Council Wars
img: [Cover page of a report about Harold Washington's accomplishments during his first term as Chicago's mayor, circa 1985. Burton Natarus papers, University of Illinois at Chicago Library Nata07_0030_0192_016a.]
The “council wars” were the frequent, bitter disputes between Chicago’s first African American mayor, Harold Washington (1983-1987), and a bloc of aldermen who opposed most of his policies. The conflicting sides coalesced largely along racial lines, and Washington’s opponents made what struck many observers as explicitly racist appeals.
David Axelrod, a political consultant to Mayor Washington and, later, to Mayor Richard M. Daley, discusses the Council Wars from the time Washington was elected in 1983 to when he died in office in 1987:
Marilyn Katz, a political consultant to Mayor Daley, and Helen Shiller, Chicago alderman from the 46th ward (1987-2011), reflect on what opposition to Washington said about racial divisions in Chicago: