Harold Washington's 100th Birthday

by Suzanne Hanney

More than 30 years after the death of Chicago’s first African American mayor, “this city and this state still reverberate with Harold Washington’s soul. That’s why it’s our responsibility to continue his legacy,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at Washington’s 100th birthday celebration April 12. The Winter Garden of the Harold Washington Library was filled with friends and politicians alike, intent on defining Washington’s essence – the better to replicate his Chicago of 1983-87.

“From building a grassroots movement to making the city’s workforce look far more like the people it served, to giving voice to people who had been shut out too long, he shook up the model and turned it into a demonstration of true leadership,” Pritzker said.

“Harold Washington left us a legacy because he changed the balance of power,” said former Ald. Dick Simpson, now a political science professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago. “He shifted city politics from one of downtown development and elites to a city of neighborhood power. He saw a Chicago that runs well, where services are provided as a right, not as a favor, where contracts are distributed fairly. Harold ended the old machine. He didn’t quite make it dead, dead, dead, as he promised; but close, close, close and now it’s our job to finish it.”

(Photo by Suzanne Hanney)

“He had the unique ability to make people feel special and unified,” said Marilyn Katz, who worked on Washington’s media strategy during his first primary and general election campaign and on policy in his administration. “He gave the people who lived beyond Lake Shore Drive a voice in the running of their own city.”

Washington’s first four years were marked by the 29-21 white City Council majority that blocked him. If he had lived past the first year of his second term, “he would have made Chicago not only a city that prospered, but one that prospered equitably,” Katz said.

Pritzker

(Photo by Suzanne Hanney)

Washington brought people together around common issues and built coalitions through respect, said U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-Chicago). “He inspired us – Latinos, Blacks and whites – to form a 22nd ward organization. That is our task as we leave here tonight: to embrace all people.”

Garcia and former U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Chicago) referred to Washington’s work in Congress to improve the Voting Rights Act, which inspired a lawsuit by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. MALDEF said the ward remap after the 1980 census did not reflect Latino and Black population growth; a federal judge agreed, and called for special elections in seven wards in 1986. Gutierrez was elected in the Northwest Side 26th ward as the City Council shifted to 25-25, with Washington having the tie vote.

Katz

(Photo by Suzanne Hanney)

“Latinos thought, ‘We are not invisible anymore. Somebody sees us. Somebody loves us,’” Gutierrez said.

Darryl Tom, son of late Chinatown Chamber of Commerce President Ping Tom and past president himself, said that Washington was the first Chicago mayor to use tax increment financing (TIF), for what is now known as Chinatown Square, a mix of commercial and residential units.

In 1984, the Santa Fe Railroad announced that it wanted to sell a 32-acre freight yard just north of Chinatown. His father saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand the neighborhood. But the U.S. Post Office and the 1992 World’s Fair committee also wanted the site. Washington ate Chinese food with community leaders – and rejected the other proposals.

Tom

(Photo by Suzanne Hanney)

Washington made city records public and enacted an ethics code that prevented politicians from using their offices for political gain, said Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “Because of him, we have several mayor’s commissions, like the one for women. Minority- and women-owned businesses thrive because city government has become so much more diverse and representative of Chicago.”

Lightfoot termed herself “proud to use his blueprint” of equity and inclusion.

Still, Washington’s ideal city disappeared in the chaos after his death, she said, and “there are those who would turn back the clock. Every single day we have to make sure we are doing what we can to make Harold’s legacy alive and breathing, so our children can touch it.”