Sophia King | |
---|---|
![]() King in 2022 | |
Member of the Chicago City Council from the 4th ward | |
In office April 13, 2016 –May 15, 2023 | |
Preceded by | William D. Burns |
Succeeded by | Lamont Robinson |
Personal details | |
Born | Colorado,U.S. | February 14,1966
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Alan King |
Education | University of Illinois,Urbana-Champaign (BA) Northwestern University (MEd) |
Sophia D. King (born February 14,1966) [1] 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 by mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2016 as a replacement to the retiring William D. Burns. She won a special election in 2017 to serve out the rest term of the Burns' unexpired term,and was re-elected to a full term in 2019. On the council,she was a member and chair of the Progressive Reform Caucus. [2] She 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.
King was born in Colorado. She grew up in Evanston,Illinois, [3] where her family moved after her mother was accepted to attend university at Northwestern. [4] During her childhood,King spent many of her summers in Jackson,Mississippi. [5] King's extended family had lived in the Mississippi delta. [4]
King earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master's degree in education and social policy from Northwestern University. [4] [6] In the late 1980s,King moved to a house she built with her husband,Alan,in the Kenwood neighborhood. [1] [7] Her husband studied for the bar with Michelle Obama and they are friends of the Obama family. [1]
King worked as a chemistry teacher at the Latin School of Chicago. [4] Between 1996 and 2003,King owned the Brush Streaks pottery bar,a small business that was located on 53rd Street in Chicago. [5]
In 1996,King co-founded to establish Ariel Community Academy with Ariel Investments C.E.O. Mellody Hobson. The K-8 school serves North Kenwood and Oakland neighborhood youth,aiming to provide them with an education similar to that offered at the Latin School of Chicago. [1] [5]
King was involved in 2007–2008 with Barack Obama's presidential primary campaign and general election campaign. [1]
King founded Harriett's Daughters,a nonprofit dedicated to employment and wealth creation opportunities for African-American neighborhoods. [1] [5] Prior to her appointment to city council,King was the president of the organization. [1] King also formerly served as president of the Kenwood Advisory Council,and as vice chair of the Chicago chapter of Planned Parenthood [5] King was also a member of the It's Time Organization anti-gun violence group. [4]
In April 2016,King was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to replace outgoing 4th ward alderman Will Burns,who had resigned to become Vice President of Governmental Affairs with AirBnB. [6] King was sworn in to the City Council on April 13,2016.
King's seat represented one of the financially wealthy and most ethnically diverse wards in the city. [8] It represented areas along the southern lakefront between downtown Chicago and Hyde Park. Laura Washington of the Chicago Tribune described the ward's residents as including,"academic and professional elites,working-class families and a bounty of reliably voting senior citizens." [9] Neighborhoods in the ward included Bronzeville,Hyde Park,Oakland,Kenwood,and parts of the South Loop. King had been a 4th ward resident since the 1980s. [4]
In anticipation of running for the seat in the 2017 special election,King created a political committee on March 9,2016. [10] King was appointed from a field of three finalists and eighteen initial applicants. [6] She won outright election in a 2017 special election,receiving nearly 64% of the vote against four opponents. [11] She had run with the endorsement by President Barack Obama,with whom she has long been friends. [12] Obama had lived in the 4th Ward when he was a Chicago resident. [13] Also endorsing King was County Board President Toni Preckwinkle,who had formerly represented the 4th district on the council. Another high-profile endorsement came from Jesse Jackson,whose Rainbow/PUSH organization was headquartered within the ward's boundaries. [14]
In her 2019 reelection,King again received the endorsements of Obama and Preckwinkle. [5] In the coinciding 2019 Chicago mayoral election,King endorsed Toni Preckwinkle. She declared her support for Preckwinkle upon Preckwinkle's entrance into the mayoral race, [15] which Preckwinkle ultimately lost. [16] However,King herself was handily reelected,receiving more than 66% of the vote against real estate attorney Ebony Lucas,who had also been one of the candidates she had faced in 2017. [11] [17]
King was a member of the committees on Rules and Ethics,Health and Environmental Protection,Housing and Real Estate,Pedestrian and Traffic Safety,Transportation and Public Way and Workforce Development and Audit. [18] She was the chair of the Chicago City Council Progressive Reform Caucus. [19]
King's tenure overlapped with the mayoralties of Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot.
