Editing Anton Cermak

{{Short description|American politician (1873–1933)}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2018}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Anton Cermak
| image               = CERMAK, A.J. LCCN2016862438 (3x4).jpg
| caption             = Cermak in 1933
| order               = 44th
| office              = Mayor of Chicago
| term_start          = April 9, 1931
| term_end            = March 6, 1933
| predecessor         = [[William Hale Thompson]]
| successor           = [[Frank J. Corr]]
| office1             = [[President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners]]
| term_start1         = December 4, 1922
| term_end1           = March 23, 1931
| predecessor1        = [[Daniel Ryan Sr.]]
| successor1          = Emmett Whealan
| office2             = Chair of the [[Cook County Democratic Party]]
| term_start2         = 1928
| term_end2           = 1931
| predecessor2        = [[George E. Brennan]]
| successor2          = [[Patrick Nash]]
| office3             = Member of the [[Chicago City Council]] {{nowrap|from the 12th ward}}
| alongside3          = [[Joseph I. Novak]], [[Joseph Cepak]]
| term_start3         = April 1919
| term_end3           = December 1922
| predecessor3        = [[Otto Kerner Sr.]]
| successor3          = 
| alongside4          = [[Michael Zimmer (politician)|Michael Zimmer]], [[William F. Schulz]]
| term_start4         = April 1909
| term_end4           = December 1912
| predecessor4        = [[Joseph Z. Uhlir]]
| successor4          = Joseph I. Novak
| office5             = Member of the [[Illinois House of Representatives]]
| term_start5         = 1902
| term_end5           = 1909
| predecessor5        = 
| successor5          = 
| birth_name          = Antonín Josef Čermák
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1873|05|09|mf=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Kladno]], [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1933|03|06|1873|05|09|mf=y}}
| death_place         = [[Miami, Florida]], U.S.
| death_cause         = [[Gunshot wound]]
| restingplace        = [[Bohemian National Cemetery (Chicago)|Bohemian National Cemetery]]
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|Mary Horejs|1894|1928}}
| children            = 3
| relatives           = {{plainlist|
* [[Otto Kerner Jr.]] (son-in-law)
* [[Richey V. Graham]] (son-in-law)
* [[Frank J. Jirka Jr.]] (grandson)}}
}}

'''Anton Joseph Cermak''' (May 9, 1873&nbsp;– March 6, 1933) was an American politician who served as the 44th [[Mayor of Chicago]] from April 7, 1931, until his death in 1933.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chicago Mayors |url=https://www.chipublib.org/chicago-mayors/ |website=Chicago Public Library |access-date=March 24, 2019}}</ref> He was killed by [[Giuseppe Zangara]], whose likely target was President-elect [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], but Cermak was shot instead after a bystander hit the perpetrator with a purse.

==Early life==
[[File:Antonín Čermák birth record 1873 (SOA Prague).jpg|thumb|left|Antonín Čermák birth record 1873]]
Anton Joseph Cermak was born to a mining family in [[Kladno]], [[Austria-Hungary]] (now in the [[Czech Republic]]), the son of Antonín Čermák and Kateřina née Frank(ová).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Baptism records of Kladno Roman Catholic Parish |url=https://ebadatelna.soapraha.cz/d/6393/14 |access-date=May 9, 2022 |website=ebadatelna.soapraha.cz}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/section/czechs/antonin-cermak-from-czech-miner-to-chicago-mayor|title=Antonín Čermák: from Czech miner to Chicago mayor|last=Johnston|first=Rosie|date=June 18, 2008|publisher=Radio Praha|access-date=December 17, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bHxcDwAAQBAJ&q=Kate%C5%99ina+(n%C3%A9e+Frankov%C3%A1)+and+Anton%C3%ADn+Cermak&pg=PT130|title = Czechs Won't Get Lost in the World, Let Alone in America: Portraits and Vignettes from the Life of Czech Immigrants in America|isbn = 978-1546238904|last1 = Rechcigl|first1 = Miloslav Jr.|date =2018| publisher=AuthorHouse }}</ref>

