Richard Michael Daley is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago,Illinois,from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh term. At 22 years,his was the longest tenure in Chicago mayoral history,surpassing the 21-year mayoralty of his father,Richard J. Daley.
Edward Robert Vrdolyak,also known as "Fast Eddie",is a former American politician and lawyer. He was a longtime Chicago alderman and the head of the Cook County Democratic Party until 1987 when he ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Chicago on the Illinois Solidarity Party ticket. He subsequently ran again in 1989 on the Republican Party ticket. He was a prominent opponent of Harold Washington and the de facto leader of the so-called "Vrdolyak 29" that opposed and blocked many of Washington's measures.
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.
Edward Michael Burke is an American politician found guilty of racketeering,bribery,and extortion who served as the alderman of Chicago's 14th ward from 1969 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party,he was first elected to the Chicago City Council in 1969,and represented part of the city's Southwest Side. Chair of Council's Committee on Finance,Burke had been called Chicago's "most powerful alderman" by the Chicago Sun-Times. Burke was named one of the "100 Most Powerful Chicagoans" by Chicago Magazine,describing him as "[o]ne of the last of the old-school Chicago Machine pols."
Arenda Iris Troutman is an American former politician who ran as a member of the Democratic Party. Troutman served as alderman of Chicago,Illinois 20th Ward from April 1990 until February 2007. Troutman was appointed to her position by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley,to fill the ward's vacancy after the death of alderman Ernest Jones. Troutman was subsequently re-elected in 1991,1995,1999,and 2003.
Ricardo Muñoz is a former member of the Chicago City Council,having served as alderman for the 22nd ward,which includes Little Village and Archer Heights. Muñoz was appointed to this position by Mayor Richard M. Daley in 1993 and served until 2019. He was the longest tenured Latino and fourth longest tenured member of the Chicago City Council.
Daniel Solis is an American politician from Illinois. He served as an alderman on the Chicago City Council from 1996 to 2019. He represented Chicago's 25th Ward which includes the Lower West Side.
Isaac "Ike" Sims Carothers is a former alderman of the 29th Ward on the far west side of the City of Chicago. He was first elected in 1999. He resigned in 2010 after pleading guilty to federal corruption charges.
The Cook County Democratic Party is an American county-level political party organization which represents voters in 50 wards in the city of Chicago and 30 suburban townships of Cook County. The organization has dominated Chicago politics since the 1930s. It relies on an organizational structure of a ward or township committeeperson to elect candidates. At the height of its influence under Richard J. Daley in the 1960s when political patronage in employment was endemic in American cities,it was one of the most powerful political machines in American history. By the beginning of the 21st century the party had largely ceased to function as a machine due to the legal dismantling of the patronage system under the Shakman decrees issued by the federal court in Chicago. The current Chair is Toni Preckwinkle,who is also the elected Cook County Board president.
Timothy C. Evans is an American attorney,politician,former alderman and the current Chief Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court. Evans is noted as the first African-American Chief Judge of the Cook County Circuit Court. A graduate of the John Marshall Law School in Chicago,Evans was first elected to the bench in 1992,and was selected by his fellow judges as Chief Judge in 2001.
Bernard "Berny" L. Stone was alderman of the 50th Ward of the City of Chicago,Illinois from 1973 to 2011. The 50th Ward encompasses part of Chicago's far North Side and includes the West Ridge and Peterson Park neighborhoods. First elected to the Council in 1973,Stone was the second longest-serving alderman. His tenure spanned the terms of seven Mayors,from Richard J. Daley to Richard M. Daley. Stone was also Vice Mayor of the City of Chicago from 1998 to 2011.
John Rice was an American politician. He was alderman of the City of Chicago,representing the 36th ward on the city's far northwest side,from 2009 to 2011.
Proco Joe Moreno III is an American politician who served as alderman from the 1st ward in the Chicago City Council starting in 2010 when he was appointed to replace Manny Flores on March 26,2010. His term ended on May 20,2019,after his loss to Daniel La Spata in the 2019 Chicago aldermanic elections. The 1st Ward of Chicago incorporates areas including:Wicker Park,Bucktown,East Village,Ukrainian Village,Logan Square and the southeastern tip of Roscoe Village.
Jeremiah E. Joyce is an American lawyer and politician.
Corruption in Illinois has been a problem from the earliest history of the state. Electoral fraud in Illinois pre-dates the territory's admission to the Union in 1818. Illinois had the third most federal criminal convictions for public corruption between 1976 and 2012,behind New York and California. A study published by the University of Illinois Chicago in 2022 ranked Illinois as the second most corrupt state in the nation,with 4 out of the last 11 governors serving time in prison.
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.
Patrick Daley Thompson is an American former politician and convicted felon who most recently served as an alderman from Chicago's 11th ward and was previously a commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. A member of the prominent Daley family,he is a grandson of Richard J. Daley and a nephew of Richard M. Daley,both of whom served as longtime mayors of Chicago.
Thomas P. Keane was an American politician,
Christopher Cohen was Alderman of the 46th Ward of Chicago from 1971 to 1977. He was first elected to the Chicago City Council on February 23,1971,with 60% of the vote. Because he received an absolute majority,no contest was required on the April 6,1971 run-off election date. This was the same election that brought the newcomers Dick Simpson (politician),Edward Vrdolyak,Clifford P. Kelley,Marilou Hedlund and Anna Langford to the City Council. On February 25,1975,Cohen was reelected 1975 with 63% of the vote also requiring no contest in the subsequent April 1,1975 runoff.
