Mayor of Chicago

The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and recommendations to the Chicago City Council, is active in the enforcement of the city's ordinances, submits the city's annual budget and appoints city officers, department commissioners or directors, and members of city boards and commissions.

Mayor of Chicago
Seal of the City of Chicago
Incumbent Brandon Johnson since May 15, 2023
Government of Chicago
Style	His Honor The Honorable
Term length	4 years
Inaugural holder	William B. Ogden
Formation	1837
Succession	Vice mayor of Chicago
Salary	$216,210
Website	Official website

During sessions of the city council, the mayor serves as the presiding officer. The mayor is not allowed to vote on issues except in certain instances, most notably where the vote taken on a matter before the body results in a tie.

The office of mayor was created when Chicago became a city in 1837.

History

William B. Ogden was the first mayor of Chicago.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry leaving "The Fifth Floor" office of the mayor in 2016

The first mayor was William B. Ogden (1837–1838). Forty-six men and two women (Jane Byrne, 1979–1983, and Lori Lightfoot, 2019–2023), have held the office. Two sets of father and son have been elected Mayor of Chicago: Carter Harrison, Sr. (1879–1887, 1893) and Carter Harrison, Jr. (1897–1905, 1911–1915), as well as Richard J. Daley (1955–1976) and Richard M. Daley (1989–2011). Carter Harrison, Jr. was the first mayor to have been born in the city.

As an interim mayor, David Duvall Orr (1987) held the office for one week, the shortest time period. Richard M. Daley was elected six times becoming Chicago's longest-serving mayor, his 22 years surpassing his father's record of 21 years.

The first Irish Catholic mayor was John Patrick Hopkins (1893–1895), and Rahm Emanuel (2011–2019) is the only Jewish American to have served as mayor.

Harold Washington (1983–1987) was the first African American mayor. Lightfoot (2019–2023) was the city's first African American woman and first LGBT mayor. Brandon Johnson (2023–present) is the fourth African American mayor, Eugene Sawyer (1987–1989) having been selected by the council after Washington died in office.

Appointment powers

The mayor appoints the commissioner of the Chicago Fire Department, the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department and the heads of other departments, the largest of which are the Water Management Department (formed by the consolidation of the former Water Department and Sewer Department under Richard M. Daley), and the Streets & Sanitation Department. The mayor also appoints members to the boards of several special-purpose governmental bodies including City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Library, Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago Transit Authority, and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. Under Richard M. Daley, the Illinois legislature granted the mayor power to appoint the governing board and chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools and subordinated the district to the mayor; the district had long been an independent unit of government.

The Chicago City Clerk and City Treasurer of Chicago are elected separately, as are the 50 alderpersons who form the city council. The mayor is empowered, however, to fill vacancies in any of these 52 elected offices by appointment. In turn, the city council elects one of its own to fill a mayoral vacancy.

By charter, Chicago has a "weak-mayor" system, in which most of the power is vested in the city council. In practice, however, the mayor of Chicago has long been one of the most powerful municipal chief executives in the nation. Unlike in most other weak-mayor systems, the mayor has the power to draw up the budget. For most of the 20th century, before the decline of patronage and the mayor's office becoming officially nonpartisan in 1999, the mayor was the de facto leader of the city's Democratic Party, and had great influence over the ward organizations. Located in City Hall, "the fifth floor" is sometimes used as a metonym for the office and power of the mayor.

Election and succession

Main article: Mayoral elections in Chicago

The mayor of Chicago is elected by popular vote every four years, on the last Tuesday in February. A run-off election, in case no candidate garners more than fifty percent of the vote, is held on the first Tuesday in April. The election is held on a non-partisan basis. Chicago is the largest city in the United States not to limit the term of service for its mayor.

In accordance with Illinois law, the city council elects a vice mayor who serves as interim mayor in the event of a vacancy in the office of the mayor or the inability of the mayor to serve due to illness or injury, until the city council elects one of its members acting mayor or until the mayoral term expires. However, if a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor with more than 28 months remaining in the mayoral term and at least 130 days before the next general municipal election, then a special election must be held to choose a new mayor to serve out the remainder of the term at that general municipal election; if a vacancy occurs with fewer than 28 months remaining in the mayoral term or fewer than 130 days before the next general municipal election, then the acting mayor serves as mayor until the mayoral term expires.

