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Gov. Henry Horner of Illinois Ends His First Year in Office

January 16, 1934
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Just a year ago, Henry Horner, the genial Probate Judge of Cook County, became the governor of Illinois-the first Jewish governor of this commonwealth.

The first anniversary of his inauguration finds the chief executive, despite the fact that he spends an average of sixteen hours a day at his desk and that he had no vacation in twelve months, in good health with the exception of a slight cold.

Today as he prepared for another strenuous day in the executive mansion in Springfield, he was reminded of the anniversary and was asked to tell of his experiences, reactions, and his plans for the rest of his term.

“I knew the governorship was not a sinecure when I took office,” he said, “but I had no idea that any position could contain the complex problems this one does.

“While I have accomplished, in a large measure, those things which I promised to do, I now find myself with an entirely new list of problems demanding solution.

“The future looks brighter, much brighter than when I assumed office a year ago. This, of course, is due largely to President Roosevelt and the new spirit he developed.”

During his year in Springfield, the governor has missed the golf games and horseback rides in which he indulged so freely while in Chicago. “I haven’t time for those recreations,” he said. “There is compensation, however, in the joy of solving a governmental problem.”

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