The Chicago City Council assumed its modern form on April 16,[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 but which were almost 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, 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.[2] 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.
Chicago was incorporated in 1837 and initially comprised six wards.
Originally covering the Loop, Near South Side, and the northern part of Armour Square, this ward was significantly moved to its current location in 1993 to help stymie corruption.
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Coughlin | - November 11, 1938 | Democratic[3] | Had been serving since 1892 Died in office | ||
| 2 | Michael Kenna | - April 9, 1943 | Democratic | Had previously served from 1897 to 1923 | ||
| 3 | John Budinger | - 1951 | Democratic | Had previously served then-4th ward from 1910 to 1912 | ||
| 4 | John D'Arco Sr. | - 1963 | Democratic | |||
| 5 | Michael Fiorito | - May 6, 1963 | Democratic | Resigned | ||
| 6 | Donald Parrillo | - 1968 | Democratic | |||
| 7 | Fred Roti | - 1991 | Democratic | |||
| 8 | Ted Mazola | - 1995 | ||||
| 9 | Jesse Granato | - May 19, 2003 | Democratic | |||
| 10 | Manuel Flores | - January 4, 2010 | Democratic | Appointed to be Chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission | ||
| 11 | Proco Joe Moreno | - May 20, 2019 | Democratic | |||
| 12 | Daniel La Spata | - present | Democratic | |||
Originally covering Douglas and its immediate surroundings, this ward has drastically moved northward to its current location across the Near North Side and West Town.
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louis B. Anderson | - 1933 | Republican | Had been serving since 1917 | |||
| 2 | William L. Dawson | - April 12, 1939 | Republican[4] | ||||
| 3 | Earl B. Dickerson | - April 9, 1943 | Democratic | ||||
| 4 | William H. Harvey | - December 20, 1968 | Became a County Commissioner | ||||
| 5 | Fred D. Hubbard | - March 16, 1972 | |||||
| 6 | William Barnett | - 1983 | Democratic | ||||
| 7 | Bobby Rush | - 1993 | Democratic | ||||
| 8 | Madeline Haithcock | - May 21, 2007 | Democratic | ||||
| 9 | Robert Fioretti | - May 2015 | Democratic | ||||
| 10 | Brian K. Hopkins | - present | Democratic | ||||
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert R. Jackson | - April 12, 1939 | Republican | Had been serving then-2nd ward since 1918 | |||
| 2 | Benjaim A. Grant | - April 9, 1943 | |||||
| 3 | Oscar Stanton De Priest | - 1947 | Republican | Had previously served then-2nd ward from 1915 to 1917 | |||
| 4 | Archibald Carey Jr. | - 1955 | Republican | ||||
| 5 | Ralph Metcalfe | - December 1970 | Democratic | Became a Congressman | |||
| 6 | Tyrone T. Kenner | - February 11, 1985 | |||||
| 7 | Dorothy Tillman | - April 27, 2007 | Democratic | ||||
| 8 | Pat Dowell | - Present | Democratic | ||||
See also: 4th ward, Chicago.
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ulysses S. Schwartz | - 1925 | Had been serving then-3rd ward since 1916 | ||||
| 2 | Berthold A. Cronson | - December 23, 1937 | Republican | Died in office | |||
| 3 | Abraham H. Cohen | - 1955 | |||||
| 4 | Claude Holman | - June 1, 1973 | Died in office | ||||
| 5 | Timothy C. Evans | - 1991 | |||||
| 6 | Toni Preckwinkle | - 2010 | Democratic | ||||
| 7 | Shirley Newsome | - May 2011 | |||||
| 8 | William D. Burns | - February 2016 | Democratic | ||||
| 9 | Sophia King | - present | Democratic | ||||
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William R. O'Toole | - 1931 | Democratic | Had been serving then-30th ward since 1914 | |||
| 2 | Thomas J. O'Grady | - 1933 | |||||
| 3 | James J. McDermott | - December 3, 1942 | Democratic | Elected to Cook County Board of Appeals | |||
| 4 | Clarence P. Wagner | - July 10, 1953 | Died in office | ||||
| 5 | Joseph P. Burke | - May 11, 1968 | Democratic | Died in office | |||
| 6 | Edward M. Burke | - Present | Democratic | ||||
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Donald S. McKinlay | - 1928 | Democratic | Resigned | |||
| 2 | O.E. Northrup | - 1935 | Republican | ||||
| 3 | John J. Duffy | - December 1, 1950 | Elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners | ||||
| 4 | David T. McKiernan | - May 25, 1957 | Died in office | ||||
| 5 | Thomas F. Fitzpatrick | - April 1, 1975 | |||||
| 6 | Jeremiah E. Joyce | - February 1, 1979 | Democratic | Elected to the Illinois General Assembly for the 28th district | |||
