Edward Rowan Finnegan

Who was Edward Rowan Finnegan?

Edward Rowan Finnegan of Chicago was a U.S. Representative from Illinois, 1961 until 1964.

Finnegan was born in Chicago and graduated with a BA from Loyola University Chicago and a law degree from the DePaul University School of Law in 1930. He started practicing as an attorney in 1931 and then served as an Assistant State's attorney in Cook County. Later, Finnegan served as the Assistant Corporation Counsel for Chicago.

Finnegan unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for the position of a Chicago municipal court judge in 1939.

In 1960, Finnegan was elected to Congress from Illinois' 12th district. He was subsequently re-elected in 1962. In 1964, the machine bosses persuaded him to withdraw from his re-election race in order to ensure Sidney Yates' return to Congress after his unsuccessful 1962 U.S. Senate bid.

In return for his co-operation, Finnegan was appointed as a judge for the Circuit Court of Cook County. He resigned his seat in Congress on December 6, 1964 and commenced his service on the bench the following day. He continued to serve until his death in 1971.