OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
CITY OF CHICAGO
LORI E. LIGHTFOOT
MAYOR
March 23, 2022
TO THE HONORABLE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO
Ladies and Gentlemen:
1 transmit herewith, together with Alderman Ervin and the rest ofthe members ofthe Black Caucus, a resolution celebrating the 100th birthday of the late Mayor Harold Washington.
Your favorable consideration of this resolution will be appreciated.
Very truly yours,
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, April 15, 2022 is the 100th anniversary ofthe birth of Harold Washington, native son of Chicago and the City's first Black mayor; and
WHEREAS, Raised in the Bronzeville neighborhood, Washington was a product of Chicago Public Schools, attending Forestville Elementary and DuSable High School, before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942; and
WHEREAS, Washington served in the 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion, receiving several honors including the Meritorious Service Unit Award and the American Campaign Medal, before receiving an honorable discharge in 1946; and
WHEREAS, Upon returning to Chicago, "Washington enrolled at Roosevelt College (now Roosevelt University), serving as president of the student council and leading various efforts including to ban racial restrictive convents and to establish a national student bill of rights, before earning his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1949; and
WHEREAS, Washington continued his education at the Northwestern University School of Law, where he was the only Black student in his class; and
WHEREAS, After graduating with his J.D. in 1952, Washington began his long career in public service, following in his recently-deceased father's footsteps as a precinct captain in the 3rd Ward and becoming an Assistant City Prosecutor (1954-58) and an arbitrator for the Illinois Industrial Commission (1960-64); and
WHEREAS, During the at-large election in 1965, Washington won his first election to the Illinois House of Representatives with the second highest vote total State-wide, where he served until 1976 when he was elected to the Illinois Senate, where he served until 1980; and
WHEREAS, Washington's legislative career in Springfield saw numerous accomplishments, including organizing the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a State holiday, supporting the Afro-American Patrolman's League, and advocating on behalf of and strengthening the Fair Housing Act and Civil Rights Act of 1964; and
WHEREAS, In 1980, Washington was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 1st Congressional District; during his time in Congress, Washington successfullyTed the effort to extend the Voting Rights Act and led the opposition to deep cuts to social programs, before being overwhelmingly reelected in 1982 with 97% of the vote in the general election; and
WHEREAS, However, Washington's second term in Congress would come to an early end following his historic election as the first Black mayor of the City of Chicago, defeating the incumbent mayor and a future mayor in the process, with a broad and diverse coalition that generated record voter turnout; and
WHEREAS, As mayor, Washington's impacts on the City were profound, reforming political patronage practices and increasing the number of under-represented groups in City hiring and contracting, making City government more transparent, opening the City's budgeting process for public input and participation, establishing a City-wide cultural plan, and establishing several new City departments, including the City's first environmental-affairs department, a women's affairs commission, and the Ethics Commission; and
WHEREAS, Tragically, Mayor Washington's second term after reelection in 1987 was cut short by a fatal heart attack at his desk in City Hall on November 25, 1987; and
WHEREAS, The life and legacy of the People's Mayor is kept alive not only through the public spaces named in his honor, including the main branch of the Chicago Public Library, a City College, a cultural center in his neighborhood of Bronzeville, and a park across the street from his long-time home in Hyde Park, but also through those working to preserve his legacy, including the Mayor Harold Washington Legacy Committee; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this twenty-third day of March, 2022, do hereby designate April 15, 2022 as Harold Washington Day in honor of the life and legacy ofthe City's first Black Mayor-the People's Mayor; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Mayor Harold Washington Legacy Committee.
JASON C. ERVIN STEPHANIE D. COLEMAN
Alderman, 28th Ward Alderman, 16th Ward
PAT DOWELL SOPHIA D. KING
Alderman, 3rd Ward Alderman, 4th Ward
LESLIE A. HAIRSTON RODERICK T. SAWYER
Alderman, 5th Ward Alderman, 6th Ward
GREGORY I. MITCHELL MICHELLE A. HARRIS
Alderman, 7th Ward Alderman, 8th Ward
ANTHONY BEALE Alderman, 9th Ward
DAVID H. MOORE Alderman, 17th Ward
DERRICK G.CURTIS JEANETTE B. TAYLOR
Alderman, 18th Ward Alderman, 20th Ward
HOWARD BROOKINS, JR. MICHAEL SCOTT, JR.
Alderman, 21st Ward Alderman, 24th Ward
WALTER BURNETT, JR. CHRIS TALIAFERRO
Alderman, 27th Ward Alderman, 29th Ward
CARRIE M.AUSTIN EMMA MITTS
Alderman, 34th Ward Alderman, 37th Ward
MATTHEW J.MARTIN Alderman, 47th Ward
MARIA E. HADDEN Alderman, 49th Ward