Bernard Carey

Carey was the son of a school principal. Carey graduated from De La Salle Institute in 1952. He graduated from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. He graduated from DePaul University College of Law in 1958. While he would later be a Republican politician, during his time at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota he chaired the school's chapter of Young Democrats. ==Early career==

Carey worked as an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He met Joseph I. Woods while working there. Woods hired Carey to serve as his undersheriff, and also ushered him into Republican Party politics. Working for Richard B. Ogilvie, Carey worked in Illinois state government, being selected by Ogilvie to organize the Illinois Bureau of Investigation in 1969. ==1970 Cook County Sheriff campaign==

In 1970, Carey was drafted to run as the Republican nominee for Cook County Sheriff, after incumbent Republican Joseph I. Woods opted to run for president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners instead of the seeking a second term. Carey narrowly lost the election to Democrat Richard Elrod. Ogilvie had been among those that had encouraged Carey to run for the office. ==Cook County State's Attorney==

1972 election In 1972, Carey was nominated by the Republican Party for Cook County State's Attorney. His victory over incumbent Democrat Edward Hanrahan was attributed largely to African-American voters' outrage over the 1969 police killings of Black Panther Party leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark under Hanrahan's leadership. Hanrahan had also been facing charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice relating to these killings until being acquitted the day before the general election. Carey ran as a reformer. Carey had pledged that he would investigate allegations of voter fraud, political corruption, kickbacks, and other crimes by the Democratic establishment of Chicago and Cook County. Carey would receive praise for running an honest department as state's attorney. Carey was the first Republican to win multiple terms as Cook County state's attorney. In 1980, Carey was narrowly unseated by Democrat Richard M. Daley, the son of the late Richard J. Daley. ==Subsequent career==

In 1982, Carey ran for both as the Republican nominee for President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and a Republican nominee to be a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from suburban Cook County. He lost the race for president, but won election to be a member of the board. In 1986, Carey made an unsuccessful run for Illinois Attorney General, replacing James T. Ryan as the Republican nominee after Ryan withdrew from the race due to domestic violence allegations. This meant that Carey had to withdraw from the race to win reelection to the Cook County Board of Commissioners, thus meaning his tenure on the board ended that December. In May 1988, the Illinois Supreme Court would appoint Carey a judge on the Cook County Circuit Court, filling the vacancy left when George M. Marovich was appointed to the federal bench. His appointment was effective on May 5, 1988, and lasted until 1990. The constituency of the judgeship was suburban Cook County. ==Death==

Carey died of stomach cancer on June 1, 2018, at his retirement home in Naples, Florida. His widow, Mary Rita Carey, disclosed his death to the press on June 4. His widow revealed, after his death, that he had been diagnosed with the stomach cancer in November 2017. ==Personal life==

Carey had met Mary Rita, who would become his wife, at a church dance social at St. John Fisher in Chicago, Illinois. He died just over a week shy of what would have been their 60th wedding anniversary. Carey was a longtime resident of South Holland, Illinois. After he retired at the age of 59, he and his wife moved to Florida in 1995. Carey and his wife had five children. They had ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren by the time of Carey's death. ==Electoral history==

Cook County Sheriff ;1970 Cook County State's Attorney ;1972 ;1976 ;1980 President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners ;1982 Cook County Commissioner ;1982 ;1986 Illinois Attorney General ;1986 Circuit Court of Cook County ;1990 ==References==