CBA Record September 2017

PRESIDENT’S PAGE BY JUDGE THOMAS R. MULROY A Mulroy’s Brush with Chicago History

The Chicago Bar Association www.chicagobar.org OFFICERS President Judge Thomas R. Mulroy Circuit Court of Cook County First Vice President Steven M. Elrod Holland & Knight LLP Second Vice President Jesse H. Ruiz Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP Secretary E. Lynn Grayson Jenner & Block LLP Treasurer Executive Director Terrence M. Murphy Assistant Executive Director Elizabeth A. McMeen BOARD OF MANAGERS Jonathan B. Amarilio Alan R. Borlack Hon. Thomas M. Durkin Mark B. Epstein Hon. Shelvin Louise Marie Hall Robert F. Harris Maurice Grant Grant Law LLC

The two murderers then used Leopold’s portable typewriter to type a ransom note which they mailed to Bobby Franks’ father. Bobby’s body was discovered as Franks’ father was on his way to pay the $10,000 ransom demand. The crime was horrible, lurid and senseless. At the time, my uncle, James Mulroy, my father’s brother, worked as a “cub reporter” for the Chicago Daily News, a competitor of the Tribune. The Franks murder captivated the city and particularly mesmerized the competitive news media. Uncle Jim, a graduate of the University of Chicago, and his reporter partner, Alvin Goldstein, were assigned to the Franks story and spent days searching for infor- mation about the crime which they hoped would be put in their newspaper under their bylines. While disposing of Franks’ body, Leop- old’s eyeglasses had fallen from his pocket and were recovered by the police, who traced them to Leopold. Leopold at once became a suspect in the murder. Learning of the glasses development, Mulroy and Goldstein focused on the typewriting in the ransom note. Because Leopold was gaining traction as a suspect, the reporters decided to use their Univer- sity of Chicago contacts and speak to some of Leopold’s law school class mates. When they spoke to the students, the reporters learned that Leopold had typed the law school study group notes and had distrib- uted them to his fellow group members. The reporters were able to get some of Leopold’s typewritten notes, and when they compared the notes with the ransom note, it was clear that the typing matched. Uncle Jim and his partner reported their findings to the police. Ultimately, and pos- sibly because of this evidence, both boys confessed to the murder.

T he random murder of 14 year old Bobby Franks, son of a wealthy Kenwood family, horrified and frightened Chicago in 1924. Albert Loeb lived in Kenwood with his wife and four sons: Allan, Ernest, Richard, and Thomas. Loeb was a lawyer and was one of the founders of the law firm now known as Arnstein & Lehr. He was also one of the organizers of the Standard Club. Later, Loeb became Vice President and Treasurer of Sears Roebuck. In 1924, Loeb’s son Richard graduated from the University of Michigan and then attended graduate school at the University of Chicago where he met Nathan Leopold, who was in the University’s law school. Over time and during long philosophi- cal discussions, Loeb enticed Leopold to commit the “perfect crime;” in this case, the motiveless murder of a random victim. The two young men rented a car and drove randomly through their Kenwood neighborhood looking for someone to kill. While driving, the men saw Loeb’s cousin and neighbor, Bobby Franks. They enticed Franks into their car and brutally killed him. Shockingly, on the way to hiding Franks’ body, they stopped and ate lunch.

Michele M. Jochner Michael J. Kaufman Daniel M. Kotin Pamela S. Menaker Paul J. Ochmanek, Jr. Matthew A. Passen Mary Robinson John C. Sciaccotta Helene M. Snyder Andrew W. Vail Greta G. Weathersby Zeophus J. Wiliams

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