He immigrated with his parents to the United States in 1874, and  grew up in the town of [[Braidwood, Illinois]], where he was educated before beginning to work full time while still a teenager.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sawyers |first=June Skinner |date=2012 |title=Chicago Portraits: New Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qojgLBuEFEUC&pg=PA65 |location=Evanston, IL |publisher=Northwestern University Press |page=65 |isbn=978-0810126497 |ref={{sfnRef|''Chicago Portraits: New Edition''}}}}</ref> He followed his father into coal mining, and labored at mines in [[Will County, Illinois|Will]] and [[Grundy County, Illinois|Grundy]] counties.{{sfn|''Chicago Portraits: New Edition''|page=65}} After moving to Chicago at age 16, Cermak worked as a tow boy for the horse-drawn [[Streetcars in North America|streetcar]] line,<ref>{{cite book |last=Wisconsin State Assembly |date=1933 |title=Journal of Proceedings of the Sixty-First Session of the Wisconsin Legislature |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kPTAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA533 |location=Madison, WI |publisher=Democrat Printing Company, State Printer |page=533 |ref={{sfnRef|''Journal of Proceedings''}}}}</ref>{{Efn|A tow boy was positioned with a horse at the bottom of a hill on a streetcar route.  When a car began to ascend, the tow boy would hitch his horse to it and provide extra pulling power to the top, then return to the bottom to await the next car.}} and then tended horses in the stables of Chicago's [[Lower West Side, Chicago|Pilsen neighborhood]].{{sfn|''Chicago Portraits: New Edition''|page=65}} During the early years of his working life, Cermak supplemented his education with evening high school and business college classes.{{sfn|''Journal of Proceedings''|page=533}}

==Early career==
After saving enough money to buy his own horse and cart, he went into business selling firewood, and he subsequently expanded his venture into a [[haulage]] business.{{sfn|''Journal of Proceedings''|page=533}} As he became more politically active, Cermak served in municipal government jobs, including as a clerk in the city police court, and as a [[bailiff]] for the [[Municipal Court of Chicago]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kendall |first1=Peter |title=The shooting of Anton Cermak |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/chi-chicagodays-cermak-story-story.html |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=March 22, 2020 |date=December 19, 2007 |archive-date=March 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322174940/https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/chi-chicagodays-cermak-story-story.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Daily News Almanac and Political Register for ... |date=1916 |publisher=Chicago Daily News Company |page=624 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PBjZAAAAMAAJ |access-date=March 22, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> As his political fortunes began to rise, Cermak was able to avail himself of other business opportunities, including interests in real estate, insurance, and banking.{{sfn|''Journal of Proceedings''|page=533}}

Cermak began his political career as a Democratic Party precinct captain, and in 1902, he was elected to the [[Illinois House of Representatives]]. Seven years later, in 1909 he was elected to the [[Chicago City Council]] as an alderman of the 12th Ward. He was re-elected in 1911.<ref name=centennial>{{Cite web |url=http://chsmedia.org/media/fa/fa/LIB/AldermansList.htm |title=Centennial List of Mayors, City Clerks, City Attorneys, City Treasurers, and Aldermen, elected by the people of the city of Chicago, from the incorporation of the city on March 4, 1837 to March 4, 1937, arranged in alphabetical order, showing the years during which each official held office. |access-date=December 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904052355/http://chsmedia.org/media/fa/fa/LIB/AldermansList.htm |archive-date=September 4, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In December 1912, he resigned from the city council in order to accept a position as bailiff of the [[Chicago Municipal Court]].<ref>{{cite web |title=County Offices |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/339079561 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=Chicago Eagle |access-date=14 February 2025 |language=en |date=December 9, 1922}}</ref> In 1918, Cermak unsuccessfully ran as the Democratic nominee for [[Cook County sheriff]]. He narrowly lost to Republican nominee [[Charles W. Peters]].<ref name=almanac1921>{{cite book |title=The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for ... |date=1921 |publisher=Chicago Daily News Company |page=784 |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=JQ8fAQAAMAAJ&pg=GBS.PA784 |accessdate=March 13, 2020 }}</ref>

