by Dan Perkins

Over the years, comedians, voters, and even politicians have joked about the many irregularities that surface in Chicago politics, from machine bosses that put deceased workers on the city's payroll to ghost voters.  While the jokes are plentiful, it’s understood, politics in Chicago is serious business.

On April 17, 2007, Chicagoans will go to the polls for twelve aldermanic run-offs.  One of the most fiercely contested is in the Third Ward, which is located on Chicago’s South Side, in an area that has been predominantly African American for nearly a half century.  The times are changing, however, and the Third Ward is undergoing gentrification – a word that in all too many cities across America means the replacement of poor and often black populations with affluent, predominantly white ones. 

The Third Ward is an oddly configured zone that encompasses portions of several diverse communities, including the South Loop, the Gap, Bronzeville, Englewood, Fuller Park and Back of the Yards.  Each of these communities has undergone varying levels of redevelopment.

Dorothy Tillman is the current alderman of the Third Ward.  She is a colorful and controversial woman who is never seen in public without a hat.  Although they have become her trademark, there is much more to Dorothy Tillman than her hats. For the better part of a quarter-century, Dorothy Tillman has built a far reputation as a champion for black economic development in her ward and beyond.

In 1984, Tillman was appointed alderman of the Third Ward by the late Mayor Harold Washington, the first and only African American elected as mayor of the city of Chicago.

Since becoming alderman, Tillman has built a reputation for challenging city council rivals, most of whom are machine politicians.  Occasionally, the exchanges have involved the mayor himself, Richard M. Daley, son of the master machine politician, the late Mayor Richard J. Daley.

Council Influences

Chicago’s City Council has a well deserved reputation for raucous exchanges.  During the 1980s, when Harold Washington was mayor, council debates often fell along racial lines.  However, on October 2, 2002, Chicago’s City Council did something extraordinary when it unanimously passed the Slave Era Disclosure Ordinance, more commonly called the Reparations Ordinance. Alderman Tillman authored that landmark ordinance, which took effect January 1, 2003. The ordinance requires all companies seeking city contracts to first disclose any prfits that they, or their predecessor companies, made from slavery.

The most notable disclosure to date came in 2004 when J.P. Morgan Chase, the nation’s second largest bank, confirmed that its acquisition of Bank One earlier that year linked it to two banks that had accepted slaves as collateral for loans made prior to the Civil War.  Researchers found that Citizens Bank and Canal Bank, both of Louisiana, had accepted about 13,000 slaves as collateral against loans to plantation owners. When defaults occurred on the loans, Citizens Bank and Canal Bank were left owning about 1,250 slaves.

In 2005, J.P. Morgan Chase notified the public that it would amend for the wrong by establishing the Smart Start Louisiana Program, a five year, $5 million commitment to provide full tuition college scholarships to African American students in Louisiana.

While some criticized the response as inadequate, the entire incident provides a compelling example of how the city council - and more importantly, influential African American aldermen - can color Chicago’s business environment.

In 2006, the city council considered passage of another controversial ordinance that sought to give the council the authority to regulate the wages paid by “big box stores” such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot.  The authors of the proposed ordinance sought to have the city council set “livable” wages for the employees of big box stores.  The Big Box Living Wage Ordinance, as it is known, was seen by many as a way to force the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, to pay workers in Chicago wages that would be higher than what Wal-Mart currently pays its employees.  While proponents argued that the ordinance was designed to ensure that Wal-Mart would not exploit needy Chicagoans, particularly African American workers, others saw it as a tool to punish Wal-Mart for not allowing its employees to unionize.

Chicago aldermen faced intense pressure from the city’s powerful unions to pass the proposed ordinance.  Union leaders promised to support the rivals of any alderman that failed to approve the ordinance.  It was a promise that caused many seemingly powerful aldermen to concede to union demands. 

Despite the pressure, many black alderman sided with Mayor Daley who opposed the proposed ordinance, and challenged the largely white unions to explain why they had chosen to push for the ordinance only after Wal-Mart announced plans to open a store in a predominantly black neighborhood.

The mayor, and many of the alderman who stood with him, took note when thousands of people, primarily African Americans, lined up to apply for the comparatively few job openings associated with the Wal-Mart store.

For its part, Wal-Mart threatened to pull out of the proposed project, and the city all together, if the ordinance passed.

While the measure ultimately failed, union leaders made good on their promise to back the rivals of aldermen that opposed the ordinance in the February 2007 primary elections. 

