Emma Mitts (born June 12, 1955) is alderman of the 37th ward on

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's West Side. The predominantly

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

ward includes portions of

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

West Garfield Park West Garfield Park on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. It is directly west of Garfield Park. Neighborhood boundaries The boundaries of West Garfield Park are NORTH: W. Kinzie St. ...

and

West Humboldt Park Humboldt Park, one of 77 designated Community areas of Chicago, community areas, is on the West Side, Chicago, West Side of Chicago, Illinois. The Humboldt Park Neighborhoods in Chicago, neighborhood is known for its dynamic social and ethnic de ...

. She has represented the ward since 2000.

Early life

Mitts was born June 12, 1955, in

Elaine, Arkansas Elaine is a small town in Phillips County, Arkansas, United States, in the Arkansas Delta region of the Mississippi River. The population was 636 at the 2010 census. The city is best known as the location of the Elaine massacre of September 30� ...

. She eventually became a coordinator of special projects for the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation

Chicago City Council

Mitts was appointed by

Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh term ...

to the Chicago City Council in January 2000 to replace Percy Giles who had been indicted along with other city officials in

Operation Silver Shovel Operation Silver Shovel was a major United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe into political corruption in Chicago during the 1990s. By the end of the probe illegal activities from labor union corruption to drug trafficking, organi ...

. She has been reelected in 2003, 2007, 2011,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. In 2006, her ward received the first

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in Chicago. She was an opponent of the

2006 Chicago Big Box Ordinance On July 26, 2006 the Chicago City Council voted to approve an ordinance which for 7 weeks made Chicago the largest United States city that required big-box retailers to pay what the ordinance's sponsors characterized as a "living wage." Formally ent ...

. In the runoff of the

2019 Chicago mayoral election The 2019 Chicago mayoral election was the 2019 edition of the quadrennial elections held to determine the Mayor of the City of Chicago, Illinois. The election was held on February 26, 2019. Since no candidate received a majority of votes, a run ...

, Mitts endorsed

Lori Lightfoot Lori Elaine Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962) is an American attorney and politician serving since 2019 as the 56th mayor of Chicago. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as ...

References

1955 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Chicago City Council members Living people People from Phillips County, Arkansas Women city councillors in Illinois Chicago City Council members appointed by Richard M. Daley Illinois Democrats African-American city council members in Illinois {{Illinois-politician-stub