Cermak was elected in 1919 to again represent the 12th ward on the city council, and was re-elected in 1921.<ref name=centennial/> He was elected [[president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners]] in 1922, and resigned from the city council in order to assume office as county president on December 4.<ref>{{cite web |title=County Offices |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/339079561 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription |publisher=Chicago Eagle |access-date=14 February 2025 |language=en |date=December 9, 1922}}</ref> He was elected the chairman of the [[Cook County Democratic Party]] in 1928. [[1928 United States Senate special election in Illinois|Also in 1928]], he was the Democratic nominee for a seat in the [[United States Senate]], but was defeated by Republican [[Otis F. Glenn]], 54.46% to	44.94%.

==Mayor of Chicago (1931–1933)==
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2011}}
Cermak won election as [[mayor of Chicago]] in 1931.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Democratic Party |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Chicago |url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/371.html |last=Hirsch |first=Arnold R.}}</ref> His mayoral victory came in the wake of the [[Great Depression]], the deep resentment many Chicagoans had of [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]], and the increasing violence resulting from [[organized crime in Chicago|organized crime]]'s control of Chicago—typified by the [[St. Valentine's Day Massacre]].{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}

The many ethnic groups, such as [[Czech-American|Czechs]], [[Polish-American|Poles]], [[Ukrainian American|Ukrainians]], [[Jewish American|Jews]], [[Italian American|Italians]], and [[African Americans]], who began to settle in Chicago in the early 1900s were mostly detached from the political system, due in part to a lack of organization, which led to underrepresentation in the City Council.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} As an immigrant himself, Cermak recognized Chicago's relatively new immigrants as a significant population of disenfranchised voters, which had the potential to be a large power base for Cermak and his local Democratic organization.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}

Before Cermak, the [[Cook County Democratic Party|Democratic party in Cook County]] was run by [[Irish Americans]]. The Irish first became successful in politics since they spoke English, and because, coming from an island on the edge of Europe, they had few ancestral enemies. As the old saying went: "A Lithuanian won’t vote for a Pole, and a Pole won’t vote for a Lithuanian. A German won’t vote for either of them. But all three will vote for a turkey—an Irishman."<ref>{{Cite web |last=McClelland |first=Edward |date=January 19, 2011 |title=Why the Irish are More Powerful Than Ever in Chicago |url=https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Luck-of-the-Irish-114204744.html |publisher=[[NBC Chicago]]}}</ref> As Cermak climbed the local political ladder, the resentment of the party leadership grew. When the bosses rejected his bid to become the mayoral candidate, Cermak swore revenge. He formed his political army from the non-Irish elements.{{Citation needed|reason=According to Dawson's page, he did not switch to the Democrats until 1939, after Cermak had died.|date=March 2017}}

Cermak's political and organizational skills helped create one of the most influential political organizations of his day. With support from [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] on the national level, Cermak gradually wooed members of Chicago's growing black community into the Democratic fold. Walter Wright, the superintendent of parks and aviation for the city of Chicago, aided Cermak in stepping into office.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}

When Cermak challenged the incumbent, [[William Hale Thompson|William Hale "Big Bill" Thompson]], in the 1931 mayor's race, Thompson, who represented Chicago's existing Irish-dominated power structure, responded with an ethnic slur–filled ditty that ridiculed his [[teamster]] past (pushing a pushcart):<ref name="big bill song">{{Cite web |last=Gunderson |first=Erica |date=July 15, 2016 |title=Original Chicago Cocktail: Pushcart Tony |url=https://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/January-2020/The-Chicago-Political-Quote-Hall-of-Fame/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128062244/https://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/January-2020/The-Chicago-Political-Quote-Hall-of-Fame/ |archive-date=November 28, 2021 |access-date=October 23, 2022 |website=[[Chicago (magazine)|Chicago]]}}</ref>

:''I won’t take a back seat to that [[List of ethnic slurs#B|Bohunk]], Chairmock, Chermack, or whatever his name is.''
:''Tony, Tony, where’s your pushcart at?''
:''Can you picture a [[Century of Progress|World’s Fair]] mayor with a name like that?''