Alderman Tillman was one of the aldermen who sided with the mayor and her vote against the Big Box Living Wage Ordinance put her at odds with powerful union bosses, most notably Dennis Gannon of the Chicago Federation of Labor.

During the February 27^th primary, Tillman failed to garner enough votes to avoid a run-off; and as a result, she is now in the fight of her political life.

Tillman's challenger is Patricia Dowell, an African American woman who once worked for the City’s Planning Department.  Dowell has promised to vote for the Big Box Living Wage ordinance if it comes up for vote again in the City Council.  Dowell’s critics charge that if elected, she will simply be a servant of the unions.  They point to the fact that approximately eighty percent of Dowell’s campaign funds come from unions – the same unions that many in the Third Ward and beyond regard as anti-black.

A Race for Control

While race has long been an issue in Chicago politics, it is gaining intensity as once predominantly African American communities undergo gentrification. 

The Third Ward is experiencing rapid and profound transformation; but unlike other ward bosses, Alderman Tillman has used the power of her office to place African Americans at the forefront of the redevelopment activities, both as developers and workers.

“What’s wrong with wanting to help my people,” Tillman asked a crowd of supporters that gathered for

Since black economic development is a core focus of this publication, I thought it worthwhile to take a first-hand look at Tillman as she prepared for the final stretch of her campaign.  After contacting Tillman's office, I was invited to attend a re-election rally held Wednesday night, April 4, 2007.  The date marked the 39^th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – a man with whom Tillman once marched and whose teachings she claims to still embrace.

When I arrived at the rally, I found Alderman Tillman seated in the first row of a packed assembly hall.  She sat quietly and reflectively  as a local pastor spoke about Dr. King's interest in economic development, and his assassination.  She had just arrived from a live, question and answer session hosted by a local television station.  Tillman’s opponent, Dowell, was also there. 

When it was Tillman's turn to speak, she told the audience that she was upset with how the broadcast went. She felt slighted by the TV reporter who hosted the Q&A session.  The reporter, Carol Marin, a well regarded journalist in the Chicago area, opened the segment with a video background piece that provided a brief look at a new construction project in the Third Ward and then cut to an extended look at a vacant lot littered with debris.

At the rally, Tillman denounced the reporter for what she considered biased reporting.  “Had I known that Carol Marin was going to open up her show like that, I would have come another way,” said Tillman. 

If Tillman had had her way, the television audience would have seen numerous examples of new construction projects currently underway in the Third Ward.  (Click here to see a transcript of the interview.)

I personally drove through the ward and saw an array of new construction projects; but I also saw many large tracks of undeveloped lots, some of which were littered with debris and broken glass.  While one can choose which set of images to focus on, it is impossible for one to dismiss the significant transformation taking place.

Tillman claims she is pursuing a “holistic” approach to the revitalization of the ward.  She told her audience that she has plans for all of the ward’s large vacant tracts.

How the ward is developed is as sensitive a topic as who develops it.  Tillman has long been a champion of housing for the disadvantaged and the elderly.  Her campaign literature claims that she has aided in the creation of over 3,000 homes and apartments for seniors and families with moderate and low incomes.  Tillman told the audience attending the April 4^th rally that she had rejected plans for affordable units that looked like boxes.  She said she told the developer to involve an African American architect and to resubmit designs for units that were both affordable and attractive. 

While Tillman’s “in your face” style of politics offends some, others choose to focus on the substance she brings to her office.  Many of Alderman Tillman’s supporters believe she symbolizes “true” black political leadership - the word “true” implies leadership that is focused on the betterment of the black community and not just the person’s political standing. 

While development in the Third Ward is steadily removing urban blight and restoring needed jobs and revenue to the community, under Tillman’s leadership, it is occurring with the participation of black developers, black workers and black business owners.

Some of the developers and businessmen that Tillman has helped attended the April 4^th rally. They eagerly applauded her and showed their candidate great affection.

Tillman claims her leadership is guided by vision and passion.  She sees her work as a continuation of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Dream.  Underpinning Tillman's activism is her declared faith in God.  One of her campaign flyers lists faith as first among her qualifications.  It states, “All things are possible with faith.  Your faith in the things you hope for will determine the level of what you’re able to achieve.” Tillman claims to have learned the power of faith while working with Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). At the rally, she told her supporters, “I don’t do anything before I pray.”

But her faith is not what troubles many of her critics, it is her Afro-centricity. 

At the April 4th rally, Tillman told her supporters that she can "work with anybody;" but she confessed that she is more comfortable working with her own people.