The order-of succession involving the vice mayor was made concrete following disputes that arose in the aftermath of the death in office of Richard J. Daley, and was subsequently implemented following the death in office of Harold Washington, which saw Vice Mayor David Orr become acting mayor. Prior to this, the city had vague succession laws which indicated that the president pro tempore of the City Council would succeed as mayor. This was not followed after the death of Daley, and the city council appointed Michael Bilandic acting mayor instead of having pro tempore Wilson Frost become mayor, due to City Corporation Counsel William R. Quinlan ruling that, since the city did not have a statute specifically outlining succession, the City Council would need to elect the interim mayor.

Six instances have seen the City Council appoint either an acting mayor, acting mayor pro tempore, or interim mayor.

In the absence of the mayor during meetings of the city council, the president pro tempore of the city council, who is a member of and elected by the city council, acts as presiding officer. Unlike the mayor, the president pro tempore can vote on all legislative matters. If neither the mayor nor pro tempore can preside, the vice mayor presides.

List of mayors

Joseph Medill (#26) was the first foreign-born mayor.

John Patrick Hopkins (#35) was the youngest and the first Catholic mayor.

William Hale Thompson (#41) was the last Republican mayor of Chicago.

Jane Byrne (#50) was the first female mayor.

Harold Washington (#51) was the first African American mayor.

Richard M. Daley (#54) was the longest-serving mayor (22 years).

Lori Lightfoot (#56) was the first African American woman mayor of Chicago.

Between 1833 and 1837, Chicago was incorporated as a town and headed by town presidents. Since 1837, it has been incorporated as a city and headed by mayors.

The mayoral term in Chicago was one year from 1837 through 1863, when it was changed to two years. In 1907, it was changed again, this time to four years. Until 1861, municipal elections were held in March. In that year, legislation moved them to April. In 1869, however, election day was changed to November, and terms expiring in April of that year were changed. In 1875, election day was moved back to April by the city's vote to operate under the Cities and Villages Act of 1872.

