoral election was anticipated to possibly feature a large field for mayor, but Dinneen was regarded as the formidable front-runner.[6][7] Field and Borchers were seen as other leading contenders to advance from the primary to the general election.[6] Dinneen was regarded as having safe odds of advancing to the general election.[8][9] Borchers was seen as perhaps his most likely opponent.[8] However, Field was also making a heavy play for the mayoralty. Stadler, was regarded by some reports to have failed to make much headway in the election;[8] while other reports considered him, Field, and Borchers all being competitive enough to stand a chance at advancing with Dinneen to the general election.[9]

A major debate of the campaign was alcohol prohibition, with temperance advocates accusing Dinneen of being "too liberal on that issue" (too friendly towards alcohol consumption).[2]

In the general election, Dinneen defeated Borchers by a 81-vote margin in the general election. The 1911 election was the first to be held after the city transitioned from an aldermanic government to a city commission government.[2]

1915

Dinneen won re-election in 1915, running on the "Good Government" ticket and defeating challenger John D. Barnhart Sr. by a margin of merely 67 of the 16,047 votes cast.[2] The election was held during partial women's suffrage in Illinois during which women could vote in local elections. Dinneen led among male voters, while Barnhart led among female voters.[10]

1919

In 1919, Dinneen sought re-election to a third term.[2] He was challenged by former mayor Borchers as well as by Lee Boland and George N. Egnor.[11] Dinneen lost the general election Borchers by a 346 margin in an election with a large turnout.[12]

1923

Portrait, circa 1923

Dineen ran for mayor again in 1923. The 1923 primary featured a record turnout.[13] Dineen ultimately lost the general election.

Dinneen later declined to run for mayor again in the 1931 mayoral election.[2]

Mayoral tenure

The first mayor to hold office under the city commission form of government in Decatur, Dinneen dealt with the task of brokering peace between department heads who were combatting with each other for purview over overlapping conflicting subject matter. Dinneen took the position that no department head should be given full absolute making powers over policy decisions.[2]

In 1918, when the Spanish flu pandemic impacted Decatur, Dinneen served as an orderly at a temporary hospital that was erected at the Millikin Home.[2]

Labor mediator (1921–1929)

In 1920, Dinneen headed the Macon County organization of Len Small's gubernatorial campaign.[3]

Dinneen worked for the Illinois State Employment Office and as a mediator for state labor disputes from 1921 to 1929.[1] In this role, he dealt with disputes in the Decatur area. After Louis Lincoln Emmerson became governor, he removed Dinneen and replaced him with Mike Costello, without offering explanation for this personnel change.[2]

State representative (1935–1948)

Portrait as state representative, 1939

Dinneen served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1935 until his death in 1948.[1][4]

Legislative campaigns

In 1932, unsuccessfully ran for state rep, becoming a Republican nominee but losing the general election. He was successfully elected two years later.[3]

In his elections, his support came largely from the portions of his district in Macon County, with the rest of the district generally supporting his opponents. However, his vote share in Macon County (including Decatur) was always enough to secure him election to his seat.[2] Since Dinneen usually backed pro-labor positions as a legislator, he received solid backing from laborers in Macon County that was critical in many of his re-elections.[3] Dinneen could not always rely on the local Republican organization to support his re-election efforts, and instead had to rely on his own personal network and popularity.[3]

Dinneen's support for old age pensions led the Townsend Club endorse his re-election in 1936.[3] Dinneen's 97 vote margin of re-election in 1936 was narrow enough that defeated candidate William Querfeld challenged the result before the state legislature to seek a partial recount.[14]

Legislative tenure

Dinneen as state representative, 1943

Dinneen was credited with championing a number of pieces of pro-labor legislation.[2] He was one of the early advocates for implementing a permanent registration of voters as a method to increase voter participation in Illinois.[2][3] While Dinneen preferred not to buck his party,[3] he often displayed an independent streak as a legislator and gained a reputation of often bucking his party caucus on pieces of legislation he found to be of either personal concern or of great concern to residents of his district.[2] [3] Two examples of this included standing against making a sales tax the main method of state revenue and supporting expanded old-aid pension funding early into the New Deal era.[2] Dinneen was also known to get along with members of the Democratic Party in the legislature.[3]

In 1935, Dinneen declined to accept a role heading a regional Republican Party effort to have voters sign pledge cards for voters committing to vote against Democratic resident Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1936 presidential election. While Dinneen opposed reelection of the president, he declined this role on the grounds that viewed this tactic as a hate campaign towards Roosevelt that he had no desire of heading.[3]

Dinneen as state representative, 1945

On July 14, 1947, Dinneen announced that his current term in the state legislature would be his last; and that he planned to retire from politics upon its conclusion.[2]

Personal life

In 1897, Dinneen married to Helen Josephine Hackett.[3][1] He was widowed after her 1945 death.[3]

Dinneen was a lifelong member of the Catholic Church,[2] belonging to the Saint Patrick's Catholic Church congregation his entire life.[3]

Dinneen was a member of Elks and Knights of Columbus.[3]

