Harry J. Busch, 97, a Chicago attorney who was a prosecutor, defense attorney and a personal lawyer to Mayor Richard J. Daley, died Thursday, Oct. 12, in Weiss Memorial Hospital, Chicago. As a young man, Mr. Busch gained fame as a passerby caught off guard outside the Cook County Jail on Dec. 11, 1921, when convicted cop killer Tommy “The Terrible” O’Connor escaped. O’Connor hopped on the running board of Mr. Busch’s passing car, pointed a gun at Mr. Busch’s head and hitched a ride away from an execution scheduled three days later. That event was immortalized in the play “The Front Page.” Raised on Chicago’s West Side, Mr. Busch began his career as an assistant state’s attorney. It was only in the last 10 years that Mr. Busch retired. During that time, he moved from the Glencoe home he had shared for many years with his wife, the late Nola Busch, into a North Side retirement home. He is survived by his son, Donald. Services have been held.