#No.	Image	Name	Term start	Term end	Terms	Years		Party
Town presidents
1		Thomas Jefferson Vance Owen	August 12, 1833	August 11, 1834	1	1		None
2		John H. Kinzie	1834	May 1837	3	3 years		Whig
Mayors
1		William B. Ogden	May 1837	March 1838	1	10 months		Democratic
2		Buckner S. Morris	1838	1839	1	1		Whig
3		Benjamin W. Raymond	1839	1840	1	1		Whig
4		Alexander Loyd	March 9, 1840	March 4, 1841	1	1		Democratic
5		Francis C. Sherman	March 4, 1841	March 7, 1842	1	1		Democratic
6		Benjamin W. Raymond	March 7, 1842	March 7, 1843	1	1		Whig
7		Augustus Garrett	March 7, 1843	April 2, 1844	1	1 year, 1 month		Democratic
8		Alson Sherman	April 2, 1844	March 10, 1845	1	11 months		Independent Democratic
9		Augustus Garrett	March 10, 1845	March 3, 1846	1	1		Democratic
10		John P. Chapin	March 3, 1846	March 9, 1847	1	1		Whig
11		James Curtiss	March 9, 1847	March 14, 1848	1	1		Democratic
12		James H. Woodworth	March 14, 1848	March 12, 1850	2	2		Independent Democratic
13		James Curtiss	March 12, 1850	March 11, 1851	1	1		Democratic
14		Walter S. Gurnee	March 11, 1851	March 7, 1853	2	2		Democratic
15		Charles McNeill Gray	March 7, 1853	March 15, 1854	1	1		Democratic
16		Isaac L. Milliken	March 15, 1854	March 13, 1855	1	1		Democratic
17		Levi Boone	March 13, 1855	March 11, 1856	1	1		American (Know Nothing)
18		Thomas Dyer	March 11, 1856	March 10, 1857	1	1		Democratic
19		John Wentworth	March 10, 1857	March 2, 1858	1	1		Republican
20		John C. Haines	March 2, 1858	March 22, 1860	2	2		Republican
21		John Wentworth	March 22, 1860	May 6, 1861	1	1 year, 1.5 months		Democratic
22		Julian S. Rumsey	May 6, 1861	May 5, 1862	1	1		Republican
23		Francis C. Sherman	May 5, 1862	May 3, 1865	2	3		Democratic
24		John B. Rice	May 3, 1865	December 6, 1869	2	4 years, 6 months		Republican
25		Roswell B. Mason	December 6, 1869	December 4, 1871	1	2		Citizens
26		Joseph Medill	December 4, 1871	August 22, 1873	1	2		Republican (Dry)
--		Lester L. Bond (acting)	August 22, 1873	December 1, 1873	--	3 months		Republican
27		Harvey Doolittle Colvin	December 1, 1873	July 24, 1876	1	2 years, 8 months		Republican (Wet)
28		Monroe Heath	July 24, 1876	April 28, 1879	2	2 years, 7 months		Republican
29		Carter Harrison Sr.	April 28, 1879	April 18, 1887	4	8		Democratic
30		John A. Roche	April 18, 1887	April 15, 1889	1	2		Republican
31		DeWitt C. Cregier	April 15, 1889	April 27, 1891	1	2		Democratic
32		Hempstead Washburne	April 27, 1891	April 17, 1893	1	2		Republican
33		Carter Harrison Sr. †	April 17, 1893	October 28, 1893	1	6 months		Democratic
34		George Bell Swift (interim mayor)	November 9, 1893	December 27, 1893	1⁄12	1⁄6		Republican
35		John P. Hopkins	December 27, 1893	April 8, 1895	1	1 year, 4 months		Democratic
36		George Bell Swift	April 8, 1895	April 15, 1897	1	2		Republican
37		Carter Harrison Jr.	April 15, 1897	April 10, 1905	4	8		Democratic
38		Edward F. Dunne	April 10, 1905	April 15, 1907	1	2		Democratic
39		Fred A. Busse	April 15, 1907	April 17, 1911	1	4		Republican
40		Carter Harrison Jr.	April 17, 1911	April 26, 1915	1	4		Democratic
41		William H. Thompson	April 26, 1915	April 16, 1923	2	8		Republican
42		William E. Dever	April 16, 1923	April 18, 1927	1	4		Democratic
43		William H. Thompson	April 18, 1927	April 9, 1931	1	4		Republican
44		Anton Cermak †	April 9, 1931	March 6, 1933	1	1 year, 11 months		Democratic
45		Frank J. Corr (acting mayor)	March 15, 1933	April 8, 1933	--	24 days		Democratic
46		Edward J. Kelly	April 17, 1933	April 15, 1947	3 1⁄2	14		Democratic
47		Martin H. Kennelly	April 15, 1947	April 20, 1955	2	8		Democratic
48		Richard J. Daley †	April 20, 1955	December 20, 1976	6	21 years, 8 months		Democratic
49		Michael A. Bilandic	December 20, 1976	April 16, 1979	1	2 years, 4 months		Democratic
50		Jane Byrne	April 16, 1979	April 29, 1983	1	4		Democratic
51		Harold Washington †	April 29, 1983	November 25, 1987	2	4 years, 7 months		Democratic
52		David Orr (acting mayor)	November 25, 1987	December 2, 1987	--	7 days		Democratic
53		Eugene Sawyer	December 2, 1987	April 24, 1989	1	1 year, 4.5 months		Democratic
54		Richard M. Daley	April 24, 1989	May 16, 2011	6 (5 elected)	22 years, 1 month		Democratic1
55		Rahm Emanuel	May 16, 2011	May 20, 2019	2	8		Democratic1
56		Lori Lightfoot	May 20, 2019	May 15, 2023	1	4		Democratic1
57		Brandon Johnson	May 15, 2023	incumbent	1			Democratic1

^† Died/murdered in office.
¹ Since 1999, mayoral elections have officially been nonpartisan. A 1995 Illinois law stipulated that "candidates for mayor ... no longer would run under party labels in Chicago". However, Richard M. Daley, Rahm Emanuel, Lori Lightfoot, and Brandon Johnson are known to be Democrats.

Vice mayor

Vice mayor of Chicago
Seal of the City of Chicago
Incumbent Walter Burnett since May 15, 2023
Inaugural holder	Casey Laskowski
Formation	1976
Salary	$0

In accordance with Illinois law, the city council elects a vice mayor who serves as interim mayor in the event of a vacancy in the office of the mayor or the inability of the mayor to serve due to illness or injury, until the city council elects one of its members acting mayor or until the mayoral term expires. The current vice mayor is Walter Burnett.

