Michael Kenna (August 20, 1857{ { efn|name="dob"| gives his birth as happening during a winter night in 1858. The Chicago Tribunes obituary states that a baptismal record gives his birth as August 20, 1857, which is also the date given by his death certificate. The Associated Press indicates a death age of either 88 or 91, implying a birth year of 1854–1855 or 1857–1858, and notes confusion on the matter in both the official record and Kenna's own words. Birth certificates were not mandatory in Illinois until 1877. }} – October 9, 1946), also known as "Hinky Dink"''', was an American politician who served as alderman of Chicago's 1st Ward from 1897 to 1923 and again from 1939 to 1943. In addition to his position as alderman he was committeeman of the 1st Ward for the Democratic Party from 1893 to 1944. Representing the Chicago Loop and later its environs in such capacities, he led what was often called the "world's richest ward". He and his partner, fellow 1st Ward alderman "Bathhouse John" Coughlin, controlled the ward for most of the first half of the 20th century.
A part of 1st Ward politics for more than 60 years, Kenna possessed great influence on the municipal affairs of Chicago, being able to make or break the prospects of Democratic candidates for the mayoralty. In large part with Kenna's help Coughlin would serve as alderman of the ward for 46 years. Possessing such influence despite his short stature and unassuming presence, he and Coughlin constructed a political machine that would last for the better part of the 20th century.
Kenna was notoriously corrupt; he, Coughlin, and several other aldermen led what was known as the "Gray Wolves", a group that attracted much scorn from reformers. He and Coughlin in particular were infamous across the nation and globe. Of particular note were his tactics involving bribing homeless people to vote as desired and performing voter fraud for his candidates. He was also intimate with several figures of organized crime in the city; he and Coughlin were known as the "Lords of the Levee" after the Levee vice district in the 1st Ward which provided them with the financial and political support of sex workers, pimps, tavern owners, and gamblers in exchange for protection from law enforcement.
Early life
Michael Kenna was born in the late 1850s to Catherine ( Ferrel) and John Kenna, both immigrants from County Cork. He was born at the corner of Polk and Sholto (modern-day Carpenter) streets at the edge of "Connelly's Patch" on Chicago's Near West Side. At age 10 he left school and began selling newspapers. At age 12, by then an orphan, he borrowed $50 from a barkeeper and purchased a newsstand at the corner of Monroe and Dearborn Streets. He was so successful that he was able to pay back the loan within a month, and would sell newspapers at the stand until 1877. According to legend, it was at this time that Kenna got the nickname "Hinky Dink" from Chicago Tribune publisher Joseph Medill due to his small stature; as an adult he stood tall. Kenna variously professed ignorance of the nickname's origin or claimed that it arose at "th' old swimming hole." He was also known as "the little fellow". In 1879 he moved to Leadville, Colorado, to work for a newspaper in the area, returning to Chicago in 1881.
Political career
1st Ward
At the close of the 19th century Chicago had a reputation of bad morals, central to which was the 1st Ward, home to a teeming vice district. It was also home to Chicago's central business district, which would later be called "the Loop" after the looping elevated railroad trackage constructed in it in the late 1890s. Due to the presence of the Loop the 1st Ward was often known as the "world's richest" ward, a fact which Coughlin would use to fire back at critics of his tenure. As the first half of the 20th century progressed the 1st Ward would expand southward to also encompass most of the surrounding Near South Side.
At the time of Kenna's ascendancy the vice elements of the 1st Ward and throughout the city were protected by "King Mike" McDonald, who had lived in the city since the late 1850s and controlled its gambling since shortly thereafter, and was credited with first saying "there's a sucker born every minute." However, by 1890, his reign began to end and a power vacuum started developing.