Mayor Emanuel appointed King to the city council. [6] In 2017,King's husband was fined by the Chicago Board of Ethics for illegally lobbying Mayor Emanuel without first registering as a lobbyist. [20] [21] King criticized the board,accusing them of failing to follow the "spirit or the letter of the law" in fining her husband. [21] King's husband challenged the matter,and the board ultimately agreed to drop the fine on the condition that King would not commit any further lobbying violations over the next year. [20] [22]
In 2019,Lori Lightfoot was elected in a runoff against King's endorsed candidate,Toni Preckwinkle. [15] [16] During Lightfoot's mayoralty,King collaborated with her on certain issues and was at odds with her on others. [9] King and Lightfoot's relationship was said to have soured in 2021 over policy disagreements,including King's proposed restriction on home museums. King also was at odds with Lightfoot over the city's acquisition of Mercy Hospital and Medical Center. King argued that Lightfoot had acted beyond her authority in the matter,while Lightfoot accused King not supporting the continued operation of the hospital. [9]
King supported the push for a $15 minimum wage. [9] In June 2019,King introduced the "Raise Chicago" ordinance to the council,which would have increased minimum wage in Chicago to $14 after July 2020 and then $15 after July 2021. The Chicago City Council's Progressive Reform Caucus endorsed the ordinance. Mayor Lightfoot herself had previously voiced her support for a $15 minimum wage in Chicago, [23] but did not support King's ordinance as it had been introduced. [24] Aspects of a minimum wage increase were thereafter discussed and negotiated for months before the adoption of an increase ordinance on November 26. [25]
King's original plan eliminated sub-minimum wages for tipped workers. That aspect was met successful opposition from Mayor Lightfoot and the Illinois Restaurant Association. [25] Lightfoot argued that quickly increasing the wages of tipped workers to a minimum of $15 would place be too burdensome a change for businesses,especially small restaurants. Lightfoot,on November 14,2019,released her own compromise proposal of a minimum wage increase. [24] This proposal entitled tipped workers to a minimum wage that would be 60% that of guaranteed to all other workers. The Progressive Reform Caucus criticized this as being insufficient. [26]
A compromise minimum wage ordinance was adopted by the council on November 26 by a 39-11 vote [25] with King's support. [27] For those employing more that thirteen workers,it increased the minimum wage for most employees (except tipped employees) from the existing $13 to $14 beginning in July 2020 and $15 beginning in July 2021. Every subsequent July 1,there will be an increase in proportion to increase of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). For employers whose number of employees ranges from 14 to 20,the minimum wage for most employees (except tipped employees) was increased from the existing $13 to $13.50 beginning in July 2020,$14.00 beginning in July 2021,$14.50 beginning in July 2022,and $15 beginning in July 2023,with increases every subsequent July 1 in proportion to any increase in the CPI. [28]
King advanced the successful local landmarking of the former Michigan Avenue headquarters of Ebony and Jet magazines. [8] [29] She submitted an emergency request to advance the nomination. [30] The building was landmarked by the end of 2017. [31]
In 2021,King proposed imposing outright ban on historic house museums in locations where zoning only allows for detached houses on individual land lots and imposing the requirement of special permission from either the Zoning Board of Appeals of City council for such museums in other areas where the majority of residences are single-family residences. [32] King's proposal was met with vocal opposition. [33] Mayor Lightfoot criticized the proposal,opining,"it is an overreach for what the narrow issue is that [King] has identified." [32]
