1931–1932
Thomas J. Kellar was an American politician who was the founding mayor of Robbins,Illinois,the first municipality in the north that was entirely governed by African-Americans.
Kellar was born in Kentucky and moved to Chicago in 1880 [1] where he worked for the Cook County Board of Assessors. On September 15,1917,he was engaged by Richard Flowers,president of an organization made up of Black residents who lived southwest of Blue Island,Illinois to coordinate the effort to incorporate a separate municipality which would be the first all-Black town in Cook County,Illinois. [2] Kellar argued before the Cook County Board:"The real way to help colored people is to make it possible for them to help themselves. Give them transportation and housing and they will segregate themselves naturally." [3] Despite resistance and doubt to the idea of a Black-majority,Black-run city,the Cook County Board relented and after a local vote,the village was incorporated on December 11,1917 [2] with a population of 400 inhabitants. [1] The first election was held on January 15,1918 with Kellar elected as the mayor and six trustees empaneled (Richard Flowers,Leroy P. Thomas,R. H. Bryant,Jerry Taylor,Edward Brown,George Winburn). [2] He was re-elected in the April 1919 election to a full two-year term. [4] By Dec 1919,the population had increased to 1,000. [5] He was defeated by R. H. Bryant in the April 1921 election. [6] [7] He was re-elected as mayor in 1925 [8] (defeating Richard Flowers) [9] and again in 1931. [10]
Kellar was married to Leona Kellar;they had a daughter,Jewel Swinginton. [1]
Richard Joseph Daley was an American politician who served as the mayor of Chicago from 1955,and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party from 1953,until his death. He has been called "the last of the big city bosses" who controlled and mobilized American cities. He was the patriarch of a powerful Chicago political family. His son,Richard M. Daley,would also go on to serve as mayor of Chicago and another son,William M. Daley,served as the United States Secretary of Commerce and White House Chief of Staff.
Alsip is a village in Cook County,Illinois,United States. The population was 19,063 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area.
Robbins is a village southwest of Chicago in Cook County,Illinois,United States. The population was 4,629 at the 2020 census. It is the second oldest African American incorporated town in the north following Brooklyn,Illinois,and was home to the country’s first black-owned airport,Robbins Airport.
Sauk Village is a village in Cook County,Illinois,United States,with a small portion in Will County. The population was 9,921 at the 2020 census.
Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne was an American politician,lawyer,and jurist who was the 38th mayor of Chicago from 1905 to 1907 and the 24th Governor of Illinois from 1913 to 1917. Dunne is the only person to be elected both Mayor of Chicago and Governor of Illinois. He also served as a judge of the Illinois circuit court for Cook County from 1892 to 1905.
David Duvall Orr is an American Democratic politician who served as the Cook County Clerk from 1990 to 2018. Orr previously served as alderman for the 49th ward in Chicago City Council from 1979 to 1990. He briefly served as acting Mayor of Chicago from November 25 to December 2,1987,following the death of Mayor Harold Washington. Orr retired from the office of Cook County Clerk in 2018,opting not to run for an eighth term.
Oscar Stanton De Priest was an American politician and civil rights advocate from Chicago. A member of the Illinois Republican Party,he served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois's 1st congressional district from 1929 to 1935. He was the first African American to be elected to Congress in the 20th century. During his three terms,he was the only African American serving in Congress. He was also the first African-American U.S. Representative from outside the southern states.
Todd H. Stroger is the former president of the Cook County,Illinois Board and a former alderman for the 8th Ward in Chicago. Stroger is a member of the Democratic Party. In 2001,he was appointed to the Chicago City Council by Richard M. Daley. He is the son of John Stroger,who himself had served as Cook County Board president for 12 years until his death.
David E. Shanahan,Illinois Republican state legislator and political leader,was born on a farm in Lee County,Illinois. His parents moved back to Chicago when he was just three months old and he lived there for the rest of his life. Mr. Shanahan graduated from Holden Grammar School,South Division High School,and Chicago Law College.
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.
Illinois's first congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Illinois. Based in Cook County,the district includes much of the South Side of Chicago and continues southwest to Joliet.
Palos Township is one of 29 townships in Cook County,Illinois. As of the 2020 census,its population was 56,836,with its most populous municipality being Palos Hills. The vast majority of the township's population resides in its eastern half;the half west of La Grange Road consists of the Palos Forest Preserves,a section of the Cook County Forest Preserves. In 1850 the small town of Trenton,Illinois changed its name to Palos;this recommendation was made by M.S. Powell,the local postmaster,whose ancestor supposedly sailed with Christopher Columbus from Palos de la Frontera. When it incorporated as a village in 1914,Palos officially became Palos Park. Nearby communities incorporated later:Hickory Hills,in 1951,and Palos Hills,in 1958. All three municipalities lie completely or substantially within Palos Township. Palos Heights,partially in Worth Township,incorporated in 1959.
Charles Marsh Thomson was a lawyer,judge and U.S. Representative from Illinois.
Ward Committeepeople and Township Committeepeople are political party officials who serve many standard committeemen duties on behalf of their political party in Cook County,Illinois.
The administrative divisions of Illinois are counties,townships,precincts,cities,towns,villages,and special-purpose districts. The basic subdivisions of Illinois are the 102 counties. Illinois has more units of local government than any other state—over 8,000 in all. The Constitution of 1970 created,for the first time in Illinois,a type of "home rule",which allows localities to govern themselves to a certain extent. Illinois also has several types of school districts and additional units of government that oversee many other functions.
The government of Cook County,Illinois,is primarily composed of the Board of Commissioners,other elected officials such as the Sheriff,State's Attorney,Treasurer,Board of Review,Clerk,Assessor,Cook County Circuit Court judges and Circuit Court Clerk,as well as numerous other officers and entities. Cook County is the only home rule county in Illinois. The Cook County Code is the codification of Cook County's local ordinances.
Chicago has held regularly-scheduled popular elections to select the city's mayor ever since it was incorporated as a city in 1837.
Bradley A. Stephens is a Republican Party politician currently serving as state representative from the 20th district within the Illinois General Assembly and the village president (mayor) of Rosemont,Illinois.
Richard A. Harewood was a lawyer,state legislator,and judge in Illinois.