The position was created by a state law that was passed in response to the power struggle that took place over succession following Richard J. Daley's death in office.

If neither the mayor nor president pro tempore can preside over a City Council meeting, then the vice mayor presides.

The position was long considered to be largely ceremonial. However, in 2023, Mayor Brandon Johnson successfully championed a resolution that gave the office a $400,000 budget. He also had his vice mayor, Burnett, act as an official community liaison for the mayoral administration.

List of vice mayors

Vice-Mayor	Tenure	Mayor(s) serve under	Notes	Citations
Casey Laskowski	1976–1979	Michael Bilandic
Richard Mell	1979–1987	Jane Byrne Harold Washington
David Orr	1987–1988	Harold Washington Eugene Sawyer	Served as Acting Mayor for 1 week
Terry Gabinski	1988–1998	Eugene Sawyer Richard M. Daley
Bernard Stone	1998–2011	Richard M. Daley
Ray Suarez	2011–2015	Rahm Emanuel
Brendan Reilly	2015–2019	Rahm Emanuel
Tom Tunney	2019–2023	Lori Lightfoot
Walter Burnett	2023–present	Brandon Johnson

See also

• Law and government of Chicago
• Timeline of Chicago history

Further reading

Primary sources

• Byrne, Jane (2004). My Chicago. Northwestern University Press.
• Harrison, Carter Henry (1935). Stormy Years: The Autobiography of Carter H. Harrison, Five Times Mayor of Chicago.
• Simpson, Dick (2017). The Good Fight: Life Lessons from a Chicago Progressive. Golden Alley Press. ISBN 978-0998442945.

