John James Hoellen Jr. (September 24, 1914–January 30, 1999) was an American politician who served as

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

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

's 47th ward from 1947 to 1975. His father, John J. Hoellen Sr., had served as alderman of that same ward from 1925 to 1933. Like his father, Hoellen was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and at the time of his he left office, he had been the sole Republican member of the Chicago City Council. One of

Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Chicago from 1955 and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee from 1953 until his death. He has been cal ...

's fiercest enemies in the Council during his tenure, Hoellen was known for his bravado and acerbic wit. He ran unsuccessfully against Daley for Clerk in 1955, as well as in the

1975 Chicago mayoral election The Chicago mayoral election of 1975 was held on April 1, 1975. Democratic Party incumbent Richard J. Daley was elected to a record sixth term as mayor by a landslide 59% margin over Republican nominee John J. Hoellen Jr. Only one other indivi ...

. He was a "good-government" focused politician, who often delivered passionate speeches criticizing waste, corruption, and inefficiency. In 1961, he was one of only three alderman who voted against an urban renewal plan to bulldoze much of

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are s ...

to build the campus for the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a Public university, public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus esta ...

. He would often vote against tax increases and demand investigations into questionable land deals and hiring scandals. He occasionally partnered on votes with liberal Democrats, including

Leon Despres Leon Mathis Despres (February 2, 1908 – May 6, 2009) was an American author, attorney and politician. He was best known as a long-time alderman in Chicago, where he regularly disagreed with then-mayor Richard J. Daley, often engaging in loud ...

. In 1965 he voted against the construction of several

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

projects on the South Side, correctly predicting that they would become vertical slums. However, he also made controversial remarks during debate on the vote, remarking, "This is primarily negro housing. Everybody knows the negro loves good soil. He likes the feel of dirt and the smell of trees." He was also known for various odd behavior. He proposed that the new Picasso statue in Daley Plaza be replaced with a statue of

Ernie Banks Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between ...

. In 1965, he led a campaign to see

Wilbur Wright College Wilbur Wright College, formerly known as Wright Junior College, is a public community college in Chicago. Part of the City Colleges of Chicago system, it offers two-year associate's degrees, as well as occupational training in IT, manufacturing, ...

remove

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; de ...

's novel Another Country from its reading list due to it having what he regarded to be "filthy" themes of interracial and

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

relations. He thrice ran unsuccessfully for United States Congress. First elected in 1947, he was reelected to the City Council in 1951, 1955, 1959, 1963, 1967, and 1971. The latter four reelections came despite mayor Daley's efforts to see him unseated. In 1975, he not only lost the mayoral race, but also lost his simultaneous bid for reelection as alderman. In 1979, he was appointed by Illinois Governor

James R. Thompson James Robert Thompson Jr. (May 8, 1936 – August 14, 2020), also known as Big Jim Thompson, was an American attorney and politician who served as the 37th governor of Illinois from 1977 to 1991. A moderate Republican who sometimes took more ...

to the

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , o ...

Board, on which he served until retiring in 1990.

References

1914 births 1999 deaths Chicago City Council members Illinois Republicans 20th-century American politicians {{Illinois-politician-stub

See also

References