Forty Years Ago, Harold Washington Was Elected Mayor of Chicago

Last week, Chicago elected Brandon Johnson to be the city’s new mayor. He is just the second Black man elected to that office. The first was Harold Washington, elected to be the 51st mayor of Chicago forty years ago today on April 12, 1983. Washington beat Republican candidate Bernard Epton with 51% of the vote on this day 40 years ago, back when Chicago still had partisan elections. In the February primary, Washington faced incumbent mayor Jane Byrne and future mayor Richard M. Daley in a contentious race. Both the primary and general elections had high turnout, with 77% and 82% respectively.

Prior to serving as mayor, Washington was in the U.S. House of Representatives for Illinois’ 1st District, and a state senator and representative before that. Washington was reelected in April 1987, but died suddenly in November of that year. Eugene Sawyer was appointed mayor by City Council, not elected, following Washington’s death, becoming the second Black man to hold the position. Sawyer lost to Richard M. Daley in the 1989 primary after serving two years. Both Washington and Johnson will have followed a one-term mayor—Byrne, the first woman mayor, and Lori Lightfoot, Chicago’s first Black woman and openly gay person to serve as mayor.