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One of the most notorious alleged recipients was never convicted of any crime.

William “Big Bill” Thompson, who served as mayor from 1915 to 1923 and again from 1927 to 1931, was the last Republican to serve as mayor of the “City of Broad Shoulders.” He returned to office the second time with the support of gangster Al Capone, pledging to clean up organized crime in the city but instead targeting reformers.

Upon his defeat in 1931 the Chicago Tribune leveled the harshest accusations against Thompson in an editorial:

“For Chicago Thompson has meant filth, corruption, obscenity, idiocy and bankruptcy,” the newspaper said. “.... He has given the city an international reputation for moronic buffoonery, barbaric crime, triumphant hoodlumism, unchecked graft, and a dejected citizenship. … He made Chicago a byword for the collapse of American civilization."

Upon his death, two safe-deposit boxes in his name containing nearly $1.5 million in cash reportedly were discovered.