Cermak replied, "He doesn’t like my name… it’s true I didn’t come over on the ''[[Mayflower]]'', but I came over as soon as I could." It was a sentiment to which ethnic Chicagoans could relate, and Thompson's prejudicial insults largely backfired.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wendt |first=Lloyd |url=https://archive.org/details/chicagotribuneri00wend |title=Chicago Tribune |publisher=Rand McNally |year=1979 |isbn=0528818260 |location=Chicago}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Gottfried |first=Alex |title=Boss Cermak of Chicago: A Study of Political Leadership |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1962}}{{ISBN?}}</ref>

Thompson's reputation as a buffoon, many voters’ disgust with the corruption of his [[political machine]], and his inability or unwillingness to clean up [[organized crime in Chicago]] were cited as major factors in Cermak capturing 58% of the vote in the mayoral election on April 6, 1931. Cermak's victory finished Thompson as a political power, and largely ended the Republican Party's influence in Chicago; indeed, [[Mayor of Chicago#List of mayors|all the mayors of Chicago since 1931]] have been members of the Democratic Party. For nearly his entire administration, Cermak had to deal with a major [[Tax resistance|tax revolt]]. From 1931 to 1933, the [[Association of Real Estate Taxpayers]] mounted a "tax strike."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Forgotten Tax Revolt of the 1930s |first=David T. |last=Beito |url=https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=3032 |access-date=November 10, 2021 |website=The Independent Institute}}</ref>

At its height, the association, which was headed by [[John M. Pratt]] and [[James E. Bistor]], had over 30,000 members. Much to Cermak's dismay, it successfully slowed down the collection of real estate taxes through litigation and the promotion of the refusal to pay. In the meantime, the city found it difficult to pay teachers and maintain services. Cermak had to meet President-elect Roosevelt to "mend fences," and to request money to fund essential city services.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists and urban experts conducted by Melvin G. Holli of the [[University of Illinois at Chicago]] ranked Cermak as the twenty-fifth-best American big-city mayor to have served between the years 1820 and 1993.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holli |first=Melvin G. |url=https://archive.org/details/americanmayorbes0000holl |title=The American Mayor |publisher=Penn State University Press |year=1999 |isbn=0-271-01876-3 |location=University Park}}</ref>

==Death==
[[File:GiuseppeZangara.png|thumb|250px|Zangara after his arrest in custody of Dade County Sheriff Dan Hardie (left) and Miami Police Officer Lestron G. "Red" Crews (right) holding the pistol used by Zangara]]

[[File:Chicago, Bohemian National Cemetery, Anton Cermak.jpg|thumb|right|Anton Cermak's tomb at [[Bohemian National Cemetery (Chicago, Illinois)|Bohemian National Cemetery]] in [[Chicago]].]]
On February 15, 1933, while shaking hands with President-elect [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] at [[Bayfront Park]] in [[Miami, Florida]], Cermak was shot in the lung and mortally wounded by [[Giuseppe Zangara]], who was attempting to [[assassinate]] Roosevelt. At the critical moment, Lillian Cross, a woman standing near Zangara, hit Zangara's arm with her purse, and spoiled his aim.<ref name="autogenerated1">Smith, pg. 297.</ref> In addition to Cermak, Zangara hit four other people: Margaret Kruis, 21, of [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]], NJ, shot through the hand; Russell Caldwell, 22, of Miami, hit squarely in the forehead by a spent bullet, which embedded itself under the skin; Mabel Gill of Miami, shot in the abdomen; and William Sinnott, a New York police detective, who received a glancing blow to the forehead and scalp.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://miami-history.com/attempted-assassination-of-fdr-in-bayfront-park/|title = Attempted Assassination of FDR in Bayfront Park in 1933|date = March 5, 2012}}</ref> All four of those injuries were minor.

