HOLMAN O’NEILL

Illinois’ first female legislator is the eponym of O’Neill Middle School

BY MAUREEN CALLAHAN | PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE DOWNERS GROVE MUSEUM

March is Women’s History Month.

Downers Grove was home to one of the most memorable women in the history of our state. One hundred years ago, once-ordinary Downers Grove resident, Lottie Holman O’Neill, rose to become the first woman to serve in the Illinois State Legislature, initially as a Representative and eventually a Senator.

O’Neill was born in 1878 in Pike County, on the Mississippi River bordering Missouri. A pioneer in her time, she earned a business degree, after which she moved to the Chicago area. Soon after, she married Irish-Australian immigrant William O’Neill, with whom she had two sons. The family settled in Downers Grove in 1908. Interested in pursuing a career, she was inspired by Representative Jeanette Rankin (R-Montana), the first woman elected to Congress in 1916.

O’Neill first got involved as a voting rights activist during the debate over the Nineteenth Amendment. 1913 saw women granted the right to vote, however, only for President. O’Neill made it her mission that women be permitted to weigh in on the entire ballot. Her labors paid off in 1920 as Illinois became the first state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment.

But for O’Neill, it wasn’t enough. If timing is everything, hers was perfect. It was 1922. Downers Grove’s League of Women Voters was searching for someone to run for the Illinois General Assembly. Of the seven women who originally expressed interest, the other six withdrew due to their husbands’ dissidence. William O’Neill wholeheartedly supported Lottie’s intention to run and encouraged her to throw her proverbial hat into the race for the Illinois House of Representatives.

Still hoping another woman would come forward, O’Neill did not file her candidacy until two hours before closing time. In the end, her belief that some woman must serve in Springfield to work for legislation that affected the home overrode any reluctance.

Her victory on November 7, 1922, was also her forty-fourth birthday. Downers Grove rose to the occasion to celebrate Representative O’Neill, as much a hometown hero as a woman could be at that moment in time. The Chicago Tribune reported that “the village was in gala attire all through the day. Stores were closed, but all parking spaces were filled by supporters who came to help celebrate.” A torchlit parade through the streets led to the public library, where O’Neill addressed supporters.

Over a thousand women from all over the state trudged through the ice and snow to Springfield two months later to witness the swearing-in of the first woman to the Illinois General Assembly.

The crowd cheered, sang, and blew horns from a packed gallery as O’Neill marched down the flag-draped aisle and assumed her hard-won seat in the fifth row. It was the third day of January 1923. Her husband led the chant, “District 41, District 41, woman’s work has just begun!” Her territory, the forty-first district, ran from Elgin in Kane County, southwest through DuPage and Will Counties, to the Indiana border.

O’Neill served as the only female in the General Assembly for her first two years. Her courageous spirit seemed to represent not only the women of her district but all women of Illinois. The forward-thinking legislation she proposed considered not only female interests but humanity in general.

Her experience as a homemaker proved useful when a public utility argued against restoring a higher standard of heat units for its cooking gas. “I baked my own bread before going into politics,” O’Neill said when she testified in front of the Illinois Commerce Commission, “and I know the ovens are not satisfactory for properly browning the bread.”

O’Neill sponsored 13 bills during her first year in office. Only three passed. Although slightly discouraged, she persevered, submitting bills each year for causes in which she believed. The early years of her career are recognized for her significant interest in the welfare and education of women and children. In her own words, she fought for “care for mothers and babies, better teachers and schools, aid for the delinquent girl and improved industrial conditions for women.”

An eight-hour workday for women and the ability for them to serve on juries in Illinois were two notable successes. An advocate for parks and recreation, as well as disabled children, she also championed civil rights legislation. Having believed students should have a strong understanding of civics, she supported legislation that required all eighth–graders to pass a Constitution test. O’Neill was a fierce nationalist and a lifelong pacifist.

After an unsuccessful run for the Illinois Senate in 1930, she returned to the House for the next 20 years. Her second attempt in 1950 resulted in victory, seating her as Illinois’ first female Senator on her seventy-second birthday. Senator O’Neill opposed growing state budgets, excessive regulations, and wasteful government spending. She gained popularity as her career progressed. She served as a delegate to the 1956 Republican convention and years of service in the Illinois General Assembly. At the time, she was the longest-serving female elected official in America. By that time, she had earned such respect from her colleagues that she was nicknamed “the conscience of the Senate.”

O’Neill declined an offer to have a statue of her likeness placed in the Illinois Statehouse upon her retirement, as she did not want a sculpture of herself placed across the rotunda from Richard Barr, the “scoundrel” who defeated her in the 1930 Senate primary race. However, friendsimpressed with O’Neill’s spunk and successful career- had a statue placed there after her death in 1976. Her wish to not be placed across from Barr was honored, however, with their statues positioned on the same side of the rotunda. Richard J. Daley stands between them.

Outside of the legislation she worked to pass, O’Neill’s legacy is memorable as one that shook things up in Springfield.

Noted by Jean Moore in the Wheaton Daily Journal (January 18, 1983), “the seating of the 44-year-old housewife, mother, and businesswoman in the House of Representatives presented an immediate problem for the third floor, which had been an all-male domain for more than a century. There was no restroom for women on the third floor, which houses both the Senate and House chambers. The installation of Mrs. O’Neill forever changed the face of the State Capitol and state politics.” is remembered for her outspokenness on federal and state issues.

O’Neill was unseated by Harris Fawell in 1962. She retired after 40

O’Neill’s accomplishments and bravery paved a path of opportunity for generations of women with political aspirations. Her legacy inspires the students who pass through the doors of O’Neill Middle School each day to dream big and have the courage to follow those dreams. The eponymic name reminds Downers Grove of a forward-thinking homemaker who became an Illinois legislator. ■

Wolowick Women's Health is now open in Downers Grove. Dr. Karen Wolowick has been a practicing OBGYN for over 17 years. She aims to reconnect with the more intimate and rewarding aspects of women's health and spend more time with patients to make a difference.