John Maynard Harlan

Campaigns for mayor Harlan ran for mayor of Chicago as an independent Republican in the 1897 Chicago mayoral election, placing a distant second behind Democratic nominee Carter Harrison IV in a multi-candidate race. Taking advantage of the city's traction concern, Harlan ran on a platform which sought greater regulation for streetcars, and advocated the solution of municipal ownership of the city's streetcar lines.

Harlan unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for mayor in 1901, losing the nomination to Elbridge Hanecy. Harlan's candidacy had drawn the support of many non-machine/independent Republicans, such as Harold L. Ickes. Harlan's son John Marshall Harlan, named for Harlan's own father and often referred to as John Marshall Harlan II to distinguish the two, became an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court like his namesake, serving from 1955 through 1971. He was buried at Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.