Roger Charles Sullivan

From left to right are: Virginia Hopkins Sullivan, Helen M. Quinlan Sullivan, and Mary Loretta Connery who was married to Boetius Henry Sullivan

Roger Charles Sullivan (February 3, 1861 – April 14, 1920), was a member of the Cook County Democratic Organization during the early twentieth century.

Biography Sullivan was born in Belvidere, Illinois, in 1861 the child of Irish immigrants.

Sullivan came to Chicago about 1879 to work in the railroad yards on the city's west side. He served only a single term in elective office, as the clerk of the Cook County Probate Court, to which he was elected in 1890. Thereafter, he accumulated influence within the tumultuous Cook County Democratic Party. He supported Grover Cleveland and opposed William Jennings Bryan in 1896, earning the permanent enmity of the Great Commoner. Dissatisfied with the nomination of Bryan at the 1896 Democratic National Convention, Sullivan was a delegate to the 1896 National Democratic National Convention (a splinter convention).

Sullivan dominated the Illinois Democratic Party for two decades and was a national figure during the age when urban Democratic organizations reached the height of their power and prestige. Sullivan became controversial when he became effectively the chief operating officer of the Ogden Gas Company and the Cosmopolitan Electric Company, about a year after the franchises of which were approved by the city council on 25 February 1895. There is no evidence that Sullivan in any way originated the idea for two companies, and he probably became first involved by convincing his political partner, Mayor John P. Hopkins not to veto the ordinances. The amount he made was reported by the New York Times to be $8,000,000, but the exact amount has been the subject of much speculation.

Family He married Helen M. Quinlan. They had one son, Boetius Sullivan, and four daughters: Frances, Helen, Mary and Virginia.

Legacy Roger C. Sullivan High School in Chicago, Illinois, is named after him.