Walter Burnett Jr. has served as the alderman for Chicago's 27th ward since his first election in 1995. The 27th ward includes the

West Loop The Near West Side, one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, is on the West Side, west of the Chicago River and adjacent to the Loop. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 started on the Near West Side. Waves of immigration shaped the history of the ...

, Greektown,

East Garfield Park East Garfield Park is on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, west of the Loop. Taking its name from the large urban park, Garfield Park, the neighborhood is bordered by Franklin Boulevard on the north, Arthington and Taylor Streets on the south ...

, Near North Side,

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

, West Humboldt Park, West Town, Goose Island and the Illinois Medical District.

Early life and education

Walter Burnett, Jr. was born August 16, 1963 at Cook County Hospital in the Illinois Medical District. Burnett served two years in jail for armed bank robbery in Kankakee.

Political career

Burnett had an 11-year career working for the Cook County government, where he had a variety of jobs including working as special assistant to Jesse White who was then Cook County Recorder of Deeds. Burnett later worked on Jesse White's campaign for Illinois Secretary of State.

Aldermanic career

Despite a 1993 Illinois state law that barred those convicted of a felony from holding local office, in 1995 Burnett ran for alderman in the newly redistricted 27th ward. Burnett defeated Dexter Watson, a protege of

Rickey R. Hendon Rickey R. Hendon (born December 8, 1953) is a former Illinois Senator for the 5th district, serving from 1993 to 2011. Public service Before running for the state senate, Hendon was alderman of the 27th ward in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to th ...

who had been appointed to succeed Hendon after Hendon's election to the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state, State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adop ...

. Burnett has subsequently been reelected in 1999, 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 2018, J.B. Pritzker appointed Burnett to the gubernatorial transition's Restorative Justice and Safe Communities Committee. Ahead of the

2011 Chicago mayoral election The city of Chicago, Illinois held a nonpartisan mayoral election on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. Incumbent Mayor Richard Michael Daley, a member of the Democratic Party who had been in office since 1989, did not seek a seventh term as mayor. T ...

, Burnett was one of several black Chicago political figures involved in talks to have three black contenders choose a "consensus" black candidate to rally around. These talks led Congressman Danny Davis and State Senator

James Meeks James T. Meeks (born August 4, 1956) is a former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, who represented the 15th district from 2003 to 2013. He is also an active Baptist minister in Chicago and chaired the Illinois Legislative Black Caucu ...

to withdraw from the election and endorse the candidacy of Carol Moseley Braun, a former United States Senator and ambassador, as the "consensus" black candidate. In the

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

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 ...

, Burnett endorsed Toni Preckwinkle against Lori Lightfoot. In the initial round of the

2023 Chicago mayoral election The 2023 Chicago mayoral election was held on February 28, 2023, to elect the mayor of Chicago, Illinois. With no candidate receiving a majority of votes in the initial round of the election, a runoff election was held on April 4. This two-roun ...

, Burnett endorsed Mayor Lori Lightfoot for reelection. After Lightfoot was eliminated in the 2023 election's first round, Burnett endorsed

Paul Vallas Paul Gust Vallas (born June 10, 1953) is an American politician and former superintendent of the Bridgeport Public Schools and the Recovery School District of Louisiana, former CEO of both the School District of Philadelphia and the Chicago Public ...

in the runoff.

Personal life

Alderman Burnett is married to

Darlena Williams-Burnett Cook County Board of Commissioners 1st district is a electoral district for the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The district was established in 1994, when the board transitioned from holding elections in individual districts, as opposed to t ...

. Williams-Burnett was appointed as a

Cook County commissioner The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the Uni ...

from the

1st district The Innere Stadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Innare Stod'') is the 1st municipal district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the Inn ...

, being appointed after Danny K. Davis resigned in 1997 to serve in the United States Congress. She lost in her attempt to win a full term in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

. Williams-Burnett challenged incumbent congressman Danny K. Davis in the February, 2010 Democratic primary and lost.

References

External links

Chicago's 27th Ward
website of Friends of Walter Burnett Jr, Burnett's political action committee {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnett, Walter Jr. 1963 births 21st-century American politicians Chicago City Council members Living people Northeastern Illinois University alumni University of Illinois Chicago alumni