10 things you might not know about Chicago’s mayoral election – Chicago Tribune newstrendslive

We love mayoral elections so much, Chicago, that we’re getting two this year.

But how much do you really know about how we’ve chosen our city’s leader for almost the past two centuries?

[ Vintage Chicago Tribune: Revisiting Election Day in the city — including ‘Dewey Defeats Truman’ ]

You probably recall that Chicago’s first Black mayor was Harold Washington, and its first female mayor was Jane Byrne. Outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot is the city’s first Black woman and openly gay mayor.

Harold Washington is surrounded by supporters as he campaigns on April 6, 1983, at the corner of 63rd and Halsted streets in Chicago. (Frank Hanes/Chicago Tribune)

[ Vintage Chicago Tribune: Remembering Mayor Harold Washington, 35 years after his death ]

[ Vintage Chicago Tribune: Your favorite groundbreaking Chicago women ]

Yet, there are so many more quirky things about how and when Chicago elects a mayor that it seems like a good overview is in order.

My former colleagues Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer wrote about this in their book, “10 Things You Might Not Know About Nearly Everything.”

But even history can’t foreshadow what steps need to be taken to address the city’s problems. Let’s hope the city’s next mayor — No. 57 — has the answers.

Become a Tribune subscriber: it’s just $12 for a 1 year digital subscription. Follow us on Instagram: @vintagetribune. And, catch me Monday mornings on WLS-AM’s “The Steve Cochran Show” for a look at “This week in Chicago history.”

Thanks for reading!

— Kori Rumore, visual reporter

Chicago history | More newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Today’s eNewspaper edition

William B. Ogden, who had already made a mark on Chicago history by serving as the city's first mayor, led the entrepreneurs who founded the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad. — William B. Ogden, who had already made a mark on Chicago history by serving as the city’s first mayor, led the entrepreneurs who founded the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad. (John Carbutt / Chicago History Museum)

William Butler Ogden, a real estate and railroad mogul from New York, arrived in Chicago in 1835. Shortly after the city was incorporated in 1837, Ogden defeated John Harris Kinzie to become mayor. He served for 10 months and refused to run for re-election.

The home of his brother, Mahlon D. Ogden, withstood the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, but was demolished to make way for the Newberry Library in 1892. Read more.

The assassination of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre, Washington DC on April 14, 1865. — The assassination of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre, Washington DC on April 14, 1865. (Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

Four days before Chicago’s 1865 mayoral election, Republican President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Realizing that the distraught public’s sentiment was with Republican mayoral candidate John Rice, Democratic candidate Leonard Rothgerber withdrew, saying the nation must stand united. Rice was nice enough to pay Rothgerber’s campaign expenses. Read more.

Society members Mrs. Frank Loesch, from left, Kathyrn McGovern, Helen Tieckman, Mrs. Stanley McCormick and Mrs. Hammond voted at the Drake Hotel during a heated aldermanic race on April 2, 1929. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

If you hate election season, thank your lucky stars you didn’t live in Chicago in the mid-1800s, when residents went to the polls every year to vote for mayor. The term was doubled to two years in 1863, and doubled again to four in 1907. Read more.

Former Mayor Fred A. Busse, left, is about to step into an automobile for a 1,000 mile tour in 1907. (Howe & Arthur)

Saloonkeeper Fred A. Busse, who took office in 1907, served the first four-year term.

Busse’s election inspired a group of 40 men to ask him to help form a dining and political group called the Fat Men’s Club. Former state Sen. Thomas J. Dawson predicted that Busse would be “the best mayor Chicago has ever had.” The reason: “Take a fat man and he feels so good and joyful with himself and all the world that he just can’t keep from doing the right thing at all times.” Nothing much came of the club idea, and Busse’s single term in office was not particularly weighty. Read more.

Chicago Mayor William Dever, right, shakes the hand of racer Carl Stockholm at the six-day bicycle races that started on March 20, 1927, at the Dexter Park Pavilion in Chicago. (Chicago Herald and Examiner)

William Dever, who was elected mayor 100 years ago, was a reformer with impeccable working-class credentials. Seeking reelection four years later, however, he found himself on the defensive. Read more.

Mayor William Hale Thompson, with the Chicago Evening American at City hall, shows Thompson wins by 60,000 votes, in the Republican mayoral primary against Judge Lyle in February 1931. Mayor Thompson would go on to lose to Democrat Anton Cermak. (Chiacgo Evening American)

Vintage Chicago Tribune

Weekly

The Vintage Tribune newsletter is a deep dive into the Chicago Tribune’s archives featuring photos and stories about the people, places and events that shape the city’s past, present and future.

Over three terms as Chicago mayor from 1915 to 1923 and 1927 to 1931, William Hale “Big Bill” Thompson maintained a swagger that secured his spot in history as possibly the city’s most colorful mayor. Read more.

Mayor Anton Cermak, circa 1931. (Chicago American)

Thompson was defeated in 1931 by Anton Cermak, the first foreign-born mayor of Chicago who once sold firewood out of a wagon then worked his way up the political ranks. Cermak is credited with creating the Democratic machine that has chugged along for the past 92 years. Read more.

Workers in the election commissioner's office in February 1939 prepared for a mayoral primary in the days before electronic voting. — Workers in the election commissioner’s office in February 1939 prepared for a mayoral primary in the days before electronic voting. (Chicago Tribune archive)

When viable Republican mayoral candidates — including one whose side job was Spanky the Clown — became almost unheard of in Chicago in the 1990s, the party primaries were replaced with the nonpartisan elections we have today. Read more.

Campaigning in 1979 as “Spanky the Clown,” Ray Wardingley ran for the Republican nomination for mayor of Chicago and got 2,877 votes. He lost big, and, as intended, everybody laughed.

Supporters of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel attend a "watch party" at Lizzie McNeill's bar and restaurant in Chicago as Emanuel and mayoral challenger Jesus Garcia debate each other on March 16, 2015, in advance of a runoff election. — Supporters of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel attend a “watch party” at Lizzie McNeill’s bar and restaurant in Chicago as Emanuel and mayoral challenger Jesus Garcia debate each other on March 16, 2015, in advance of a runoff election. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Lawmakers decided in 1996, that a runoff would take place if no candidate could reach a majority — 50 percent — of the vote. The measure wasn’t necessary until almost two decades later when then-Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia forced a runoff against incumbent Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Read more.

Katherine Fraser votes as her daughter Ainsley looks around the polling location inside Silvie’s Bar on Feb. 28, 2023 in North Center. (Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune)

Plan to be back at the polls on April 4 to choose either Brandon Johnson, a Cook County commissioner and organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union, or Paul Vallas, former Chicago Public Schools CEO. Read more.

Join our Chicagoland history Facebook group and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago’s past.

Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Ron Grossman and Marianne Mather at rgrossman@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com.

Source link