Politics And Women Helped Shape Chicago’s Black History


Politics And Women Helped Shape Chicago’s Black History

BY WENDELL HUTSON,Contributing Writer

Chicago is known more for its gun violence and high sales tax than its black, political history that seems to be growing almost every election.

The nation’s third largest city is home to Barack Obama, America’s first black president; Carol Mosley Braun, the first black, female U.S. Senator; the late Harold Washington, the first black, mayor of Chicago; John H. Stroger Jr., the first black, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners; and the late Oscar Stanton De Priest, the first, black U.S. Representative. And during his three terms from 1929 to 1935, De Priest, a republican from Illinois’ 1st District, was the only black member of Congress.

These days, though, Chicago’s local political landscape has created even more black history from mayors to aldermen, said Timuel Black, a 100-year-old historian from the South Side.

“For black politics, Chicago is the mecca,” he said. “It is where careers have started and ended for blacks, and where the road to the White House finally happened for Barack Obama.”

The Year of the Woman is how many voters coined last year’s election because it produced black women from Chicago as the first in their respected offices. Those black history makers included Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Alderman Stephanie Coleman (16th), Kari Steele, president of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Karen Yarbrough, Cook County Clerk, and Juliana Stratton, lieutenant governor of Illinois.

LORI LIGHFOOT

In 2019, Lori Lightfoot was elected the city’s 56th mayor and the first, black female mayor. And during her inauguration speech, she spoke about her milestone and what it means for the Windy City.

“As I stand here today, I can’t help but think of where I came from—and I know, in my heart, that a story like mine of a kid from a working class family growing up to realize the dreams of my father and mother through education, hard work and sheer determination needs to be the story of possibility in every neighborhood,” Lightfoot told a crowd of more than 3,000 people at her May 20, 2019 inauguration. “I know we’re just a little bit closer to that dream as I stand here today, inaugurated as Chicago’s first Black woman and first openly gay mayor. I know we’re a little bit closer as we celebrate that, for the first time in the history of Chicago, women of color now hold all three of our city-wide elected offices [Office of the Mayor, Office of City Treasurer and Office of City Clerk].”

STEPHANIE COLEMAN

Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th) at age 30 was elected the youngest, black female alderman in 2019, and is the daughter of former 16th Ward Alderman Shirley Coleman. The political newcomer who never held elected office prior to alderman said last year’s election of black women to various city, county and state offices clearly is a sign that women of color are finally being taken seriously in Chicago’s male dominated political spectrum.

“Times have surely changed for the better when it comes to black women. And change is needed to make improvements because without change, things will stay the same,” said Coleman.

After defeating incumbent Ald. Toni Foulkes last year, the ‘Daughter of Englewood’ as Coleman calls herself, said she has been hard at work now that reality has kicked in.

“It hasn’t totally hit me yet [that I am the youngest black woman to be elected alderman] because I have been working so hard to meet the needs of my constituents.

In my first 100 days as alderman, I took an inventory of the ward by walking block by block and assessing the needs of each neighborhood,” she said. Her other goals include improving the schools and bringing more economic development to the ward.

And despite being defeated in 2016 by Foulkes, that did not stop Coleman’s desire to represent the Englewood neighborhood where she was born and raised.

“I ran against Alderman Foulkes four years ago and lost. And while I was wounded, I was not weary,” added Coleman. “I never stopped knocking on doors, registering new voters and engaging with the community.”

KARI STEELE

In January, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, quietly made history when it elected Kari Steele, a 43-year-old environmentalist and Chatham-native, as its first black, female president in its 130-year existence.

“This year is our 130th anniversary, and it was in 2012, when I started my first term (as commissioner), that we elected our first female president ever,” Steele said shortly after the nine-member board voted unanimously on Jan. 10 to make her its new president. “Six years later, I have had women colleagues, and African American women colleagues, come to my office with tears in their eyes. They cannot believe how the district has transformed, the groundbreaking changes we’ve made since then with diversity on the board.”

The $1.1 billion agency oversees seven sanitary and flood protection plants in Cook County that serve not only Chicago but also 125 other municipalities including the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant in Cicero, which is the largest U.S. plant.

KAREN YARBROUGH

Prior to her election as the first woman ever and first black elected Cook County Clerk, Karen Yarbrough served two terms as Cook County Recorder of Deeds, and before that, she was state Representative for the 7th District.

“I am looking forward to serving the people of Cook County, in my new role as Clerk of Cook County,” Yarbrough said shortly after being sworn into office December 2019 by Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans. “I’m the first woman and the first African American in this position and I want to thank the voters of Cook County for placing their trust and faith in my ability to lead and serve them in this manner.”

The services provided by the Cook County Clerk’s Office may be unknown to many voters but Yarbrough said the county office does things critical to governmental operations. Its primary role is to serve as the chief election authority for Cook County, which is one of the largest election jurisdictions in the nation. And besides administering elections in suburban Cook County, the office also assists property owners in redeeming delinquent taxes, records the activity of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and maintains birth, marriage and death records.

JULIANA STRATTON

Illinois voters elected a billionaire as its new governor in 2019 but also elected Juliana Stratton, a former state Representative, as its first black, lieutenant governor.

During her inaugural speech in January, Stratton said voters did more than elect her as the 43rd lieutenant governor.

“On December 3rd, 1818, Illinois became the 21st state. Two hundred years later, with the DNA of my formerly enslaved great, great grandfather, William Stephens as part of my genetic makeup, I am proud to stand before you as our state’s first black Lieutenant Governor.”

As second-in-command of the state, the lieutenant governor is responsible for a variety duties, such as heading the Illinois Main Street Program, and serving as chairman of the Governor’s Rural Affairs Council, Rural Bond Bank of Illinois and the Illinois River Coordinating Council.

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