James E. Bish

James E. Bish (October 1, 1859 - unknown) was a state legislator in Illinois. He served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1895 to 1897. He wrote Past, Present, and the Future of the Negro.[1]

James E. Bish
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
ConstituencyCook County
In office
1893–?
Personal details
Born(1859-11-01)November 1, 1859
St. Francois County, Missouri
Died?

He was born October 1, 1859, in St. Francois County, Missouri. His parents were enslaved.[2] He went to school in Belleville, Illinois, and then learned telegraphy at Alton before studying law and moving to Chicago.[2]

In 1893, he was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, one of several members from Cook County, Illinois.[3][2] A Republican, he was listed as working in real estate.[3] Democrat Solomon Van Praag (died September 13, 1927) contested Bish's election.[4] Bish was represented in the case by Charles Samuel Deneen.[5] Bish served one term.[6] The next year, he ran for the Illinois Senate as an independent Republican.[2]

He served in the Illinois National Guard.[1] Bish earned the title of colonel at some point before 1898.[7]

In 1898 Bish was serving as Chicago's "city smoke inspector" under the Democratic mayoral administration of Carter Harrison Jr.[7] In 1913 he was one of ten engineers charged with petty graft, conspiracy and extortion.[8] He was found guilty along with seven others.[9]

References
  1. Williams, Erma Brooks (2008). Political Empowerment of Illinois' African-American State Lawmakers from 1877 to 2005. ISBN 9780761840183.
  2. "James E. Bish - Will run as an independent Republican". The Inter Ocean. 22 October 1894. p. 4. Retrieved 7 February 2021.open access
  3. Representatives, Illinois General Assembly House of (February 1, 1893). "Journal of the House of Representatives at the ... Session of the ... General Assembly of the State of Illinois ..." J.Y. Sawyer, Public Printer – via Google Books.
  4. Wood, David Ward (February 1, 1895). "History of the Republican Party and Biographies of Its Supporters: Illinois volume". Lincoln Engraving and Publishing Company – via Google Books.
  5. "Industrial Chicago". Goodspeed Publishing Company. February 1, 1896 – via Google Books.
  6. Joens, David A. (February 1, 2012). From Slave to State Legislator: John W. E. Thomas, Illinois' First African American Lawmaker. SIU Press. ISBN 9780809330584 – via Google Books.
  7. "The windows and orphans - Colored Masonic Grand Lodge provides for them". The Champaign Daily News. 12 October 1898. p. 4. Retrieved 7 February 2021.open access
  8. "Monnett readjusts smoke department". The Inter Ocean. 7 August 1913. p. 5. Retrieved 7 February 2021.open access
  9. "8 City officers are convicted as grafters". Chicago Examiner. 14 August 1913. p. 1. Retrieved 7 February 2021.open access
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