Richard Phelan, former Cook County Board president, dies at 86
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Former Cook County Board President and Illinois gubernatorial candidate Richard Phelan died last week.
Phelan died of metastatic cancer on Wednesday, March 27, in his Lake Forest home, according to a published obituary. He was 86.
Born March 29, 1937, to Jane and Jack Phelan, Richard Phelan – Dick for short – grew up on the North Side of Chicago and attended Quigley Seminary Preparatory School, according to his obituary. He, at one time, considered becoming a Roman Catholic priest.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center.
Phelan worked as a trial lawyer at several Chicago firms, and began his own firm – Phelan, Pope & John – in 1976. The firm became one of the city's leading law firms, Phelan's obituary said. Some of Chicago's most prominent trial lawyers – including Phelan's brother-in-law and former Illinois Appellate Court justice William Quinlan – worked with the firm, the obituary said.
In 1985, Phelan successfully defended Jewel Food Stores against a lawsuit accusing the grocery store chain of willful neglect over the sale of salmonella-tainted milk, the obit said.
In 1989, Phelan was appointed as a special outside counsel to lead the U.S. House Ethics Committee Probe of U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Texas). Wright was accused of such ethics violations as accepting improper gifts from a developer and using bulk purchases of his book, "Reflections of a Public Man," to obtain speaking fees greater than the maximum Congress allowed.
Wright denied the claims but ultimately resigned.
In 1990, Phelan ran successfully for Cook County Board president. Eric Adelstein, now a well-known national political consultant, ran Phelan's campaign – and future mayors Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot were both on the campaign staff, the obit noted.
As County Board president, Phelan is remembered for using his executive powers to restore abortions at Cook County Hospital in 1992. The former board president, George Dunne, had banned abortions at the hospital.
Several Cook County commissioners went to court to fight Phelan's decision on abortion access at the hospital, but Phelan prevailed, his obit noted.
Phelan ran in the Democratic primary for Illinois governor in 1994 – coming in third behind then-Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris and the winner, Illinois Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch. Netsch, in turn, lost to Republican incumbent Gov. Jim Edgar.
After losing his gubernatorial bid, Phelan returned to practicing law – becoming managing partner of the firm Foley & Lardner and also serving as president of the Chicago Bar Association and a professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Meanwhile, county Commissioner John H. Stroger Jr. was elected Cook County Board president to succeed Phelan. Stroger, who died in 2008, served in the role for three terms. His son, Todd Stroger, succeeded him for one term before losing to current Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in 2010.
In 2013, Preckwinkle joined Cook County Health System officials to dedicate the county's Specialty Care Atrium to Phelan.
Phelan is survived by his wife, Barbara; his adult children Jane Phelan (David Jones), Anne Phelan Boyle (Charles Boyle), and Mark Phelan (Jennifer Phelan); and his grandchildren, Savanna Phelan Jones, Emma Boyle, Grace Boyle, Leo Boyle, Luke Phelan, and Mary Carol Phelan. He is also survived by four sisters and several nieces and nephews.
A funeral mass will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, April 12, at Old St. Patrick's Church, 700 W. Adams St. A live stream of the mass will be available.