| 7 | Michael F. Sheahan | - 1991 | Democratic | ||||
| 8 | Virginia Rugai | - 2011 | Democratic | ||||
| 9 | Matthew O'Shea | - present | Democratic | ||||
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Powers | - 1927 | Democratic | Had been serving then-19th ward since 1905 and previously from 1888 to 1904 | ||
| 2 | James Bowler | - June 7, 1934 February 26, 1935 - July 11, 1953 | Democratic | Had previously served then-19th ward between 1906 and 1923 Briefly vacated office to become a Public Vehicle License Commissioner Became a Congressman representing IL-7 | ||
| 3 | Vito Marzullo | - 1985 | Democratic | |||
| 4 | Juan Soliz | - 1991 | ||||
| 5 | Ambrosio Medrano | 1991 - 1996 | ||||
| 6 | Daniel Solis | - 2019 | Democratic | |||
| 7 | Byron Sigcho-Lopez | - present | ||||
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joseph A. Mendel | - 1927 | ||||
| 2 | Frank A. Sloan | - 1933 | ||||
| 3 | Frank E. Konkowski | - 1939 | Republican | Redistricted from the 31st ward Died in office | ||
| 4 | Alexander J. Sobota | - June 23, 1944 | Died in office | |||
| 5 | Mathew William Bieszczat | - November 8, 1960 | Elected Bailiff of Municipal Court of Chicago | |||
| 6 | Stanley M. Zydlo | - April 16, 1979 | ||||
| 7 | Michael Nardulli | - 1986 | ||||
| 8 | Luis Gutiérrez | - December 12, 1992 | Democratic | |||
| 9 | Billy Ocasio | - 2009 | Democratic | |||
| 10 | Roberto Maldonado | - present | Democratic | |||
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John J. Touhy | - December 1, 1926[6] | Democratic | Had been serving then-18th ward since 1917 Resigned to take office as a Sanitary District Trustee | |||
| 2 | Harry C. Van Norman | - October 11, 1929[7] | Democratic | Died in office | |||
| 3 | Jeremiah P. Leahy | [8] - 1933 | Democratic[9] | ||||
| 4 | Harry L. Sain | - February 23, 1971 | Democratic[10] | ||||
| 5 | Eugene Ray | - 1983 | Democratic | ||||
| 6 | Wallace Davis Jr., Sheneather Y. Butler | - 1987, - 1987 - 1991 | Democratic | ||||
| 7 | Rickey R. Hendon | - January 13, 1993 | Democratic | Elected to the Illinois Senate for the 5th district | |||
| 8 | Dexter G. Watson | - May 1995 | Democratic | ||||
| 9 | Walter Burnett Jr. | - present | Democratic | ||||
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanley Adamkiewicz | - 1929 | Democratic | Had previously served then-17th ward from 1917 to 1921 | ||
| 2 | Frank E. Konkowski | - 1933 | Republican | Redistricted to the 26th ward | ||
| 3 | Thomas Patrick Keane | - July 13, 1945 | Democratic | Redistricted from the 34th ward Died in office | ||
| 4 | Thomas E. Keane | - October 9, 1974 | Convicted of mail fraud and conspiracy | |||
| 5 | Adeline Keane | - 1979 | ||||
| 6 | Chester Kuta | - November 30, 1981 | Resigned | |||
| 7 | Joseph A. Martinez | - 1983 | ||||
| 8 | Miguel Santiago | 1983- 1987 | ||||
| 9 | Raymond Figueroa | 1987- 1991 | ||||
| 10 | Ray Suarez | - May 2015 | ||||
| 11 | Milly Santiago | - May 20, 2019 | ||||
| 12 | Felix Cardona, Jr. | - Present | ||||
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joseph H. Smith | - 1933 | Democratic | Had been serving then-14th ward since 1914 | |||
| 2 | Joseph P. Rostenkowski | - 1955 | Democratic | Redistricted from 33rd ward | |||
| 3 | Bernard C. Prusinski | - 1959 | |||||
| 4 | Robert J. Sulski | - November 28, 1968 | Became a Circuit Court Judge | ||||
| 5 | Terry Gabinski | - May 21, 1998 | Democratic | ||||
| 6 | Theodore Matlak | - May 20, 2007 | Democratic | ||||
| 7 | Scott Waguespack | - present | Democratic | ||||
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Adamowski | - July 16, 1929[11] | Democratic | Had been serving then-22nd ward since 1916 Died in office | |||
| 2 | Frank H. Landmesser | - 1933 | Democratic | ||||
| 3 | Henry J. Wieland | - 1935 | Democratic | ||||
| 4 | Patrick J. Cullerton | - April 17, 1958 | Elected Cook County Assessor | ||||
| 5 | William J. Cullerton | - April 14, 1973 | Died in office | ||||
| 6 | Thomas W. Cullerton | - 1993 | Died in office | ||||
| 7 | Thomas R. Allen | - 2010 | Became a judge of the Cook County Illinois Circuit Court | ||||
| 8 | Timothy Cullerton | - 2013 | |||||
| 9 | Nicholas Sposato | - present | Independent (since 2017) Democratic (before 2017) | Redistricted from 36th ward | |||
This ward, historically covering most of the Near North Side, has recently moved slightly south to also encompass the northern part of the Loop.
