It took less than 10 years for Richard Brzeczek to rise from patrolman to police superintendent–an accomplishment that spoke volumes about his political skills and organizational talents.
In 1980, Mayor Jane Byrne appointed the 37-year-old to the top police job, which he held until Byrne was defeated by Harold Washington in 1983, and Brzeczek resigned.
That year White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf even submitted Brzeczek’s name for commissioner of Major League Baseball.
It was heady stuff for the eldest of three siblings, born in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, who attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and graduated from Weber High School.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University, a master’s degree in public administration from the Illinois Institute of Technology and, while working full-time as a police officer, a law degree from John Marshall Law School. He and his wife had four children.
But after he left the top post, Brzeczek’s life became rocky.
He lost his job at a law firm and was defeated in a tumultuous 1984 race for Cook County state’s attorney against now-Mayor Richard Daley. He battled depression, alcohol, marital problems and eventually an indictment on 24 counts of theft and misconduct, of which he was later acquitted.
After being cleared, Brzeczek accused then-State’s Atty. Richard Daley of scheming to “destroy me politically, personally and financially.”
In 1989, he published a book on saving marriages. Now 63, he is a lawyer in private practice.