State of Illinois Certificate signed by Louis L. Emmerson and Len Small, Both Illinois Governors

Commission for Notary Public signed by current Governor Len Small and succeeding Governor Louis Lincoln Emmerson. Portraits and biographies included.

Lennington "Len" Small (June 16, 1862 – May 17, 1936) was an American politician. He served as the 26th Governor of Illinois, from 1921 to 1929. He also served as a member of the Illinois state senate from the 16th District from 1901 to 1903 and was Illinois state treasurer, from 1905 to 1907, and from 1917 to 1919.

Small was born in Kankakee County, Illinois, and was educated in the public schools. He attended Northern Indiana Normal School, now Valparaiso University. He taught school and invested in real estate, eventually owning a farm, a bank, and Kankakee's daily newspaper. In 1883, Small married Ida Moore, and they had three children together.

Small began his political career in 1901 when he became a member of the Illinois Senate. He served in the Illinois Senate from 1901 to 1905.

Small was the Illinois Treasurer from 1905 to 1907, and again from 1917 to 1919. He was indicted, six months after becoming governor, for embezzling over a million dollars in a money-laundering scheme in which he misplaced state funds into a fake bank while he was state treasurer. He served as the assistant U.S. Treasurer in charge of the sub treasury at Chicago from 1908 to 1912, and was a delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois in 1908, 1912, and 1932.

Small was elected Governor of Illinois in 1920 and was reelected in 1924. He was acquitted, but eight jurors later got state jobs, raising suspicions of jury tampering.

As governor, Small pardoned 20 members of the Communist Labor Party of America, convicted under the Illinois Sedition Act. He also pardoned or paroled over 1000 convicted felons, including Harry Guzik, brother of the Chicago Outfit's Jake Guzik, of Posen, Illinois, who was convicted of kidnapping young girls and forcing them into lives of prostitution (then commonly called white slavery).

In 1923, bootlegger Edward "Spike" O'Donnell of Southside Chicago O'Donnell was released from prison by Small. O'Donnell returned to Chicago as the leader of one of the most powerful bootlegging gangs in the city.

Small's reputation for corruption finally caught up with him at the ballot box when he was defeated in the 1928 Republican "Pineapple Primary" by a margin of 63% to 37% against Louis Lincoln Emmerson, the incumbent Illinois Secretary of State. Small would make a failed run for governor in 1932.

Small died on May 17, 1936. He is buried at Mound Grove Cemetery in Kankakee, Illinois.

Louis Lincoln Emmerson (December 27, 1863 – February 4, 1941) was a Republican and the twenty-ninth governor of Illinois. He was born in Albion, Illinois on December 27, 1863. After completing his education in the Albion public school system, Emmerson moved to Mount Vernon, Illinois in 1883, and established a career in the mercantile business. He also was influential in the organization of the Mount Vernon Third National Bank, which occurred in 1901. Emmerson entered politics in 1912, as an unsuccessful candidate for state treasurer. However, four years later, he was victorious in his election for secretary of state, an office he held for twelve years. Emmerson won the 1928 Republican gubernatorial nomination by a margin of 63% to 37% over the incumbent governor, the corrupt Len Small, and was sworn into the governorship on January 14, 1929.

During his tenure, he faced mounting difficulties resulting from the Great Depression. Taxpayers were granted some relief when legislation was adopted that eased penalties on overdue taxes and allowed for the issuance of emergency bonds. Also, a motor fuel-tax was instituted and used for improvements in the highway system, the first unemployment commission was initiated, and federal grants were sanctioned for the completion of the Lakes-to-the-Gulf Waterway. Emmerson did not seek reelection and left office on January 9, 1933, retiring from politics. Governor Louis L. Emmerson died on February 4, 1941, and was buried at the Oakwood Cemetery in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.

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