King revised her efforts in regards to historic house museums,shifting to championing and introducing to the council a revised proposal put forth by the Department of Planning and Development which did not include a ban,instead creating a requirement that such museums receive special permission in order to establish themselves in residential areas. [32] Opposition continued. [33] WTTW News described the proposal as being met with,"fierce opposition from cultural and preservation groups". Those that were working to create such museums at the former residences of Emmett Till and Muddy Waters raised concern that such a proposal might imperil their efforts. On March 22,2021,Mayor Lightfoot berated the proposal as being,"highly problematic." [32] The next day,King withdrew the proposal. [33] The editorial board of the Chicago Sun Times celebrated its withdrawal,criticizing the proposal as,"a solution in search of a problem." [34]
King was involved in the creation of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. [19] King introduced an ordinance increasing the number of days organizers need to give for special events to 20 days. In February 2022,the council unanimously adopted the ordinance. [35] King co-sponsored the Anjanette Young Ordinance,which prohibits the Chicago Police Department from executing no-knock warrants. [5]
King was supportive of retaining the practice of aldermanic prerogative,an unwritten practice on the council that gave aldermen final approval over zoning and development within their own ward. [36] King also called for more equity in community development. [9]
King opposed the prospect of the site of the former Michael Reese Hospital becoming location of the casino that Chicago had been given a state license to have operate within its borders. [5] King made it known that she more broadly opposed the opening of a casino in Bronzeville or any other parts of the 4th ward. [37] King was made to recuse herself on the vote approving construct [5] ion of a casino by Bally's Corporation in the River West neighborhood due to the legal work that her husband's law firm had done for Bally's. [5]
In 2021,King partnered with alderman Gilbert Villegas and Maria Hadden to co-sponsor a non-binding resolution calling for the city to create a $30 million pilot program on universal basic income. [5] [38] The non-binding resolution advanced through committee review,and was passed by the council in March by a vote of 30–18. [35] [38] The following year,Mayor Lightfoot launched the $31.5 million "Resilient Communities" universal basic income pilot program. [5] [35]
King co-sponsored the "Bring Chicago Home" ordinance,which proposed raising money to combat homelessness by increasing the real estate transfer tax for property transactions exceeding $1 million. [5] Efforts to ratify the "Bring Chicago Home" proposal progressed further after she left the city council,resulting in a ballot referendum, [39] which voters rejected. [40]
King was involved with the successful push to rename Congress Parkway for Ida B. Wells. [12] She was also involved in the successful push to rename Lake Shore Drive for Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. [41]
King prevented a car sharing pilot program by the company Car2go from operating in her ward,citing concerns about the ward's street parking capacity. [42]
In August 2022,King announced that she would be running in the 2023 Chicago mayoral election, [43] providing incumbent mayor Lori Lightfoot with a female challenger in a race that had previously seen only male challengers. Lightfoot was the city's second female mayor. [12] As a result of her campaign for mayor,King did not seek reelection to the City Council. [44]
As a mayoral candidate,King proposed expanding the size of the Chicago police force by filling 1,600 vacancies and returning 1,000 retired officers to the force to investigate non-violent crimes. [19]
With the exception of businessman Willie Wilson,all mayoral candidates disclosed their tax returns. Of the candidates who released their tax returns,King's household income was the highest. The King's income,however,was less than what Lightfoot had been earning prior to becoming mayor. [45]
In the initial round of the election,King was defeated,placing eighth of nine candidates with less than 7,200 votes (1.27% of the election's overall vote),a number of votes which was even less than her vote total had been in her previous 2019 aldermanic reelection.
