In the chamber where “Council Wars” battles once raged between Mayor Harold Washington and his political adversaries, Washington was remembered Wednesday with a mix of fondness and praise.
During a special City Council meeting marking the coming 10th anniversary of the death of Chicago’s first black mayor, the strife that initially marked his tenure was recalled often with humor and an almost wistful nostalgia.
After Washington’s election in 1983, his council opponents were “scrambling and running and saying, `Oh, oh. Fairness is coming. We have to mobilize!’ ” recalled Ald. Dorothy Tillman (3rd), a staunch ally of the late mayor.
“I sat in this council and I heard Washington tell Vrdolyak, `You are going to get one right across your lips.’ Do you all remember that?”
Vrdolyak, of course, was then-10th Ward Ald. Edward Vrdolyak, a leader of the bloc of 29 white aldermen who opposed Washington and his 21 aldermanic allies. It was when those fabled “Council Wars” were in full tilt that Chicago became known nationally as “Beirut by the lake” because of the political brawling.
Only eight of those 29 opponents still sit in the council and Ald. Bernard Hansen (44th), was the only one among them to rise and offer some brief remarks Wednesday.
Ald. Edward Burke (14th), who with Vrdolyak, led the aldermanic opposition to Washington, later said he remained silent during the session because he was not called upon to speak, although there appeared to be no restrictions on who was allowed to do so.
Burke said he had planned to quote remarks made by Washington himself on Dec. 18, 1986, at a council meeting marking the 10th anniversary of the death of another mayor–Richard J. Daley, the current mayor’s father.
“It’s with deep regret we see him pass the scene, but his legacy is a great one, a truly great one,” Washington said at the time. “He has made Chicago great. It is our responsibility to continue to keep it so.”
Burke also told reporters he respected Washington’s political ability and underestimated his toughness.
State Sen. Jesus Garcia (D-Chicago) recalled an early encounter with Washington in 1981, assisting the future mayor when he choked on food at an event in a Mexican restaurant.
After the crisis passed, he told the mayor who he was, prompting Washington to declare, “Thank the Lord your name is Jesus.”
Later, at a picnic they attended, Garcia said Washington told the crowd: “Wherever you are, we will look for you. We will go out and we will find you. And we will be fair to you.”
“That is the legacy of Harold Washington,” Garcia declared.
Members of Washington’s family were presented with a glass etching of the late mayor on a base of granite taken from City Hall during recent renovation work.
“When I think of Harold at this moment, I remember his statement of `promises made, promises kept,’ ” said Ramon Price, Washington’s half-brother. “The only one he didn’t keep was the one he couldn’t keep. He promised us 20 years” in office.
Washington died at his desk of a heart attack Nov. 25, 1987.
Mayor Richard Daley, who along with incumbent Jane Byrne was defeated by Washington in the 1983 Democratic mayoral primary, said Washington will be remembered “as a man who broke down barriers and opened wider the doors of opportunity for all our citizens.”
Earlier, Daley was the first to sign a “book of remembrance” in the lobby of City Hall.
“Harold Washington loved Chicago and its diversity,” he wrote. “His commitment to our city will live on.”
