Robert Steele was

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

and President Pro Tempore for the 2nd district of

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, covering the

West Side West Side or Westside may refer to: Places Canada * West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario * West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia United Kingdom * West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Westside, Birmingham E ...

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

. As Cook County Board Commissioner, Steele voted to uphold a 1.5% 2008 Cook County sales tax increase, remaining the highest in the nation which led the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' to encourage voters to vote against him in the 2010 elections. Until his death in 2017, Steele was chairman of board of

Frazier Preparatory Academy Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, third ...

Early life

He was born in

Cook County Hospital The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (formerly Cook County Hospital) is a public hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Cook County Health and Hospital System, along with Provident Hospital of Cook County and ...

, Chicago, Illinois on June 29, 1961, to Robert and

Bobbie L. Steele Bobbie L. Steele was sworn in as the 32nd president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners on August 1, 2006.Steve Patterson. "Steele vows changes". ''Chicago Sun-Times''. August 2, 2006. 10. She had been commissioner for the 2nd district of C ...

. His mother had previously been both Cook County Commissioner and Board President. Steele is a graduate of the

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Death

Steele died on June 19, 2017, due to complications related to diabetes.

References

External links

Cook County Board of Commissioners profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Robert Members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners Politicians from Chicago Morgan State University alumni Politicians from Cook County, Illinois 1961 births 2017 deaths