Elmer Washburn

Washburn was born a member of the Washburn family.[2]

Washburn served as a vision superintendent for the Illinois Central Railroad.[3]

Washburn then served as warden of the Joliet Penitentiary.[3][4]

Mayor Joseph Medill had been persuaded by the city's Committee of Seventy, a citizen's group, to fire General Superintendent of Police William Wallace Kennedy and replace him with Washburn.[3] Formally, on July 29, 1872, Kennedy resigned as Chicago's General Superintendent of Police, and the mayor appointed Washburn as interim General Superintendent of Police.[1] On August 12, 1872, he was made permanent General Superintendent.[1][3] While he had had no experience as either a police nor any experience working with the city of Chicago, he had strong support of the Committee of Seventy who had lobbied the Chicago City Council's Committee on Judiciary and Police hard to approve his appointment.[3]

Washburn's tenure as head of the Chicago Police Department was primarily under the tenure of mayor Joseph Medill.[1][4] However, he also served during the tenure of acting mayor Lester L. Bond, and in the early days of Harvey Doolittle Colvin's mayoralty.

On October 11, 1872, the police commissioners, under pressure from the Committee of Seventy to enforce blue laws, handed Washburn an order to enforce the blue laws, "as far as practicable".[3]

In partnership with mayor Medill, Washburn cracked-down on gambling in the city.[4]

Washburn made attempts to reform the city's police force, but this was met with resistance in the department, which weakened Washburn's practical authority.[3] Washburn's first attempt at reform was to prohibit police from accepting fines or bail from those they arrested.[3] This order was difficult to enforce, and was inconsistently enforced.[3]

Washburn accused Captain Michael C. Hickey of releasing prisoners and holding recovered stolen goods, and Brought him before the Board of Police Commissioners on these charges.[3] This proved unsuccessful for Washburn, as the case against Hickey fell apart after two days of testimony, and Hickey was restored to the lesser rank of sergeant.[3] This further harmed Washburn's standing with the police force, since Hickey was a well-respected officer.[3] This led to a power struggle in the police department.[3]

During the power struggle within the department, police commissioners challenged Washburn's authority to change patrol duty and order raids on the city's gambling dens.[3] They made an effort to force Washburn's resignation, but he retained enough backing from the Committee of Seventy and mayor Medill to retain his post.[3]

In January 1873, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance allowing anyone arrested to secure their release by posting a special bail double the amount of the highest fine they could incur.[3] The ordinance allowed the money to be deposited with the officer in charge of the police station they had been taken to, despite this being a practice that Washburn had earlier attempted to stop.[3]

Illustration of Washburn

His association with mayor Medill further harmed Washburn's standing with the police force.[3] Medill had originally vetoed a City Council Ordinance that would allow the City Council to refund the amounts that patrolmen had to pay the City Treasury for items necessary to their duty, such as belts and clubs.[3] He only agreed to sign the ordinance after the City Council agreed to add an amendment that policemen would have to pay for these items if they did not return them in good condition.[3] This episode had engendered resentment among many in the force towards Medill.[3]

Owners of gambling establishments that had been raided by Washburn sued him for the return of gambling implements such as faro tables.[3] The courts ultimately sided with the gambling establishments, finding that, while Washburn had the authority to restrict gambling and to arrest people for practicing it, he did not have the authority to seize property without due process.[3]

Washburn's 1874 Secret Service credentials on display at the Secret Service's headquarters

Washburn served as head of the United States Secret Service under president Ulysses S. Grant from 1874 to 1876.

Washburn took office on October 1, 1874.[5]

Washburn helped thwart the attempted theft of Abraham Lincoln's corpse.[6][7][8][9] He also played a role in prosecution of Whiskey Ring members.[10]

Washburn got involved in the Union Stock Yards, heading the Chicago Live Stock Exchange and serving as president of the Union Stock Yards National Bank.[11][12][13]

In March 1884, Washburn lobbied the US Congress against the bill which created the Bureau of Animal Industry, and helped to weaken the agency's ultimate authority.[13] However, by late 1886, he had been persuaded to now side in favor of having a more powerful agency operate in place of the Bureau of Animal Agency.[13]

Washburn unsuccessfully ran in the 1891 Chicago mayoral election, in which he placed fourth and was defeated by his cousin once-removed Hempstead Washburne.[2]