Horner, Henry, 1878-1940

<p>Henry Horner (November 30, 1878 – October 6, 1940) was an American politician. Horner served as the 28th Governor of Illinois, serving from January 1933 until his death in October 1940. Horner was noted as the first Jewish governor of Illinois.</p>

<p>Horner was born Henry Levy to Solomon Abraham Levy and Dilah Horner in Chicago. He assumed the Horner surname after his parents divorced in 1883. He attended the University of Chicago. Horner attended IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law and received is LLB in 1898. Horner was a lawyer and served as a probate judge from 1915 to 1931.</p>

<p>First elected governor in 1932, Horner served during the difficult years of the Great Depression. Because of a fiscal crisis in Illinois during his first term in office, he was forced to ask the General Assembly for new tax revenue. In 1933, he signed Illinois's first permanent sales tax law into effect with an inaugural rate of 2.0%. Horner also signed a bill in 1935 increasing the Illinois sales tax rate to 3.0%.</p>

HENRY HORNER, Illinois’ thirtieth governor, was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 30, 1879. His education was attained at Chicago Manual Training School, the University of Chicago, and Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he earned his law degree in 1898. After establishing a legal career in Chicago, Horner entered public service. He secured an appointment as a Cook County probate judge, a position he held for eighteen years. Horner won the 1932 Democratic gubernatorial nomination and was sworn into the Illinois governorship, becoming the state’s first Jewish governor. He was reelected to a second term in 1936. During his tenure, the 18th Amendment was sanctioned, ending prohibition; a two percent sales tax rate was endorsed, as well as a state tax on real estate and personal property. Also, a permanent voters registration system was enacted that required voters’ signatures to match records kept on file by election officials. During his second administration, Horner suffered a coronary thrombosis and was forced to carry out the state’s bureaucratic business from his bedroom. Governor Henry Horner, who had one of the largest privately held collections of Lincoln memorabilia, passed away while still in office, on October 6, 1940. He was buried in Winnetka, Illinois.