Once at the hospital, Cermak reportedly uttered the line that was engraved on his tomb, saying to Roosevelt, "I'm glad it was me, not you." The ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' reported the quote without attributing it to a witness, and most scholars doubt that it was ever said.<ref>{{cite news|last=Benzkofer|first=Stephen|date=February 10, 2013|title= 'Tell Chicago I'll pull through': In 1933, a bullet meant for FDR hit Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak instead|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/02/10/tell-chicago-ill-pull-through/|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=December 22, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Pearce |first=Michael J. |date=2023 |title=Kitsch, Propaganda, and the American Avant-Garde |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U6S6EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA127 |location=Newcastle upon Tyne, UK |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |page=127 |isbn=978-1-5275-9411-1 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

Zangara told the police that he hated rich and powerful people, but not Roosevelt personally.<ref>Smith, pp. 297–98.</ref> Later, rumors circulated that Cermak, not Roosevelt, had been the intended target, as his promise to clean up Chicago's rampant lawlessness posed a threat to [[Al Capone]] and the Chicago [[organized crime]] syndicate.<ref name="FIA">{{cite web
|url=http://ibisweb.miami.edu/search/gJ+1.14%2F2%3AFDRx+/gj++++1.+++14%2F++++2+%3Afdrx/1,1,1,E/l856~b2854384&FF=gj++++1.+++14%2F++++2+%3Afdrx&1,1,,2,0/startreferer//search/gJ+1.14%2F2%3AFDRx+/gj++++1.+++14%2F++++2+%3Afdrx/1,1,1,E/frameset&FF=gj++++1.+++14%2F++++2+%3Afdrx&1,1,/endreferer/
|title=Freedom of Information Act: Franklin D. Roosevelt (assassination attempt)
|access-date=August 4, 2008}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref><ref>Gumbel, Andrew: ''Steal This Vote''. Nation Books, 2005; {{ISBN|1560256761}}, p. 157.</ref> One of the first people to suggest the organized crime theory was reporter [[Walter Winchell]], who happened to be in Miami the evening of the shooting.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Chicago to Springfield: Crime and Politics in the 1920s|last=Ridings|first=J.|year=2010|publisher=Arcadia|isbn=978-0738583730|page=19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mgiHpdviPJQC&pg=PA19|access-date=May 18, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope|last=Alter|first=Jonathan|year=2007|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9780743246019|page=367|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ASmlaOHQNawC&pg=PA367|access-date=May 18, 2013}}</ref>  According to Roosevelt biographer [[Jean Edward Smith]], there is no proof for this theory.<ref>Smith, Jean Edward, ''FDR'' (2007), [[Random House]]; {{ISBN|978-1400061211}}, p. 715n.</ref>

Long-time Chicago newsman Len O’Connor offers a different view of the events surrounding the mayor's assassination. He has written that aldermen [[Paddy Bauler]] and Charlie Weber informed him that relations between Cermak and Roosevelt were strained, because Cermak fought Roosevelt's nomination at the [[1932 Democratic National Convention|Democratic convention in Chicago]].<ref>O'Connor, Len: ''Clout: Mayor Daley and His City'' McGraw-Hill/Contemporary, 1984; {{ISBN|0809254247}}{{page needed|date=December 2022}}</ref>

Author Ronald Humble provides yet another perspective as to why Cermak was killed. In his book ''Frank Nitti: The True Story of Chicago’s Notorious Enforcer'', Humble contends that Cermak was as corrupt as Thompson, and that the [[Chicago Outfit]] hired Zangara to kill Cermak in retaliation for Cermak's attempt to murder [[Frank Nitti]].{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}
[[File:Anton-Cermak-monument-1.jpg|thumb|upright|Monument to Anton Cermak in the town in which he was born.]]
Cermak died at [[Jackson Memorial Hospital]] in Miami<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/families/12640.html|title=Kerner-Cermak family of Illinois|publisher=The Political Graveyard|access-date=May 22, 2013}}</ref> on March 6, partly due to his wounds. On March 30, however, his personal physician, Dr. Karl A. Meyer, revealed that the primary cause of Cermak's death was [[ulcerative colitis]], commenting, "The mayor would have recovered from the bullet wound had it not been for the complication of colitis. The autopsy disclosed the wound had healed ... the other complications were not directly due to the bullet wound."<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ds4MAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yWkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3008,834759&dq=cermak+colitis&hl=en Reveals Colitis Fatal to Cermak"], ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', March 31, 1933, pg. 1</ref> Doubts were raised at the time and later concerning whether the bullet wound directly contributed to his death. A theory raised decades later contended that the bullet had actually caused damage to his colon which led to perforation which was undiagnosed by his doctors. It alleged that "but for [the] physicians' blunders" Cermak might have survived.<ref name="picchi">{{Cite book |last=Picchi |first=Blaise |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/38468505 |title=The Five Weeks of Giuseppe Zangara : The Man Who Would Assassinate FDR |date=1998 |publisher=Academy Chicago Publishers |isbn=978-0897334433 |location=Chicago |oclc=38468505 |pages=134–136, 147}}</ref> This theory was refuted by a later medical analysis of the event.<ref name="pappas surg">{{cite journal |last1=Pappas |first1=Theodore N. |title=The Assassination of Anton Cermak, Mayor of Chicago: A Review of His Postinjury Medical Care |journal=The Surgery Journal |date=April 2020 |volume=06 |issue=2 |pages=e105–e111 |doi=10.1055/s-0040-1709459 |pmid=32566747 |pmc=7297642 }}</ref>