For many years had the low license plate number of 24. Low numbers were considered a prestigious thing to have. He traded the plate with a Chicago Democratic state legislator's as a gesture of goodwill between them, being exchanged the Democrats' previous plate number of 298.[3]

Dinneen's health failed in his last year of life.[2] Dinneen died on December 6, 1948, at St. Mary's Hospital in Decatur, Illinois.[3] He bequeathed most of his estate (valued at $23,000) to religious and charitable organizations.[2]

Electoral history

Mayoral

1911 Decatur mayoral primary[15]
Candidate Votes %
Dan Dinneen 2,443 38.03
Charles M. Borchers (incumbent) 1,940 30.20
G. A. Stadler 1,131 17.61
W. C. Field 898 13.98
W. O. Kiser 12 0.19
Total votes 6,424
1911 Decatur mayoral election
Candidate Votes %
Dan Dinneen
Charles M. Borchers (incumbent)
Total votes
1915 Decatur mayoral election[2]
Candidate Votes %
Dan Dinneen (incumbent) 8,059 50.20
J. D. Barnhart 7,988 49.80
Total votes 16,047 100
1919 Decatur mayoral primary[13]
Candidate Votes %
Dan Dinneen (incumbent) 3,527 37.92
Charles M. Borchers 3,203 34.44
Lee Boland 2,479 26.66
George N. Egnor 91 0.98
Total votes 9,300 100
1919 Decatur mayoral election
(initial returns published in news)[16]
Candidate Votes %
Charles M. Borchers 7,734 51.33
Dan Dinneen (incumbent) 7,391 48.87
Total votes 15,125 100
1923 Decatur mayoral primary[13][17]
Candidate Votes %
Dan Dinneen 6,751
Elmer R. Elder 5,197
John F. Mattes 3,178
Thomas Hays 212
Total votes
1923 Decatur mayoral election
Candidate Votes %
Elmer R. Elder
Dan Dinneen
Total votes

Legislative

1934 Illinois House of Representatives 28th district Republican primary[18][19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William C. Chynoweth (incumbent) 21,744.0 41.24
Republican Dan Dinneen 13,571.5 25.74
Republican Webber Borchers 4,529.5 8.59
Republican Thomas C. Buxton 4,509.0 8.55
Republican Wayne L. Sprague 4,502.5 8.54
Republican William Keck McDavid 3,873.5 7.35
1934 Illinois House of Representatives 28th district election[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Nicholas L. Hubbard 42,485.0 26.94
Democratic Verne R. Johnson 41,827.0 26.52
Republican Dan Dinneen 38,509.0 24.41
Republican William C. Chynoweth (incumbent) 34,909.5 22.13
1936 Illinois House of Representatives 28th district Republican primary[20][21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Dinneen (incumbent) 21,135.0
Republican William Querfeld 11,562.0
Republican Ray A. Dillinger 11,274.0
Republican T.C. Buxton 5,352.5
Republican Joseph L. Rosenberg 4,195.0
1936 Illinois House of Representatives 28th district election[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Nicholas L. Hubbard (incumbent) 57,955.5
Democratic Dean S. McGaughey 52,516.0
Republican Dan Dinneen (incumbent) 42,642.5
Republican William Querfeld 42,545.5
1938 Illinois House of Representatives 28th district Republican primary[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Dinneen (incumbent) 17,662.0
Republican Ray A. Dillinger 15,554.0
Republican Richard James Oglesby 7,724.5
Republican Dean C. Montgomery 4,737.0
1938 Illinois House of Representatives 28th district election[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dan Dinneen (incumbent) 44,331.5
Republican Ray A. Dillinger 44,232.0
Democratic Dean S. McGaughey (incumbent) 37,776.0
Democratic Felix E. Wilson 36,682.0
1940 Illinois House of Representatives 28th district election[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dean S. McGaughey (incumbent) 55,318.5
Republican Dan Dinneen (incumbent) 53,559.5
Republican William Querfeld 51,776.5
Democratic Felix E. Wilson 51,625.5
1942 Illinois House of Representatives 28th district election[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Homer B. Harris 47,444.0
Republican Dan Dinneen (incumbent) 36,858.0
Democratic Felix E. Wilson 25,834.0
Democratic James E. Roby 24.840.5
1944 Illinois House of Representatives 28th district Republican primary[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Homer B. Harris (incumbent) 15,870.0
Republican Dan Dinneen (incumbent) 14,857.0
Republican William Querfeld 8,804.5
1944 Illinois House of Representatives 28th district election[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Homer B. Harris (incumbent) 53,312.0
Republican Dan Dinneen (incumbent) 48,737.5
Democratic Felix E. Wilson (incumbent) 42,180.5
Democratic Paul H. Ferguson 40,681.5
1946 Illinois House of Representatives 28th district Republican primary[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Homer B. Harris (incumbent) 17,128
Republican Dan Dinneen (incumbent) 15,240
1946 Illinois House of Representatives 28th district election[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Homer B. Harris (incumbent) 45,100.0
Republican Dan Dinneen (incumbent) 40,221.0
Democratic Paul H. Ferguson 29,543.5
Democratic Felix E. Wilson (incumbent) 28,871.5

