Chicago's Modern Mayors
From Harold Washington to Lori Lightfoot
Tuesday January 23, 2024
6:00 - 7:00 PM
This program will be held via Zoom
Free and open to the public
Listen to the program HERE
CCC in partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago Richard J. Daley Library is proud to host the launch of the book, "Chicago’s Modern Mayors: From Harold Washington to Lori Lightfoot." Join authors Dick Simpson and Betty O’Shaughnessy and contributor Clinton Stockwell, in conversation with historian Dominic Pacyga, as they share their in-depth analyses of the five mayors that guided the city through this transition beginning with Harold Washington’s 1983 election. The Mayors are Washington, Eugene Sawyer, Richard M. Daley, Rahm Emmanuel, and Lori Lightfoot. Learn how the respected political science, sociologist, and journalist contributors approached their subjects from distinct perspectives, and discover how each essay addresses three essential issues: how and why each mayor won the office; whether the city council of their time acted as a rubber stamp or independent body; and the ways the unique qualities of each mayor’s administration and accomplishments influenced their legacy.
Betty O’Shaughnessy
Betty O’Shaughnessy is a former adjunct professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Oakton Community College. She also served as an elected trustee and is a Democratic precinct committee person for West Deerfield Township. With Dick Simpson, Betty co-authored "Winning Elections in the 21st Century" (2016) and has written articles on student involvement in political participation (at both the secondary and the higher education levels) and service learning. Her research interests are conflicts of authority among national, state, and local governments; political education and youth involvement in politics; and campaigns and elections. She is a political and community activist.
Dominic Pacyga
Dominic A. Pacyga is professor emeritus of history in the Department of Humanities, History, and Social Sciences at Columbia College Chicago and Affiliated Faculty Member, Department of History, University of Illinois at Chicago. His books include "Polish Immigrants and Industrial Chicago: Workers on the South Side, 1880–1922"; "Chicago: A Biography"; and "Slaughterhouse: Chicago’s Union Stock Yard and the World It Made"; "American Warsaw: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Polish Chicago," all from the University of Chicago Press. Pacyga is the 2014 Mieczyslaw Haiman Award winner for exceptional and sustained contribution to the study of Polish Americans.
Dick Simpson
Dick Simpson is professor emeritus, former head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a former Chicago alderman and congressional candidate. His books include "Democracy’s Rebirth: The View from Chicago" and "Corrupt Illinois: Patronage, Cronyism, and Criminality."
Clinton Stockwell
Clinton Stockwell is a graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago with M.A.; M.U.P.P. and Ph.D. degrees and was Executive Director (Emeritus) of Chicago Semester. Currently, Stockwell serves as Adjunct Professor at the University of Chicago Graham School and the National Louis University. This spring he will teach courses on "The Emancipators" (Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and US Grant); and, a segment of "Reading Chicago" (History of Chicago) for the University of Chicago Graham School. He will also teach the course "Civics and American Government" for the National Louis University in Chicago. His most recent publications include; "The Ethics of Globalization" and "The Social Gospel in America" for The Routledge Handbook of Sociology and Christianity (2023).