Zangara was convicted of murder after Cermak's death under the law of [[transferred intent]], and was [[Capital punishment|executed]] in Florida's [[electric chair]] on March 20, 1933.<ref>Dwyer, Jim, ed. (1989). "An Assassin's Bullets for FDR". ''Strange Stories, Amazing Facts of America's Past''. Pleasantville, New York/Montreal: The Reader's Digest Association. p. 14. {{ISBN|978-0895773074}}.</ref>

Cermak was interred in a mausoleum at the [[Bohemian National Cemetery (Chicago, Illinois)|Bohemian National Cemetery]] in Chicago. The mayor's death was followed by a struggle for succession both to his party chairmanship, and for the mayor's office.<ref>[http://galleries.apps.chicagotribune.com/chi-130129-assassination-chicago-mayor-anton-cermak-pictures/ Chicago Tribune - Assassination of Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak - March 1933], galleries.apps.chicagotribune.com; accessed April 17, 2018.</ref>

A plaque honoring Cermak still lies at the site of the assassination in Miami's [[Bayfront Park]]. It is inscribed with Cermak's alleged words to Roosevelt after he was shot, "I'm glad it was me instead of you." Following Cermak's death, 22nd Street—a major east–west artery that traversed Chicago's West Side, and the close-in suburbs of [[Cicero, Illinois|Cicero]] and [[Berwyn, Illinois|Berwyn]], areas with significant Czech populations—was renamed [[Cermak Road]]. In 1943, a [[Liberty ship]], the [[SS A. J. Cermak|SS ''A. J. Cermak'']] was named in Cermak's honor. It was scrapped in 1964.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

==Descendants==
Cermak's [[son-in-law]], [[Otto Kerner Jr.]], served as the 33rd [[Governor of Illinois]], and as a [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit|federal circuit judge]].