King endorsed Paul Vallas's candidacy in the runoff election. [46] In a rebuke of this,nine of the Progressive Reform Caucus' eighteen members signed a letter condemning Vallas and endorsing Brandon Johnson (three other members of the caucus had like King endorsed Vallas,including fellow eliminated mayoral contender Roderick Sawyer). [47] Vallas was defeated by Johnson in the runoff. [48] King had also endorsed Prentice Butler (her chief of staff) to be elected as her successor in the election for 4th ward alderman. [49] Butler was defeated by state representative Lamont Robinson in a runoff election. [50]
King has been wed to her husband,Alan King,since the 1980s. Together,they are the parents of two adult daughters. [4] King's husband is a lawyer and a DJ in the group "Chosen Few". [5] King herself has been the main organizer for annual summer music festivals hosted by Chosen Few. [4]
Tax returns disclosed by King during her run for mayor showed her and her husband earning a combined adjusted gross income of $771,059 in 2021 and paying an effective tax rate of 29.6%. This was the highest income they had reported out of years between 2017 and 2021. Their 2021 income income included King's $127,464 public salary and $664,879 in royalties from her husband's law firm. [45]
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Sophia King (incumbent) | 4,286 | 63.77 | |
Ebony Lucas | 1,179 | 17.54 | |
Gregory Livingston | 440 | 6.55 | |
Marcellus Moore Jr. | 410 | 6.10 | |
Gerald McCarthy | 406 | 6.04 | |
Total votes | 6,721 | 100 |
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Sophia King (incumbent) | 9,178 | 66.1 | |
Ebony Lucas | 4,708 | 33.9 | |
Total votes | 13,886 | 100 |
2023 Chicago mayoral election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Candidate | General election [51] | Runoff election [52] | ||
Votes | % | Votes | % | |
Brandon Johnson | 122,093 | 21.63 | 319,481 | 52.16 |
Paul Vallas | 185,743 | 32.90 | 293,033 | 47.84 |
Lori Lightfoot (incumbent) | 94,890 | 16.81 | ||
Chuy García | 77,222 | 13.68 | ||
Willie Wilson | 51,567 | 9.13 | ||
Ja'Mal Green | 12,257 | 2.17 | ||
Kam Buckner | 11,092 | 1.96 | ||
Sophia King | 7,191 | 1.27 | ||
Roderick Sawyer | 2,440 | 0.43 | ||
Write-ins | 29 | 0.01 | ||
Total | 564,524 | 100 | 612,514 | 100 |
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 44th Ward of the city,which includes major tourist destinations,Northalsted and Wrigleyville neighborhoods. He was also vice mayor from 2019 to 2023.
Paul Gust Vallas Sr. is an American politician and former education superintendent. He served as the superintendent of the Bridgeport Public Schools in Connecticut and the Recovery School District of Louisiana,the CEO of both the School District of Philadelphia and the Chicago Public Schools,and a budget director for the city of Chicago.
Walter Burnett Jr. is an American politician who has served as the alderman for Chicago's 27th ward since his first election in 1995. The 27th ward includes the West Loop,Greektown,East Garfield Park,Near North Side,Old Town,West Humboldt Park,West Town,Goose Island and the Illinois Medical District. As of 2023 he is the vice mayor of Chicago.
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.
Pat Dowell is a member of the Chicago City Council representing the City of Chicago's 3rd ward in Cook County,Illinois. Dowell was elected in April 2007 in a runoff election against incumbent Dorothy Tillman. Dowell had lost to Tillman in 2003. Dowell is a member of the City Council's Housing and Real Estate,Transportation and the Public Way,Landmarks,Rules and Health committees.
Roderick Terrance Sawyer is an American politician and the former alderman of the 6th ward located in Chicago,Illinois,United States. Sawyer is also the former the chairman of the Health and Human Relations Committee,a member of the Progressive Reform Caucus,and the former chairman of the African American Caucus.
Jesús G. "Chuy" García is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 4th district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party,he served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners,as well as in the Illinois Senate and on the Chicago City Council before his election to Congress. He was also a candidate for mayor of Chicago in 2015 and 2023. Throughout his career in Chicago and national politics,he has been described as a progressive.
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa is an American politician. He has served as the Alderperson for Chicago's 35th Ward since May 18,2015. He was first elected to the Council in 2015,become one of the chamber's youngest members ever elected at age 26. He was re-elected in 2019 and 2023.
