Miriam Balanoff (née Dweck; March 4, 1926 – September, 2017) was an American judge and politician who served as a Democratic member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

Biography

Balanoff was born March 4, 1926, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. She spent much of her childhood in foster homes. She later attended

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

before moving to Chicago to earn her bachelor's at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and receive her J.D. degree from

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dist ...

in 1963. She then practiced law in Chicago. In 1978, she defeated incumbent

Frank Giglio Frank Giglio (born November 9, 1933) is an American plumber and politician. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Giglio served in the United States Army. He went to Saint Joseph's College and then received his bachelor's degree from Governors State Univer ...

in the Democratic primary by a narrow margin. She was elected to serve as one of the three members of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 30th legislative district with Democratic incumbent

Glenn Dawson Glenn V. Dawson is an American politician who served as a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1979-1980 and the Illinois Senate from 1980-1987. Early life Dawson was born January 31, 1 ...

and Republican incumbent Phil W. Collins taking the other two spots. She introduced the Employer Relocation Act which would have required that companies give advance notice before closing down, guarantee severance pay, and contribute to a special community fund for job retraining or development. She was an advocate of the

Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men and ...

while a member of the House. She served in the Illinois House for two terms. In the 1983 election, she ran against Vrdolyak for alderman in the 10th ward receiving 30% of the vote. In the 1986 general election, she was elected to a judgeship on the

Circuit Court of Cook County The Circuit Court of Cook County is the largest of the 24 judicial circuits in Illinois as well as one of the largest unified court systems in the United States — second only in size to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County since that court ...

with the backing of Harold Washington. Her husband was Clement Balanoff, Sr., who was a steel worker and a union activist. Their son

Clem Balanoff Clement Balanoff, Jr. is an American politician and the national political director for the Amalgamated Transit Union. He served as a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995. Biography He was born April 16, ...

also served in the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...

.'Clement Balanoff Sr., 76, "Activists' activist, dedicated labor organizer,"' Chicago Tribune, James Janega, July 2, 2002 She died in September, 2017 at age 91 after suffering from dementia for several years.

Notes

1926 births 2017 deaths Politicians from Chicago University of Chicago Law School alumni Women state legislators in Illinois Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American women 20th-century American women politicians {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-stub