Tillman is unapologetic, however, about her passion for her community and black people.  “I love my people, and I don’t apologize for that,” declared Tillman forcefully.  “Why is it when black folks love black folks, something is wrong?  When Chinese folk love somebody, it’s alright; if the Italians love themselves, it’s alright; if the Irish love themselves, it’s what? Alright.  If anybody loves themselves, it’s what? Alright! But when a black person loves themselves, there’s something wrong with it.”  Tillman paused a moment to let the observations sink in.  Then she concluded, “There’s something wrong with that picture.”

Such frank talk has become rare among black politicians, both on the local and national levels.  Most black politicians prefer to be seen as candidates for and servants of all of the people.  Tillman, on the other hand, takes great pride in her heritage and speaks passionately on behalf of black people.

As Tillman sees it, economic development in the black community can succeed, just as it has in other communities, by focusing initial efforts on the arts.  Tillman is most proud of The Harold Washington Cultural Center (The Center), which is a 40,000 square foot state-of-the-art performance center that is largely the alderman's vision.  The Center sits prominently at the corner of two major streets in the ward, 47^th Street and King Drive.  While Tillman regards The Center as the jewel of the Third Ward, critics charge that it serves as a Tillman-family trophy-piece; and they point to the fact that the Center’s director is Tillman’s daughter.

Such criticism angers Tillman.  During the rally, the alderman expressed contempt for her opponent's criticism of her family's management of The Center.  “I told her (Dowell) she better stop talking about my children,” said Tillman as she neared the end of her speech.  “I raised my children in this community … and I put them through college; and I told them, ‘when you finish school, you’ve got to come back and give up something.’”

While it may seem strange to non-Chicagoans that an alderman would openly discusses how she has benefited family members, the reality is most politicians in Chicago and Illinois run their political offices like a family businesses.  The current mayor and his brothers,  including former U.S. Secretary of Commerce William Daley, benefited tremendously from the generosity of their father, who was arguably Chicago's most powerful mayor and politician.  Tillman’s supporters wonder why critics want her to behave differently from other politicians when it come to her family. 

While issues of nepotism color many political races in Chicago, Tillman knows her aldermanic future will be decided on issues other than family. 

Tillman faces an opponent who is heavily backed by powerful forces from outside the community – forces that are determined to defeat her.  Despite this reality, Tillman presses on with seemingly unshakable resolve.  On April 4th, she told her audience that she fears nobody but God.

Facing the Possibility of Extinction

The outcome of the April 17^th election will determine whether Tillman continues her fight for African Americas as an alderman, or in some other capacity.  For the rest of us, particularly those who live outside the Third Ward, the City of Chicago, and the state of Illinois, the outcome of the race has significance in that it might signal the future of Black America.

Like the artic polar bears facing extinction due to global warming, black communities across America are increasingly under duress as developers move in and transform urban centers.  Tenement populations are usually the first to go; but property owners also face the possibility of expulsion because property taxes hike usually follow in the wake of new development.

A fellow entrepreneur and friend recently observed that “without businesses, there is no community.”   If this is true, and I believe it is, then Tillman’s re-election bid deserves the attention and support of Black America.

Here are some questions to consider:

If our elected officials fail to advocate on behalf of black economic development, who will? 

What will happen to black communities - especially those communities that have desirable locations - without strong, protective leadership?  

Will businesses keep their doors open to black employees and business-owners without constant legal and social pressure to do so?

Will companies that move into transforming communities partner with existing businesses and civic organizations without incentives? 

Will the businessmen that applauded Alderman Tillman during her April 4^th rally continue to participate in the economic revitalization of the Third Ward if she is no longer alderman. And if those black businessmen are pushed out, will black workers find opportunity among the businesses that replace them?  If blacks are unable to find work, can l they remain in the ward? 

These are just some of the questions residents of the Third Ward are encouraged to consider - questions every black person living in well-placed communities across America should consider.

My friend is correct; without black businesses, there is no community.

If one considers Alderman Tillman's long history of advocating for black economic empowerment; and the very real possibility that her challenger, Patricia Dowell, is a de-facto servant of the unions, then logic and self-preservation dictate that one casts one's support for Tillman. 

But beyond the aldermanic race in the Third Ward, Black Americans must exercise political awareness and power by supporting politicians - regardless of color - who advocate on behalf of black economic development.

America's history shows that “the market” only works to the benefit of black people when it is “guided” by enlightened political leadership - leadership that “encourages” market dynamics to operate in community-enhancing ways.

Dorothy Tillman is one of those leaders.

Hats off to you, Alderman Tillman; or better still, hats on.

The End