The city of Chicago, Illinois functions under a strong-mayor form of government including a Mayor and City Council.  The Mayor is the executive of the city government while the City Council being the legislating body.  The Mayor is elected every four years in a general election and the City Council members are elected either as at-large members or by their specific wards.  The Mayor is not the only official that is elected in the general election every four years.  The City Treasurer and the City Clerk are also elected in the general election. 

The Mayor serves as the city’s chief executive officer and is charged with appointing various people to head the city departments with the approval of the City Council.  The Mayor is also in charge of creating the city budget, which must then be voted on and passed by the City Council.  In regards to the City Council meetings, the Mayor is the chair of all meetings and only in the event of a tie can he or she vote.  One of the more important roles of the Mayor is finding dedicated and qualified people to appoint to the various city commissions and boards.  Some of the more important boards and commissions include the Board of Education and Chicago Public Building Commission.

The current Mayor of Chicago is Richard M. Daley, a former state senator who has been Chicago’s Mayor since 1989.  In 2005, he was named one of the best urban Mayors in the country by Time Magazine  Mayor Daley is known across the country for creating a top model for a community policing program.  He has also been a leading proponent for the Chicago Public School District, has fought to create more affordable housing in order to decrease homelessness in Chicago, and has been focused on improving the overall quality of life for citizens of Chicago.

The City Council members all hold an extremely important role in the governance of the city because they have the power to pass or fail the annual budget, write city ordinances and resolutions that have large impacts on the citizens, and veto decisions of the Mayor if they deem it necessary.  The Chicago City Council is made up of fifty wards with one council member representing each ward.

Issues that City Council members deal with can include anything from fixing potholes in city roads to deciding what type of budget the city should have. Under the Illinois State Statute, the City Council members vote on all proposed loans, grants, bond issues, land acquisitions and sales, zoning changes, traffic control issues, and many other things.

In regards to gender, the ration of males to females is 2:1.  In relation to the city demographics, this is severely proportional.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2000 Census for Chicago found that 51.5% of all residents were women.  In order to be truly representative, the Chicago City Council would need to include eight more women and eight fewer men for a new total of twenty-six women and twenty-four men. 

It is important to note in the breakdown of race for all City Council members is that there are no representatives that are Asian-American and yet according to the 2000 Census, 4% of the residents in Chicago are Asian-American.  Ironically, there are more African American members of City Council then there are Caucasian members, even though the 2000 Census states that 44% of residents are Caucasian and 38% of residents are African American.

Another interesting aspect in the breakdown of the City Council is that when looking at the racial breakdown of the members and comparing it to which ward that member is from, the majority of Wards 1-25 have Council Members that are African American, while the last 25 wards are made up of Council Members that are Caucasian.  This seems to suggest a strong divide in the city.  This may have a large affect on the legislation that is written and passed by the City Council.  If there is a divide within the council based upon each ward and that race, legislation will be more difficult to pass.

Created for Dr. Freitag's Group and Minority Group Politics Class.