Michelle A. Harris is an American politician who is the alderman of Chicago's 8th ward and the chair of the Chicago City Council's rules committee.
Chris Taliaferro is a Democratic Alderman representing the 29th ward of the city of Chicago. The 29th ward includes the Austin,Montclare and Galewood areas.
The 2019 Chicago mayoral election was held on February 26,2019,to determine the next Mayor of the City of Chicago,Illinois. Since no candidate received a majority of votes,a runoff election was held on April 2,2019,between the two candidates with the most votes,Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle. Lightfoot defeated Preckwinkle in the runoff election to become mayor,and was sworn in as mayor on May 20,2019.
The 2019 Chicago elections took place in two rounds on February 26,2019,and April 2,2019. Elections were held for Mayor of Chicago,City Clerk of Chicago,City Treasurer of Chicago,and all 50 members of the Chicago City Council. The candidates who won in these elections were inaugurated on May 20,2019. Four ballot referendums were also voted on in certain precincts. The elections were administered by the Chicago Board of Elections.
Lori Elaine Lightfoot is an American politician and attorney who was the 56th mayor of Chicago from 2019 until 2023. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming mayor,Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as a partner at Mayer Brown and held various government positions in Chicago. She served as president of the Chicago Police Board and chair of the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force. In 2019,Lightfoot defeated Toni Preckwinkle in a runoff election for Chicago mayor. She ran again in 2023 but failed to qualify for the runoff,becoming the city's first incumbent mayor to not be reelected since Jane Byrne in 1983.
Brendan Reilly is an American politician who has served as alderman of Chicago's 42nd ward since 2007,when he unseated septuagenarian incumbent Burton Natarus. He served as Vice Mayor of Chicago,being elected to that position by the Chicago City Council,from 2015 to 2019. From May 2019 to May 2023,he served as President pro tempore of the Council,which means that he presided over council proceedings in the mayor's absence.
James M. Gardiner is a Chicago politician and firefighter who serves as the alderman for the 45th ward in the Chicago City Council. Elected to the Chicago City Council in 2019,Gardiner identified as a political independent;however,he would later switch to the Democratic Party and currently serves as the 45th Ward Democratic Committeeperson.
Brandon Johnson is an American educator and politician who is currently serving as the 57th mayor of Chicago since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party,Johnson previously served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners from 2018 to 2023,representing the 1st district.
Derrick G. Curtis is an American politician who has served as the alderman of Chicago's 18th ward since 2015. He became the Democratic committeeman of the ward in 2011 after Lona Lane stepped down from that position. Curtis had previously been the ward's Streets and Sanitation superintendent,with more than 25 years of experience as a precinct captain. He ran against Lane in the 2015 aldermanic race and defeated her in a runoff. He was sworn into office on May 18,2015.
The 2023 Chicago mayoral election was held on February 28,2023,to elect the mayor of Chicago,Illinois. With no candidate receiving a majority of votes in the initial round of the election,a runoff election was held on April 4. This two-round election took place alongside other 2023 Chicago elections,including races for City Council,city clerk,city treasurer,and police district councils. The election was officially nonpartisan,with winner Brandon Johnson being elected to a four-year term which began on May 15.
The 2023 Chicago elections took place in two rounds on February 28,2023,and April 4,2023. Elections were held for Mayor of Chicago,City Clerk of Chicago,City Treasurer of Chicago,all 50 members of the Chicago City Council,and 66 members of the newly created police District Councils. The elections were administered by the Chicago Board of Elections.
The 2023 Chicago aldermanic election took place in two rounds on February 28 and April 4,2023,to elect 50 alderpersons to the Chicago City Council. Each alderperson represents one of Chicago's 50 wards. The elections are non-partisan and use a two-round system where the top two finishers compete in a second-round runoff if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the first round. The elections are part of the 2023 Chicago elections,which include elections for Mayor,City Clerk,and City Treasurer.