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 'Illinois Blue Book 1947-1948,' Biographical Sketch of Dan Dinneen, pg. 230-231
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 "Dinneen Politician-Turned Individual Fight". Decatur Herald and Review. November 25, 1999. p. 16. Retrieved August 17, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Martin, J. Neely (December 6, 1948). "Dan Dinneen, 78, Once Mayor, Dies; Political Veteran Served Seven Terms in Legislature". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 'Former Mayor Dinneen Dies; Rites Thursday,' The Decatur Herald (Illinois), December 7, 1948, pg. 3
  5. ↑ Brinkley, Don (August 26, 1999). "Charles Borchers a Fighter for Dam, Parks". Decatur Herald and Review. p. 14. Retrieved August 17, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 "Four Mayoralty Candidates Formerly Enter the Contest; Borchers Alone Fails to File Petition, Dan Dinnen and Either Field or Present Executive Regarded As Winners in the Primary". Decatur Herald. February 19, 1911. p. 14. Retrieved August 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Dan Dinneen and Who Else?". The Decatur Review. February 5, 1911. Retrieved August 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 3 "Field Forces Will Move on the Dinneen Camp". The Daily Review. February 26, 1911. p. 18. Retrieved August 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 "Dinneen Conceded Place On Ticket; Only Candidate Who Seems Safe in Lead; Other Vote Divided; No Certainty in Race for Commissioner". The Decatur Review. May 13, 1911. p. 16. Retrieved August 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Dinneen Elected By 50 Majority Official Canvas of Votes Shows Robbins Elected By 18 Votes Over Stouffer; Will Be No Contests; Defeated Candidates Say They Are Satisfied and Nothing Further will be Done". April 22, 1915. p. 3. Retrieved August 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Table Showing Vote on Mayor". March 12, 1919. p. 3. Retrieved August 23, 2026 – via The Decatur Review.
  12. ↑ "Borchers Elected Mayor by 346; Mattes, Ruthraff, Van Praag, and Montgomery Named Commissioner's–Big Vote Cast". The Decatur Review. April 16, 1919. p. 1. Retrieved August 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 3 "Dinneen, Elder, Are Nominated; Mattes Falls 2,000 Short of Place on Ticket; Former Mayor Runs Far Ahead of Field with 6,751; Record Votes Cast; Rutherauff Leads for Commissioner". The Decatur Review. March 14, 1911. p. 1. Retrieved August 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Dan Dineen Vote Report to be Today; Querfeld Contest for Seat in House Expected to be Denied; Inquiry Possible". Decatur Herald. June 23, 1937. p. 3. Retrieved August 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Vote in Commission Form Primary, Tuesday, March 14, 1911". The Decatur Review. March 15, 1911. p. 11. Retrieved August 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "The Total Vote". Decatur Herald. April 16, 1919. p. 3. Retrieved August 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "How Candidates Came Under Wire". The Decatur Review. March 14, 1911. p. 3. Retrieved August 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Illinois blue book, 1935-1936". State of Illinois. 1936. p. 935. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
  19. 1 2 Hughes, Edward J. (1934). Official Vote of the State of Illinois Cast at the General Election, Nov. 6, 1934; Judicial Elections, 1933-34; Primary Election General Primary April 10, 1934. State of Illinois. p. 32 & 78.
  20. ↑ "Illinois blue book, 1935-1936". State of Illinois. 1936. p. 1040. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
  21. 1 2 3 Hughes, Edward J. (1936). Official Vote of the State of Illinois Cast at the General Election, Nov. 3, 1936; Primary Elections; General Primary, April 10, 1934; Presidential Preference, April 14, 1936. State of Illinois. p. 45 & 118.
  22. ↑ Hughes, Edward J. (1938). Official Vote of the State of Illinois Cast at the General Elections, Nov. 8, 1938; Judicial Elections, 1937–1938; Primary Elections; General Primary, April 10, 1934; Presidential Preference, April 12, 1938. State of Illinois. p. 37 & 82.
  23. ↑ Hughes, Edward J. (1940). Official Vote of the State of Illinois Cast at the General Elections, Nov. 5, 1940; Judicial Elections, 1939-1940; Primary Elections; General Primary, April 9, 1940. State of Illinois. p. 30.
  24. ↑ Hughes, Edward J. (1942). Official Vote of the State of Illinois Cast at the General Elections, Nov. 3, 1942; Judicial Elections, 1941-1942; Primary Elections; General Primary, April 14, 1942. State of Illinois. p. 46.
  25. 1 2 Rowe, Richard Yates (1944). Official Vote of the State of Illinois Cast at the General Election, Nov. 7, 1944; Primary Elections; General Primary, April 11, 1944. State of Illinois. p. 49 & 119.
  26. 1 2 Barrett, Edward J. (1946). Official Vote of the State of Illinois Cast at the General Election, November 5, 1946; Judicial elections, 1945, 1946; Primary Election; General Primary, April 9, 1946. State of Illinois. p. 28 & 67.
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