User:Elli/Drafts/John W. Keogh

John W. Keogh was a realty owner and redistricting advocate in the Chicago area.

Early life and career

Keogh inherited significant real estate from his father in 1899.

Court cases

Michigan Avenue foreclosure

Keogh had taken out a $250,000 mortgage against a property he owned on Michigan Avenue with the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company. In 1934, the company repossessed the building and received an additional $25,000 deficiency judgement against Keogh in February 1935. The company then sought access to a trust fund Keogh had established to cover this debt, represented by Christopher G. Kinney.

Though not an attorney, Keogh had acquired significant experience with the legal system and represented himself for the case, which was heard by Cook County Circuit Court judge John Prystalski on January 13, 1936. He argued that the case should be dismissed, arguing that the lack of reapportionment in the state resulted in the court lacking authority. Prystalski attempted to interrupt Keogh multiple times, infuriating him. Finally, Prystalski called for a bailiff to remove Keogh from the court room, at which point Keogh revealed a pistol and shot at both Prystalski and Kinney. Prystalski ducked and avoided being hit, while Kinney was shot through the heart at point-blank range, killing him almost instantly.

Death and legacy

Keogh died in 1947, at the age of 83.

Historian James L. McDowell took a dim view of Keogh, writing that while the cause of reapportionment was important, Keogh was primarily self-interested. McDowell unfavorably compares him to John B. Fergus, another Chicagoan who spent significant effort lobbying for redistricting in the 1920s by filing numerous lawsuits with the goal of forcing redistricting.