Thomas Hynes

Thomas Charles Hynes (November 5, 1938 – May 4, 2019) was a physics teacher who served as Cook County Assessor, President of the Illinois Senate, and 19th Ward Democratic Committeeman. Hynes was also a third party candidate for mayor of Chicago in 1987, dropping out before election. He was the father of former Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes.

Early life Born in the south side of Chicago, Hynes served in the United States Army Reserve as a captain. He received his bachelor's degree from Loyola University Chicago and his J.D. degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He practiced law and taught law at John Marshall Law School.

Illinois Senate (1971–1979) In the 1970 general election, Hynes defeated Republican incumbent Arthur Swanson to be elected to the Illinois Senate from the 28th district. The 28th district, located on the southwest side of Chicago, included all or parts of Mount Greenwood, Beverly, Morgan Park, West Pullman, Roseland, Auburn Gresham, and Washington Heights. Hynes served as President of the Illinois Senate from 1977 to 1978. He was succeeded in the Illinois Senate by Jeremiah E. Joyce.

Democratic Party roles For 31 years, he served as the Democratic committeeman on the South Side of Chicago.

While serving as Cook County Assessor, he began the automation of the office.

1987 Chicago mayoral campaign In 1987, Hynes ran against incumbent Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, the city's first black mayor.

Although a member of the Democratic Party and a party official, Hynes withdrew from the Democratic mayoral primary and ran on a new ticket called the "Chicago First" party. This left former mayor Jane Byrne as the only serious opponent against Washington in the Democratic primary. The conventional wisdom at the time was that if two major white candidates ran against Washington in the Democratic primary, the white vote would be split, allowing Washington to win the primary without gaining a majority of the vote. Hynes opted to run third-party to avoid creating a three-way split in the primary election, similar to the one Washington benefited from in the 1983 primary. Despite being a lifelong Democrat, Hynes had been persuaded by leading Republican operatives to abandon a primary election candidacy and instead prepare for a third-party general election run.

Washington defeated Byrne in the Democratic primary, leaving Washington to face off against Vrdolyak, Hynes, and Haider in the general election. Soon after the primary, Bryne endorsed Washington.

Initially Hynes, who had not been visible in the racially polarized "Council Wars" of Washington's first term, polled well. He claimed he was a fresh alternative to the dirty infighting that had defined Chicago politics in recent years. Hynes also talked about being the issue-oriented candidate as opposed to some of the other candidates who allegedly talked about each other. In another commercial Hynes tried to pass himself off as a policy wonk too nerdy to instigate a fight. The commercial comically featured a supporter falling asleep while Hynes droned on and on about budget issues. "I now believe Harold Washington cannot be defeated if he faces more than one opponent," Hynes said in his resignation remarks. "I believe with every ounce of fervor in my soul that the people of Chicago deserve an opportunity for a real choice. ... Mr. Vrdolyak and Mr. Haider must now confront the fact that Harold Washington will win if they both remain in this race. Their hour of decision is at hand." His supporters were devastated; most reporters just rolled their eyes. "What drove Hynes out was the frightening specter of Tuesday night, when the results would show him finishing a drab third in the voting," Mike Royko wrote. "Then he would have been labeled with the dreaded word 'spoiler,' which in Chicago means a white candidate who causes a black man to become mayor." Both Vrdolyak and Haider stayed in the race, and Washington still got more than 50 percent of the vote—meaning he probably would have won even with only one white candidate to run against.

Personal life and death Hynes was the father of Daniel Hynes (former Illinois comptroller) and Matt Hynes (a former senior mayoral adviser to Rahm Emanuel).

He died on May 4, 2019, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago from complications due to Parkinson's disease.