List of Chicago alderpersons since 1923

The Chicago City Council assumed its modern form on April 16,^{[dates 1]} 1923, with fifty wards each electing one alderperson. Here is a list of the people who have served as an alderperson since that time.

Since its incorporation as a city in 1837 Chicago had been divided into wards whose number varied^[a] but which were almost^[b] always entitled to two alderpersons. In the early 20th century it was decided that reducing the number of alderpersons to a ward to one would be a cost-saving measure, and an ordinance to that effect was passed in 1920, taking effect in 1923.

City council elections in Chicago have been formally nonpartisan since 1920. Nevertheless, many alderpersons have had,^{[parties 1]} and continue to have, de facto partisan affiliations that are reflected in this list.

This list is organized by which side of the Chicago River the wards were on as of 1923. Numbering the wards such that those on the South Side received the first numbers, followed by in order the West and North sides was a tradition that had dated to the City's founding and division into wards in 1837.^[1] Incumbent alderpersons who started a new term in 1923 are reckoned as having started their term in 1923 regardless of whenever they actually started holding office, which is noted in the "Notes" column.

[dates 1]

[a]

[b]

[parties 1]

[1]

No.		Term in office	Party	Notes
1	John Coughlin	April 16, 1923 – November 11, 1938	Democratic^{[parties 2]}	Had been serving since 1892 Died in office
2	Michael Kenna	April 12, 1939 – April 9, 1943	Democratic^{[parties 2]}	Had previously served from 1897 to 1923
3	John Budinger	April 9, 1943 – 1951	Democratic	Had previously served (previous iteration of) the 4th ward from 1910 to 1912
4	John D'Arco Sr.	1951 – 1963	Democratic
5	Michael Fiorito	February 16 – May 6, 1963	Democratic	Resigned
6	Donald Parrillo	1963 – 1968	Democratic
7	Fred Roti	1968 – 1991	Democratic
8	Ted Mazola	1991 – 1995	Democratic
9	Jesse Granato	1995 – May 19, 2003	Democratic
10	Manuel Flores	May 19, 2003 – January 4, 2010	Democratic	Appointed to be Chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission
11	Proco Joe Moreno	March 26, 2010 – May 20, 2019	Democratic
12	Daniel La Spata	May 20, 2019 – present	Democratic

No.		Term in office	Party	Notes
1	Louis B. Anderson	April 16, 1923 – 1933	Republican	Had been serving since 1917
2	William L. Dawson	1933 – April 12, 1939	Republican^{[parties 1]}
3	Earl B. Dickerson	April 12, 1939 – April 9, 1943	Democratic
4	William H. Harvey	April 9, 1943 – December 20, 1968		Became a County Commissioner
5	Fred D. Hubbard	March 11, 1969 – March 16, 1972
6	William Barnett	August 15, 1972 – 1983	Democratic
7	Bobby Rush	1983 – 1993	Democratic
8	Madeline Haithcock	1993 – May 21, 2007	Democratic
9	Robert Fioretti	May 21, 2007 – May 2015	Democratic
10	Brian K. Hopkins	May 2015 – present	Democratic

No.		Term in office	Party	Notes
1	Robert R. Jackson	April 16, 1923 – April 12, 1939	Republican^{[parties 1]}	Had been serving then-2nd ward since 1918
2	Benjaim A. Grant	April 12, 1939 – April 9, 1943
3	Oscar Stanton De Priest	April 9, 1943 – 1947	Republican	Had previously served then-2nd ward from 1915 to 1917
4	Archibald Carey Jr.	1947 – 1955	Republican
5	Ralph Metcalfe	1955 – December 1970	Democratic	Became a Congressman
6	Tyrone T. Kenner	February 23, 1971 – February 11, 1985
7	Dorothy Tillman	February 11, 1985 – April 27, 2007	Democratic
8	Pat Dowell	April 27, 2007 – Present	Democratic

No.		Term in office	Party	Notes
1	Ulysses S. Schwartz	April 16, 1923 – 1925		Had been serving then-3rd ward since 1916
2	Berthold A. Cronson	1925 – December 23, 1937	Republican^{[parties 1]}	Died in office
3	Abraham H. Cohen	April 12, 1939 – 1955
4	Claude Holman	1955 – June 1, 1973		Died in office
5	Timothy C. Evans	November 27, 1973 – 1991
6	Toni Preckwinkle	1991 – 2010	Democratic
7	Shirley Newsome	2010 – May 2011
8	William D. Burns	May 2011 – February 2016	Democratic
9	Sophia King	April 16, 2016 – present	Democratic

No.		Term in office	Party	Notes
1	William R. O'Toole	April 16, 1923 – 1931	Democratic	Had been serving then-30th ward since 1914
2	Thomas J. O'Grady	1931 – 1933
3	James J. McDermott	1933 – December 3, 1942	Democratic^{[parties 1]}	Elected to Cook County Board of Appeals
4	Clarence P. Wagner	April 9, 1943 – July 10, 1953		Died in office
5	Joseph P. Burke	November 3, 1953 – May 11, 1968	Democratic	Died in office
6	Edward M. Burke	March 14, 1969 – May 15, 2023	Democratic
7	Jeylu B. Guttierrez	May 15, 2023 - Present	Democratic	Socialist Alderman

History

South Side (Wards 1–19)

1st Ward

2nd Ward

3rd Ward

4th Ward

5th Ward

6th Ward

7th Ward

8th Ward

9th Ward

10th Ward

11th Ward

12th Ward

13th Ward

14th Ward

15th Ward

16th Ward

17th Ward

18th Ward

19th Ward

West Side (Wards 20–41)

20th Ward

21st Ward

22nd Ward

23rd Ward

24th Ward

25th Ward

26th Ward

27th Ward

28th Ward

29th Ward

30th Ward

31st Ward

32nd Ward

33rd Ward

34th Ward

35th Ward

36th Ward

37th Ward

38th Ward

39th Ward

40th Ward

41st Ward

North Side (Wards 42–50)

42nd Ward

43rd Ward

44th Ward

45th Ward

46th ward

47th Ward

48th Ward

49th Ward

50th Ward

Notes

References

Bibliography