A LOOK BACK AT CHICAGO AND THE ROLLERCOASTER YEAR OF 2019

Mayor Lori Lightfoot was all smiles at her May 2019 historic inauguration as Chicago’s First Black, female mayor. Photo by Jerome Simmons
Mayor Lori Lightfoot was all smiles at her May 2019 historic inauguration as Chicago’s First Black, female mayor. Photo by Jerome Simmons

A Look Back At Chicago and the Rollercoaster Year of 2019

BY WENDELL HUTSON, Contributing Writer

As a new year begins this week, Chicago’s past was forever changed in 2019 by its politics, entertainment, education, and hometown businesses.

Politics

Chicago voters elected Lori Lightfoot as its first black, female mayor, who is also openly gay. The attorney and former president of the Chicago Police Board has an 11-year-old daughter, is married to Amy Eshleman, a former librarian, and since her historic inauguration in May, she has shown zero tolerance for unethical behavior from city employees.

She repeatedly called on Ald. Edward Burke (14th) to resign after being charged with bribery by the U.S. Attorney’s Office; and she fired former Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson for allegedly lying to her about an October incident when he was found sleep inside his car by fellow officers.

The mayor also said during her first seven months in office she accomplished a lot of goals and looks forward to reaching her goals this year.

“Over these last seven months, we [administration] used a progressive blueprint to chart a new, transformative course for Chicago, resulting in our historic Fair Workweek legislation; efforts to end our dependence on harmful fines and fees; improve equity in our schools; expand access to libraries for every community; legislation to boost the minimum wage to $15 by 2021, and much more,” said Lightfoot.

Black Pastors

The world said goodbye to Chicago-native the Rev. Clay Evans, who at age 94, died in November. In 2000, the civil rights activist, who worked alongside Dr. Martin L. King Jr. and who mentored the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, retired as pastor of the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Fuller Park. As a vivid gospel singer, Evans released his last gospel album, titled “It’s Me Again” in 2006.

After being born in Brownsville, Tennessee in 1925, Evans moved to Chicago in 1945 and one year later he married Lutha Mae Hollingshed. The couple had six children during their 74-year union and his wife and five remaining children survived him.

Chicago lost another popular South Side pastor in November as well.

The Rev. George Clements died at an Indiana hospital following a stroke he suffered in October. Clements became the Archdiocese of Chicago’s first black graduate of Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary in 1945. In 1957, he was ordained as a priest and in 1969 he became the first black pastor at Holy Angels Church in Bronzeville.

He also founded the One Church-One Child program in 1980, an effort to encourage Catholic churches to help find adoptive parents for black children. In 1980, Clements became the first Catholic priest to adopt a child and later adopted three more sons. Actor Louis Gossett Jr. played Clements in a 1987 made-for-TV movie “The Father Clements Story.”

Entertainment

Actor Jussie Smollett, who played “Jamal” in the hit Fox TV show “Empire” had his career interrupted after being charged by the Cook County State’s Attorney Office with staging a hate crime against himself for publicity.

And even though 16 felony charges were later dropped against him, the city of Chicago sued Smollett to recoup more than $130,000 it racked up in police overtime to investigate the case.

But Smollett’s problems are pale compared to Chicago-native and Grammy award singer Robert Kelly also known as R. Kelly. The 52-year-old R&B singer was first arrested in February on state sexual abuse charges and then later arrested again in July (after bailing out of jail) by the FBI for federal sex charges. He is currently being held without bond in a federal facility in Chicago until his April state trial begins followed by a May federal trial. His arrests stem from a January 2019 documentary by the Lifetime channel that led to several women going to law enforcement where they alleged that Kelly violated them sexually. Through his Chicago-based attorney Steven Greenberg, Kelly has denied all allegations and has pleaded not guilty in state and federal courts.

Business

After printing a newspaper since its 1905 founding, the Chicago Defender ceased print operations and switched to an online newspaper only in July.

In a statement, company officials said the Defender has been around for 114 years and therefore is not going anywhere.”We’re really excited to pave the way to the future in really making sure there is a spot in the future for the black press. Under the print version, we could not reach people where they live and work,” Hiram Jackson, CEO of Real Times Media, the Detroit-based parent company. “Being a digital-only outlet will help us reach people who live on the West Side or South Side or south suburbs, giving people what they need when they want it.”

Education

It’s rare that elementary schools in Chicago have a chess team but in Auburn Gresham at St. Ethelreda School, three students (Shakira Luster, Trechelle Williams and Imani Hill) placed in the top 10 at the annual state chess tournament and by doing so it made the South Side school, whose students are mostly black, the 2019 state chess champions.

“People need to know about us and our 260 students we currently have enrolled here. Chess is the most participated after school activity at St. Ethelreda and I think it’s because students see the success other students are having with it,” said Denise Spells, principal at St. Ethelreda. “But we’re more than chess here. We are all about educating children and preparing them for life.”

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