Secondary sources

• Banfield, Edward C. (1961). Political Influence. – covers major public issues 1957 to 1958 in Chicago
• Becker, Richard Edward. Edward Dunn, Reform Mayor of Chicago: 1905-1907 (PhD thesis). The University of Chicago.
• Bennett, Larry (2011). "The Mayor among His Peers: Interpreting Richard M. Daley". In Judd, Dennis R.; Simpson, Dick (eds.). The City, Revisited: Urban Theory from Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. University of Minnesota Press. pp. 242–272. ISBN 978-0-8166-6575-4. JSTOR 10.5749/j.cttts735.14.
• Biles, Roger (2018). Mayor Harold Washington: Champion of Race and Reform in Chicago. University of Illinois Press. doi:10.5406/j.ctvvnhdn. ISBN 978-0-252-05052-7.
• Biles, Roger (1984). Big City Boss in Depression and War: Mayor Edward J. Kelly of Chicago.
  • Biles, William Roger (1981). Mayor Edward J. Kelly of Chicago: Big City Boss in Depression and War (PhD thesis). University of Illinois at Chicago.
• Bradley, Donald S.; Zald, Mayer N. (1965). "From commercial elite to political administrator: The recruitment of the mayors of Chicago". American Journal of Sociology. 71 (2): 153–167. doi:10.1086/224030. JSTOR 2774548.
• Bradley, Donald S. (1963). The historical trends of the political elites and metropolitan Central City: the Chicago mayors.
• Bukowski, Douglas (1998). Big Bill Thompson, Chicago, and the Politics of Image.
• Bukowski, Douglas (1978). "William Dever and Prohibition: The mayoral election of 1923 and 1927". Chicago History. 7 (2): 109–118.
• Carl, Jim (2009). "'Good Politics Is Good Government': The Troubling History of Mayoral Control of the Public Schools in Twentieth-Century Chicago". American Journal of Education. 115 (2): 305–336. doi:10.1086/595666.
• Cohen, Adam; Taylor, Elizabeth (2001). American pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley, his battle for Chicago and the nation. Little, Brown. ISBN 0316834890.
• Fehrenbacher, Don E. (1957). "Lincoln and the Mayor of Chicago". Wisconsin Magazine of History. 40 (4): 237–244. JSTOR 4633136. – about Long John Wentworth
• Gottfried, Alex (1962). Boss Cermak of Chicago: A Study of Political Leadership. University of Washington Press.
• Green, Paul M.; Holli, Melvin G. (2013). The Mayors: The Chicago Political Tradition (4th ed.). – scholarly biographies about Medill, Harrison II, Dunne, Busse, Thompson, Dever, Cermak, Kelly, Kennelly, both Daleys, Bilandic, Byrne, Washington, and Emanuel
• Holli, Melvin G.; Jones, Peter d'A., eds. (1981). Biographical Dictionary of American Mayors, 1820-1980. Greenwood Press. – short scholarly biographies each of the city's mayors 1820 to 1980; see index at p. 408 for list
• Johnson, Claudius O. (1928). Carter Henry Harrison I: Political Leader.
• Jones, Gene Delon (1974). "The Origin of the Alliance Between the New Deal and the Chicago Machine". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 67: 253–274.
• Kleppner, Paul (1985). Chicago Divided: The Making of a Black Mayor.
• Lydersen, Kari (2013). Mayor 1%: Rahm Emanuel and the Rise of Chicago's 99%. Haymarket Books.
• Koeneman, Keith (2013). First Son: The Biography of Richard M. Daley. University of Chicago Press.
• McCarthy, Michael P. (1974). "Prelude to Armageddon: Charles E. Merriam and the Chicago Mayoral Election of 1911". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 67 (5): 505–518. JSTOR 40191143.
• Mantler, Gordon K. (2023). The Multiracial Promise. Harold Washington's Chicago and the Democratic Struggle in Reagan's America. University of North Carolina Press.
• Marshall, Jon; Connor, Matthew (2019). "Divided Loyalties: The Chicago Defender and Harold Washington's Campaign for Mayor of Chicago". American Journalism. 36 (4): 447–472. doi:10.1080/08821127.2019.1683405.
• Morton, Richard Allen (1997). Justice and Humanity: Edward F. Dunne, Illinois Progressive. SIU Press.
  • Morton, Richard Allen (1988). Justice and humanity: The politics of Edward F. Dunne (PhD thesis). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• O'Malley, Peter Joseph (1980). Mayor Martin H. Kennelly of Chicago: A Political Biography (PhD thesis). University of Illinois at Chicago.
• Preston, Michael B. (1983). "The Election of Harold Washington: Black Voting Patterns in the 1983 Chicago Mayoral Race". PS. 16 (3): 486–488. doi:10.2307/418606. JSTOR 418606.
• Rex, Frederick (1947). The mayors of the city of Chicago from 1837 to 1933.
• Schottenhamel, George (1952). "How Big Bill Thompson Won Control of Chicago". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 45 (1): 30–49. JSTOR 40189189.
• Schmidt, John R. (1989). The Mayor Who Cleaned up Chicago: A Political Biography of William E. Dever.
• Shipps, Dorothy (2009). "Updating Tradition: The Institutional Underpinnings of Modern Mayoral Control in Chicago's Public Schools". In Viteritti, Joseph P. (ed.). Brookings Institution Press. Brookings Institution Press. pp. 117–147. ISBN 978-0-8157-9044-0. JSTOR 10.7864/j.ctt6wphgm.11.
• Simpson, Dick (2018). Rogues, Rebels, and Rubber Stamps: The Politics of the Chicago City Council, 1863 to the Present.
• Simpson, Dick; Mouritsen, Melissa; O'Shaughnessy, Betty (2014). "Chicago: The Election of Rahm Emanuel". Local Politics and Mayoral Elections in 21st Century America. Routledge. pp. 99–115.
• Spirou, Costas (2016). Building the City of Spectacle: Mayor Richard M. Daley and the Remaking of Chicago. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-1-5017-0683-7. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctt20d8b1h.
• Tompkins, C. David (1963). "John Peter Altgeld as a Candidate for Mayor of Chicago in 1899". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 56 (4): 654–676. JSTOR 40189944.
• Wendt, Lloyd; Kogan, Herman (1953). Big Bill of Chicago. – Popular biography of Big Bill Thompson
• Zald, Mayer N.; Anderson, Thomas A. (1968). "Secular Trends and Historical Contingencies in the Recruitment of Mayors: Nashville as Compared to New Haven and Chicago". Urban Affairs Quarterly. 3 (4): 53–68. doi:10.1177/107808746800300403.

External links

• Mayor's official webpage
• "History of Chicago's mayoral office" from Ballotpedia
• "A Chronology of Chicago's Mayors". Chicago Public Library. Retrieved May 26, 2010.