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dorsey Crowe | - July 1, 1962 | Democratic | Had been serving then-21st ward since 1919 Died in office | |||
| 2 | Mayer Goldberg | - November 29, 1968 | Democratic | Became a Circuit Court Judge | |||
| 3 | Raymond K. Fried | - January 26, 1970 | Democratic | Died in office | |||
| 4 | Burton Natarus | - 2007 | Democratic | ||||
| 5 | Brendan Reilly | - Present | Democratic | ||||
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arthur F. Albert | - October 31, 1927 | Republican | Had been serving then-22nd ward since 1921 Albert lost the first round of the 1927 election to Haffa, but had been granted a runoff that he would win. However, the runoff was disputed and the Council unseated him in favor of Haffa, claiming that the judge who had granted the runoff had erred in counting spoiled ballots to determine the majority Haffa needed to avoid a runoff. | |||
| 2 | Titus Haffa | - 1929 | Republican | Disputed with Albert until October 31, 1927, see above. | |||
| 1 | Arthur F. Albert | - 1931 | Republican | ||||
| 3 | James B. Waller | - 1933 | Republican | ||||
| 4 | Paddy Bauler | - April 9, 1943 | Democratic | ||||
| 3 | James B. Waller | - 1947 | Republican | ||||
| 4 | Paddy Bauler | - 1967 | Democratic | ||||
| 5 | George B. McCutcheon | - 1971 | Republican | ||||
| 6 | William Singer | - 1975 | |||||
| 7 | Martin J. Oberman | - 1987 | Democratic | ||||
| 8 | Edwin Eisendrath | - 1993 | Democratic | ||||
| 9 | Charles Bernardini | - 1999 | |||||
| 10 | Vi Daley | - May 16, 2011 | |||||
| 11 | Michele Smith | - August 12, 2022 | Democratic | ||||
| 12 | Timmy Knudsen | - Present | Democratic | ||||
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harry W. Klinke | - 1925 | Republican | ||||
| 2 | John J. Hoellen Sr. | - 1933 | Republican | ||||
| 3 | Albert F. Schultz | - 1939 | Democratic | ||||
| 4 | Frank O. Hilburn | - 1947 | |||||
| 5 | John J. Hoellen Jr. | - 1975 | Republican | ||||
| 6 | Eugene Schulter | - May 16, 2011 | Democratic | ||||
| 7 | Ameya Pawar | - May 20, 2019 | Democratic | ||||
| 8 | Matt Martin | - Present | |||||
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eli I. Frankhauser | - November 1929[12] | Republican | Had been serving then-25th ward since 1921 Elected Superior Court Judge | ||
| 2 | George A. Williston | [13] - 1935 | Republican | |||
| 3 | Frank Keenan | - December 1, 1950 | Elected to Cook County Board of Tax Appeals | |||
| 4 | Thomas C. Keegan | - November 1, 1951 | Died in office | |||
| 5 | Brian J. Ducey | - 1955 | Resigned | |||
| 6 | David J. Hartigan | - April 28, 1959 | Died in office | |||
| 7 | Paul T. Wigoda | - October 10, 1974 | Convicted of Income Tax evasion | |||
| 8 | Esther Saperstein | - April 16, 1979 | ||||
| 9 | David Orr | - 1990 | Democratic | |||
| 10 | Robert Clarke | - 1991 | ||||
| 11 | Joe Moore | - May 20, 2019 | Democratic | |||
| 12 | Maria Hadden | - present | ||||
| Alderperson | Term in office | Party | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William H. Pontow | - 1927 | Democratic | ||||
| 2 | Aron K. Mose | - 1929 | Republican | ||||
| 3 | Curtis F. Mellin | - 1931 | Republican | ||||
| 4 | James R. Quinn | - June 21, 1945 | Democratic | Resigned | |||
| 5 | Jerome Huppert | - 1947 | |||||
| 6 | Alban Weber | - 1951 | |||||
| 7 | Robert S. Bremer | - 1955 | |||||
| 8 | Jack I. Sperling | - February 1, 1973 | Republican | Became a Circuit Court Judge | |||
| 9 | Bernard Stone | - 2011 | Democratic (1973 - 1987; 1990 - 2011) Republican (1987 - 1990) | ||||
| 10 | Debra Silverstein | - present | |||||
DatesPartisan affiliationsWard maps