Brian G. Doherty (born October 25, 1957) was the

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of the 41st Ward
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of the City of

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from 1991 to 2011. First elected to the

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the Law and government of Chicago, government of the Chicago, City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 Wards of the United States, wards to serve four-year t ...

in 1991 when he defeated longtime incumbent

Roman Pucinski Roman Conrad Pucinski (May 13, 1919 – September 25, 2002) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Chicago, Illinois. He was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from 1959 to 1973 ...

, Doherty represented portions of the city's Northwest Side, including

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. In 2010, Doherty won the Republican nomination for Illinois State Senate District 10 to replace retiring Senator

James DeLeo James A. DeLeo is a former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 10th district since 1992, and is an Assistant Majority Leader. Earlier he served in the Illinois House of Representatives. He announced his retirement from t ...

(D-Chicago), but he lost the general election to

John Mulroe John G. Mulroe (born July 21, 1959) is a judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County and lawyer from Chicago, Illinois. Between August 2010 and June 2019, he was a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic state senator, representing the 10th Il ...

. Doherty did not seek re-election after his defeat in the Senate contest and left office in 2011.

Political career

While on the City Council, Doherty had a record of opposing property tax increases. Political columnist Russ Stewart wrote, "Doherty has opposed the Daley Administration on every tax hike ordinance." He voted for a sunshine ordinance that aimed to make it easier to determine how taxpayer dollars are spent on Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts. He also established a Zoning Advisory Board to give residents a voice in local zoning issues. Doherty was notable as the only member of the Republican Party in the Chicago City Council, but supported some of the policies of Chicago's Democratic Mayor

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 ter ...

. Doherty voted in favor of the mayor's parking meter plan that leases out the revenue rights to a private firm. According to the ''

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'', the plan would increase the hourly meter rate at some Chicago parking meters to $6.50 in 2013. In 1986, Doherty ran in the

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

election to be a member of the

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from the city of Chicago, succeeding in the primary to be one of ten Republican nominees, but losing the general election.

Personal

Brian grew up in the Austin area as the oldest boy born to Irish immigrants, Dan and the late Kathleen Doherty. Brian attended St. Angela Grammar School and Lane Tech High School before earning a degree in Business Management from Northeastern in 1984. In 2005, Brian earned his Masters in Urban Studies from Loyola University. Brian and his wife of 23 years, Rose (née Gillespie), are the parents of Katie and Kevin. They have resided in the Oriole Park Neighborhood for over 22 years. Brian also has a brother who is a high-ranking member of the Chicago Fire Department and he is also the uncle of the locally famous Kyle Doherty. Doherty was a

Chicago Golden Gloves The Chicago Golden Gloves is an amateur boxing tournament, considered by many boxing aficionados as one of the three most elite Golden Gloves titles, along with the Intercity Golden Gloves and the New York Golden Gloves. The tournament is also mor ...

boxer in 1973, 1974 and 1975, and was a

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Finalist and Champion. He was a

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Champion as a boxer from La Follette Park. Brian is also a frequent marathon runner and this year he completed his ninth marathon.

References

External links

WGN News Chicago Story

41st Ward information

Scott Fornek, ''Chicago Sun-Times'', May 6, 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, Brian 1957 births Living people Chicago City Council members Illinois Republicans