Bales, Richard F. 1951-

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BALES, Richard F. 1951-

PERSONAL: Born November 1, 1951, in Milwaukee, WI; son of James E. (a teacher) and Phyllis A. (a teacher) Bales; married Joanne Bales (a teacher), June 25, 1977; children: Michael, Thomas. Ethnicity: "White, German and English." Education: Illinois College, B.A., 1973; Northern Illinois University, J.D., 1983. Politics: "Liberal." Religion: "Roman Catholic."

ADDRESSES: Office—Chicago Title Insurance Co., 1725 South Naperville Rd., Wheaton, IL 60187. E-mail—[email protected]; [email protected].

CAREER: Worked in title insurance profession, 1977-89; Chicago Title Insurance Company, Wheaton, IL, assistant vice president and assistant regional counsel, 1989—. Illinois Land Title Association, dean of title insurance school.

MEMBER: Society of Midland Authors, Illinois State Bar Association, Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association (honorary member), DuPage County Bar Association (chair of Real Estate Law and Practice Committee, 2002-03), Aurora Historical Society (member of board of directors, 1990-92, 2000-01).

AWARDS, HONORS: Winfield H. Eldridge Award, Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association, 1994; Harry E. Pratt Memorial Award, Illinois State Historical Society, 1997, for an article on the Chicago Fire; Alumni of the Year, Illinois College, 2004.

WRITINGS:

The Great Chicago Fire and the Myth of Mrs. O'Leary's Cow, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2002.

Author of Residential and Commercial Surveys in Illinois, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 2004. Also author of "From the Title Insurance Perspective," a monthly column for a real estate law e-mail newsletter. Contributor to books published by Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Contributor to law journals.

ADAPTATIONS: Bales's book The Great Chicago Fire and the Myth of Mrs. O'Leary's Cow served as the basis for an episode of the television series Unsolved History, broadcast by the Discovery Channel in 2003.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Cap Streeter: The Man Who Defied Chicago (tentative title), a biography of George Wellington Streeter and his fight in the late 1800s against Chicago's establishment for control of a portion of the city's lakefront.

SIDELIGHTS: Richard F. Bales told CA: "I started writing soon after I became a lawyer. I wrote for the various area bar journals and newsletters. But while I was writing articles, my twin brother, Jack Bales, was writing books, and eventually I decided that the articles were not enough; I wanted to write a book as well. I am a fan and scholar of Chicago history, and I suppose that the biggest influence on my historical writing is my brother Jack. He has always taken the time to review my work, and he never hesitated to point out where I could make improvements. He taught me that historical accuracy does not have to be dull and boring. Rather, it can be interesting and exciting!

"I have worked in the real estate title insurance industry since 1977. After I started working for the Chicago Title Insurance Company in 1989, I learned that it owned the only set of land records that survived the Chicago Fire of 1871 (The city's records were destroyed when the courthouse burned in the fire). I had always been intrigued by the various theories surrounding the cause of this disaster, and I wondered if these records might shed any light on how the fire started.

"I also knew that the Chicago Historical Society owned the transcript of the Board of Police and Fire Commissioner's investigation into the cause of the fire. I felt that these two primary sources—pre-fire land records and the transcript—had never been fully utilized by fire historians and that a book based on this information would offer a unique perspective on the fire.

"I tried to write a book that would meet the needs of two audiences. That is, I wanted to write a book that would withstand the scrutiny of the professional historian. Therefore, I included comprehensive endnotes and an extensive annotated bibliography. But I also wanted the book to appeal to the casual reader. Inspired by Chicago historians of the 1950s like Robert Cromie, Herman Kogan, and Lloyd Wendt, [I tried to make] The Great Chicago Fire and the Myth of Mrs. O'Leary's Cow lively and interesting reading as well as historically accurate.

"I discovered new history in my book on the Chicago Fire. I am discovering new history in my next book. I hope that my books inspire people to go out, conduct their own research, and publish their findings. There have been dozens of books written about the Great Chicago Fire in the last 130 years. Who would have thought that after all this time, startling new information could still be uncovered? But I found it, and if I can discover it, other people can, too."