The late Alderman Leon M. Despres (at left) with Illinois Senator Paul H. Douglas. Despres donated his collection of papers and photographs to the Museum in 1995.

Former Chicago Alderman and Hyde Park resident Leon Despres passed away on May 6, 2009 at age 101. He was elected Alderman of the 5th Ward in 1955, a successor to conservationist and social reformer Senator Paul Douglas (with whom he is pictured above). Despres spent twenty years going head-to-head with Mayor Richard J. Daley to fight for equal rights for all in Chicago. Daley was known to turn off Despres’s microphone during City Council meetings, but he could never silence the voice of this man of the people. Despres spoke on the City Council for those who could not speak for themselves at the height of infamous Daley Machine politics, throwing wrench after wrench into the “status quos” and “who ya knows” that defined how things got done in this town.

Despres fought against racism, against sexism, and against housing and labor discrimination during the post-war decades when public housing boomed, segregation intensified, the suburbs sprawled, and anti-war demonstrations embarrassed the bigwigs. He may have retired from the City Council in 1975, but he never ceased to play an active and activist role in Chicago and American politics and life. Despres never lacked for an opinion or a position, and when he stirred things up, Americans paid attention, whether they agreed with him or not.

Despres last spoke at the Chicago History Museum on July 4th of last year. He was demanding justice for Native Americans—who were forced out of this area by the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. He was still representing people far beyond the boundaries of his ward, past and present. In the fall of 2008, he posted a series of columns on Slate which chronicled his views on Chicago life and the possibilities for a greater quality of life for the nation that the election of Senator Barack Obama could bring.

Rest in peace, Alderman. You witnessed Obama become President and Blagojevich pulled out of office. Now that you’re gone, who will be the torchbearer in our town?

> Read “Diary of a 100-Year-Old Man” on Slate

Tags: Alderman, City Council, Jill Grannan, Leon Despres, Politics

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