Adolf Kraus (February 26, 1850 – October 22, 1928) was an American lawyer, political figure, and Jewish leader.
Biography
At the age of 15 he left the Bohemian town of Rokycany where he had grown up and emigrated to the United States. He worked on a farm and in a factory, later settling in Chicago where he completed his law studies before becoming a lawyer. He is one of the founding partner in the law firm of Kraus and Mayer which is one of the legacy firms that later formed Mayer Brown.
In 1897 he was the second president of the civil service commission. He also became a grand officer of B'nai B'rith (president of Isaiah Temple in Chicago) and a prominent executive of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (nowadays the Union for Reform Judaism).
In both the 1891 and 1893 Chicago mayoral elections, Kraus served as the campaign manager for Carter Harrison Sr.
