The Illinois Supreme Court overturned Ernest Stevens’ conviction a year later. The loans Ernest Stevens took from Illinois Life were approved by the insurance company’s board of directors: There was no evidence of a cover-up on Ernest Stevens’ part. “In Stevens’ view in that case, justice was done in the end. How many people have that experience in their lives?” John Paul Stevens biographer Bill Barnhart said.
Ernest Stevens later got a job managing the Hyde Park Hotel. Stevens stayed in the Hyde Park neighborhood to attend college at the University of Chicago, from which he graduated in 1941.
Image from Chicago Tribune, © Oct 23, 1934. All rights reserved