His grandson, [[Frank J. Jirka, Jr.]], who was with him in Miami when he was assassinated, later became an [[Underwater Demolition Team]] officer in the [[United States Navy]]. Jirka was awarded a [[Silver Star]] and [[Purple Heart]] for his actions during the [[Battle of Iwo Jima]]; the wounds he suffered led to the [[amputee|amputation]] of both legs below the knee. After [[World War II]], he became a [[physician]], and in 1983, was elected president of the [[American Medical Association]]. Cermak's great niece, Kajon Cermak, is a radio broadcaster.<ref name=Cermak>{{cite web|last1=Levy|first1=Rachel|title=School in Prague to be named after Mayor Cermak|first2=Peter|last2=Kendall|first3=Stephan |last3=Benzkofer|name-list-style=amp|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/05/07/school-in-prague-to-be-named-after-mayor-cermak/|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=May 7, 2013 |access-date=November 24, 2014}}</ref> His daughter, Lillian, was married to [[Richey V. Graham]], who served in the [[Illinois General Assembly]].<ref>'Illinois Blue Book 1929-1930,' Biographical Sketch of Richey V. Graham, p. 224{{ISBN?}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
* A hastily produced movie about Cermak, ''[[The Man Who Dared (1933 film)|The Man Who Dared]],'' was released within months of his death.
* There was a [[Television film|made-for-TV movie]], ''The Gun of Zangara,'' about Cermak's assassination. It was originally a two-part episode of ''[[The Untouchables (1959 TV series)|The Untouchables]],'' where it had the title "The Unhired Assassin." Cermak had a major role in the story as an honest man, and was played by [[Robert Middleton]].
* Cermak is mentioned in [[Stephen Sondheim]]’s play ''[[Assassins (musical)|Assassins]]'' during the song "How I Saved Roosevelt."
* Cermak and his rise to the mayoralty has also been mentioned in [[Jeffrey Archer]]’s novel ''[[Kane and Abel (novel)|Kane and Abel]]''.
* Part of the episode "[[Objects in Motion]]" of the television series ''[[Babylon 5]]'' is based on the circumstances of Cermak’s death.<ref>''Babylon 5 Magazine'' #4</ref>
* Cermak is referenced by [[Kelsey Grammer]]’s fictional Chicago mayor, Tom Kane, in several episodes of the Starz TV series ''[[Boss (TV series)|Boss]]''.
* In "Red Team III," the seventh episode in the second season of [[HBO]]'s [[The Newsroom (U.S. TV series)|''The Newsroom'']], Will McAvoy ([[Jeff Daniels]]) references Anton Cermak.
* The history-based crime novel ''True Detective'', the first in [[Max Allan Collins]]' Nathan Heller series, includes a fictionalized account of the Cermak slaying.
* In the first episode of the second season of ''[[F Is for Family]]'', an [[Adult animation|adult animated]] [[sitcom]] produced for [[Netflix]], the fictional school of Anton Cermak Tech is mentioned during a broadcast.
* In [[The Untouchables (1993 TV series)|''The Untouchables'']] TV series (1993–1994), Cermak is assassinated by Zangara—a crazy lone gunman targeting FDR—after Ness prevents the assassin they believe was sent by Capone. After the Untouchables return to Chicago, their further investigation reveals a probable third gunman, whose shot actually is responsible for Cermak's death, and was a Capone hitman. The first half of the next episode partly involves Ness' Untouchables identifying the actual gunman (a Capone hitman named Charlie Ross), who goes into hiding after a raid by the Untouchables. As the Untouchables arrange to bring him in for testimony, he is gunned down, thereby forever silencing the truth about the mob killing the mayor.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[List of assassinated American politicians]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General sources ==
* Beito, David T. ''Taxpayers in Revolt: Tax Resistance During the Great Depression''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989. {{ISBN|978-0807818367}}.

* [[Dominic A. Pacyga|Pacyga, Dominic A.]] ''Clout City: The Rise and Fall of the Chicago Political Machine'' (U of Chicago Press, 2025) [https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo251984625.html online]

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{wikiquote}}
* [http://www.graveyards.com/IL/Cook/bohemian/cermak.html Cermak's tomb at Bohemian National Cemetery]
* {{IMDb name|id=1531299|name=Anton J. Cermak}}

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{{s-ttl|title=[[Mayor of Chicago]]|years=1931–1933}}
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{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[United States Senator|U.S. Senator]] from [[Illinois]]}}<br>([[Classes of United States Senators|Class 3]])|years=[[1928 United States Senate special election in Illinois|1928]]}}
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[[Category:1873 births]]
[[Category:1933 deaths]]
[[Category:People murdered in 1933]]
[[Category:20th-century mayors of places in Illinois]]
[[Category:American people of Bohemian descent]]
[[Category:Assassinated American politicians]]
[[Category:Assassinated mayors]]
[[Category:Attempted assassinations of presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States]]
[[Category:Burials at Bohemian National Cemetery (Chicago)]]
[[Category:Chicago City Council members]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Florida]]
[[Category:Deaths from peritonitis]]
[[Category:Mayors of Chicago]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives]]
[[Category:People murdered in Florida]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Cook County Board of Commissioners]]
[[Category:Politicians assassinated in the 1930s]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly]]
[[Category:Cook County Democratic Party chairs]]