Leslie Hairston is an American politician who was alderperson of the 5th ward of the City of Chicago;she was elected in 1999. Hairston is a Hyde Park native. As alderman,she represented the ward in the Chicago City Council along with representatives from the 49 other Chicago wards. She was re-elected in 2003,2007,2011,2015 and 2019.
Anthony A. Beale is an American politician and the alderman of the 9th ward of the City of Chicago,Illinois United States. Beale is noted as having been one of the youngest members to serve as elected official on the City of Chicago's City Council. Beale was first elected in 1999. In 2023 Beale was elected to his seventh term in office. In 2013,Beale was an unsuccessful candidate in the Democratic primary for the special election to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. as U.S. Congressman from Illinois' 2nd congressional district.
Mary Ann Smith is a former alderman of the 48th ward of the City of Chicago;she was appointed in 1989 by Mayor Richard M. Daley to replace Kathy Osterman. She won re-election in 1991,and was re-elected four more times before retiring in 2011. She currently serves as a member of the Chicago Commission on Landmarks.
Thomas M. Tunney is an American politician and entrepreneur from Chicago,Illinois. From 2003 to 2023,he served as an alderman on the Chicago City Council. He represented the prominent 44th Ward of the city,which includes major tourist destinations,Northalsted and Wrigleyville neighborhoods. He was also vice mayor from 2019 to 2023.
Helen Shiller is a former Alderman of the 46th ward in Chicago,Illinois. Shiller is also a published author,having written a 500-page book on her politics and activism in Chicago from 1971 to 2011. Shiller served in the Chicago City Council for six four-year terms,from 1987 to 2011. Shiller was elected to the City Council on her third attempt,as Harold Washington,Chicago's first black Mayor,was re-elected to his second term,and her election as alderman helped close the Council Wars era in Chicago government. Shiller has been described as "a reformer unafraid to take on the boys in power." A less flattering description is that she is "committed to liberal causes and destroying all within her path". Among her most significant impacts on Chicago were her advocacy for diverse,inclusive,affordable housing and helping craft Chicago's response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Her commitment to fostering community development without displacement often brought Shiller into contention with some constituencies,real estate developers,and editorial boards. Shiller's oral history was collected by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Uptown resident Studs Terkel in his 2003 book,Hope Dies Last. As she details in her own book,among her policy victories as a City Council member was:getting human rights legislation passed,having Chicago implement anti-apartheid legislation,creating a City Council Subcommittee on Domestic Violence,and building a unique mix-used development.
Thomas R. Allen is a judge within the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County. He was sworn in on December 6,2010. Prior to his judgeship,he was Alderman of the 38th Ward of Chicago,serving since 1993.
Sandra Lee Jackson is an American politician. She was elected to the Chicago City Council as an alderman of the 7th ward of the City of Chicago in the 2007 municipal elections held on February 27,2007. She succeeded Darcel A. Beavers who had been appointed by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley after the 2006 November elections to succeed her father William Beavers,Jackson's rival,as alderman of the 7th Ward. Jackson resigned from Chicago City Council,effective January 15,2013. On February 20,2013,Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of filing false tax returns,and on August 14,2013,was sentenced to one year in prison.
Nora Bayly Slawik is a Minnesota politician,previously serving as Chairwoman of the Metropolitan Council,Maplewood Mayor and Minnesota State Representative. From 1997 to 1998 and 2001–2002,she represented District 57A,and from 2003 to 2012,she represented District 55B,which includes portions of Ramsey and Washington counties and the cities of Maplewood and Oakdale in the eastern part of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. As Mayor of Maplewood,first elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2018,she oversaw economic redevelopment,increased public safety,and expansion of Maplewood's public outdoor spaces. In 2018,she was appointed by Governor Tim Walz to serve as head of the Metropolitan Council,where she worked until stepping down in November 2019. She also has a history of community service before her time in office,including her development of Juniper as their Project Manager for the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging from 2016 to 2017.
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) responsible for comprehensive regional transportation planning in Cook,DuPage,Kane,Kendall,Lake,McHenry and Will counties in northeastern Illinois. The agency developed and now guides implementation of ON TO 2050,a new long-range plan to help the seven counties and 284 communities of northeastern Illinois implement strategies that address transportation,housing,economic development,open space,the environment,and other quality-of-life issues.
Toni Lynn Preckwinkle is an American politician and the current County Board president in Cook County,Illinois,United States. She was elected to her first term as president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners,the executive branch of Cook County government,in November 2010,becoming the first woman elected to that position.
Terry M. Bellamy is the former mayor of Asheville,North Carolina. She was first elected to the Asheville City Council in 1999 and won re‑election in 2003. She was elected mayor in November 2005,defeating incumbent Mayor Charles Worley in the October primary. Bellamy became the youngest mayor in North Carolina at the age of 33 and the first African-American Mayor of Asheville. Bellamy,a Democrat,received 10,534 votes (56.8%) to opponent Joe Dunn's 8,004 votes (43.2%). She won re-election in 2009. Bellamy chose not to run for another term in 2013,but instead announced plans to run for the U.S. House of Representatives for a second time.
Barack Obama won three Illinois Senate elections. The Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama began in 1997 after his first election in 1996 to a two-year term in the Illinois Senate representing Illinois' 13th Legislative District in Chicago. He was re-elected in 1998 to a four-year term and re-elected again in 2002 to another four-year term. He resigned from the Illinois Senate in 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate. He resigned from the U.S. Senate following his election in 2008 to become the 44th President of the United States in 2009.
Martin Jay Oberman is an American government official and attorney who served as a member of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) from 2019 to 2024 and as STB chair from 2021 to 2024. He previously served as the chair of the board of directors at Metra,the Chicago commuter rail system.
Elizabeth B. Tisdahl is the former mayor of Evanston,Illinois. She was Evanston's third female mayor and second Democratic mayor.
An election took place on February 24,2015,to elect the mayor of Chicago. The election was non-partisan and no candidate received a majority. A runoff election was held between the top two finishers on April 7,2015,and resulted in the reelection of incumbent mayor Rahm Emanuel. The elections were concurrent with the 2015 Chicago aldermanic elections.
The 2015 Chicago aldermanic elections happened on February 24,2015,to elect the 50 Aldermen that represent Chicago in the City Council. The elections were non-partisan and if no candidate received an absolute majority,a runoff would be held between the top two finishers on April 7,2015.
Gilbert Villegas is an American politician. He is a member of the Chicago City Council,serving as alderperson for the city's 36th ward. The 36th ward includes Belmont-Cragin,Galewood,Hermosa,Humboldt Park,Montclare and Portage Park. Prior to his election to the Chicago City Council,he served as chief of staff of the Illinois Capital Development Board.
Sophia D. King is an American politician and former member of Chicago City Council,who served as alderman from the 4th ward,which includes portions of the neighborhoods Bronzeville,Hyde Park,Kenwood,Oakland,and South Loop. King was appointed to the position in 2016 to replace retiring incumbent Will Burns. She won a special election to serve out the rest term of the term in 2017 and was re-elected to a full term in 2019. She was a member and chair of the City Council's Progressive Reform Caucus. King forwent reelection to the city council in 2023 in order to make an unsuccessful run for mayor of Chicago in the 2023 Chicago mayoral election.
Judith Rice is an American politician who served as Chicago City Treasurer from 2000 to 2006 and has served as a judge on the Circuit Court of Cook County 7th sub-circuit since 2014.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong is an American politician,the first African-American to serve as mayor of Kankakee,Illinois,the county seat of Kankakee County.
