Bernard Epton

Bernard Epton
Epton in 1983
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 24th district
In office August 30, 1969 – January 18, 1983
Preceded by	Noble W. Lee
Succeeded by	District abolished
Personal details
Born	Bernard Edward Epton (1921-08-25)August 25, 1921 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	December 13, 1987(1987-12-13) (aged 66) Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Residence	Chicago, Illinois
Alma mater	University of Chicago (B.A.) DePaul University (J.D.)
Profession	Attorney
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1942–1945
Unit	Army Air Corps

Bernard Edward Epton (August 25, 1921 – December 13, 1987) was an American politician who served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1969 to 1983. He is most remembered for his candidacy as the Republican nominee in the close and contentious Chicago mayoral election of 1983.

Biography

Early life and career

Epton grew up in the South Shore neighborhood in the south side of Chicago and was a graduate of O'Keefe grammer and Hyde Park High School. Epton served as a 2nd lieutenant and reach the rank of Captain during World War II in the U.S. Army Air Force. During his military career he was part of the Eighth Air Force which conducted a strategic bombing campaign over Nazi-occupied Europe and Nazi Germany. He flew one mission in the 95th Bomb Group as a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress navigator with the 335th Bombardment Squadron. He would go onto complete 23 missions with the 571st Bombardment Squadron in the 390th Bombardment Group as a "Mickey Operator" which operate the H2X radar platform on the B-17G Flying Fortress. The radar systems were used for blind bombing when weather conditions didn't permit visual bombing. He would return home with two Distinguished Flying Crosses; four Air Medals; five battle stars to the European theater ribbon; and a personal citation from General Doolittle.

After the war, Epton would graduate from DePaul University College of Law and become a successful attorney with a speciality in insurance law. He was an unsuccessful liberal Republican candidate for U.S. Representative from Illinois' 2nd congressional district in 1960. With John F. Kennedy narrowly winning Illinois that year, Epton lost to the Democratic incumbent, Barratt O'Hara. Known for being witty and occasionally sharp-tongued, Epton was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1969 and served until 1983. He chaired the chamber's Insurance Committee.

Chicago mayoral election of 1983

Main article: 1983 Chicago mayoral election

A resident of the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Epton ran against the liberal African American Democrat Harold Washington in the mayoral election in the spring of 1983. In a racially charged election, Epton came within 40,000 votes (of 1.2 million cast) of defeating the Democratic nominee. His total was the high-water mark for Chicago Republicans in elections for mayor in the heavily Democratic city. Epton received 81 percent of the votes of Chicago whites, and 3 percent from blacks. One of Epton's campaign slogans was "Epton for mayor... Before it's too late," which had racist overtones.

By his own account, Epton claimed he became uncomfortable with the racist nature of his campaign because he had been an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. If elected, Epton would have been the city's first Jewish mayor (an accomplishment that eventually was claimed by Rahm Emanuel when he was elected in 2011) and its first Republican mayor since William Hale Thompson left office in 1931.

Later life and death

After being defeated by Washington, Epton briefly returned to private life.

Epton tried seeking the Republican nomination for mayor again in 1987 mayoral election, but failed to collect enough signatures to get on the ballot.

Four years after the 1983 mayoral election (and fewer than three weeks after Mayor Washington died suddenly of a heart attack) Epton himself suffered a coronary and died in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the age of sixty-six on December 13, 1987. Epton was there visiting his son Jeffrey David "Jeff" Epton (born c. 1947), a socialist member of the Ann Arbor City Council and long-time critic of capital punishment.