Mayor of Chicago

❧

Wikipedia

Mayor of Chicago
since May 15, 2023
Government of Chicago
Style
  • His Honor
  • The Honorable
Term length4 years
Inaugural holderWilliam B. Ogden
Formation1837
SuccessionVice mayor of Chicago
Salary$216,210
WebsiteOfficial website

The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and recommendations to the Chicago City Council, is active in the enforcement of the city's ordinances, submits the city's annual budget and appoints city officers, department commissioners or directors, and members of city boards and commissions.

During sessions of the city council, the mayor serves as the presiding officer. The mayor is not allowed to vote on issues except in certain instances, most notably where the vote taken on a matter before the body results in a tie.

The office of mayor was created when Chicago became a city in 1837.

History

William B. Ogden was the first mayor of Chicago.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry leaving "The Fifth Floor" office of the mayor in 2016

The first mayor was William B. Ogden (1837–1838). Forty-six men and two women (Jane Byrne, 1979–1983, and Lori Lightfoot, 2019–2023), have held the office. Two sets of father and son have been elected Mayor of Chicago: Carter Harrison III (1879–1887, 1893) and Carter Harrison IV (1897–1905, 1911–1915), as well as Richard J. Daley (1955–1976) and Richard M. Daley (1989–2011). Carter Harrison IV was the first mayor to have been born in the city.

As an interim mayor, David Duvall Orr (1987) held the office for one week, the shortest time period. Richard M. Daley was elected six times becoming Chicago's longest-serving mayor, his 22 years surpassing his father's record of 21 years.[1]

The first Irish Catholic mayor was John Patrick Hopkins (1893–1895), and Rahm Emanuel (2011–2019) is the only Jewish American to have served as mayor.

Harold Washington (1983–1987) was the first African American mayor. Lightfoot (2019–2023) was the city's first African American woman and first LGBT mayor. Brandon Johnson (2023–present) is the fourth African American mayor, Eugene Sawyer (1987–1989) having been selected by the council after Washington died in office.

Appointment powers

The mayor appoints the commissioner of the Chicago Fire Department, the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department and the heads of other departments,[2] the largest of which are the Water Management Department (formed by the consolidation of the former Water Department and Sewer Department under Richard M. Daley), and the Streets & Sanitation Department. The mayor also appoints members to the boards of several special-purpose governmental bodies including City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Library, Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago Transit Authority, and the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. Under Richard M. Daley, the Illinois legislature granted the mayor power to appoint the governing board and chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools and subordinated the district to the mayor; the district had long been an independent unit of government.

The Chicago City Clerk and City Treasurer of Chicago are elected separately, as are the 50 alderpersons who form the city council. The mayor is empowered, however, to fill vacancies in any of these 52 elected offices by appointment. In turn, the city council elects one of its own to fill a mayoral vacancy.

By charter, Chicago has a "weak-mayor" system, in which most of the power is vested in the city council. In practice, however, the mayor of Chicago has long been one of the most powerful municipal chief executives in the nation. Unlike in most other weak-mayor systems, the mayor has the power to draw up the budget. For most of the 20th century, before the decline of patronage and the mayor's office becoming officially nonpartisan in 1999, the mayor was the de facto leader of the city's Democratic Party, and had great influence over the ward organizations.[3] Located in City Hall, "the fifth floor" is sometimes used as a metonym for the office and power of the mayor.[4]

Election and succession

The mayor of Chicago is elected by popular vote every four years, on the last Tuesday in February. A run-off election, in case no candidate garners more than fifty percent of the vote, is held on the first Tuesday in April. The election is held on a non-partisan basis. Chicago is the largest city in the United States not to limit the term of service for its mayor.

In accordance with Illinois law,[5][6] the city council elects a vice mayor who serves as interim mayor in the event of a vacancy in the office of the mayor or the inability of the mayor to serve due to illness or injury, until the city council elects one of its members acting mayor or until the mayoral term expires.[6][7] However, if a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor with more than 28 months remaining in the mayoral term and at least 130 days before the next general municipal election, then a special election must be held to choose a new mayor to serve out the remainder of the term at that general municipal election; if a vacancy occurs with fewer than 28 months remaining in the mayoral term or fewer than 130 days before the next general municipal election, then the acting mayor serves as mayor until the mayoral term expires.

The order-of succession involving the vice mayor was made concrete following disputes that arose in the aftermath of the death in office of Richard J. Daley, and was subsequently implemented following the death in office of Harold Washington, which saw Vice Mayor David Orr become acting mayor.[8] Prior to this, the city had vague succession laws which indicated that the president pro tempore of the City Council would succeed as mayor. This was not followed after the death of Daley, and the city council appointed Michael Bilandic acting mayor instead of having pro tempore Wilson Frost become mayor,[9] due to City Corporation Counsel William R. Quinlan ruling that, since the city did not have a statute specifically outlining succession, the City Council would need to elect the interim mayor.[10]

Six instances have seen the City Council appoint either an acting mayor, acting mayor pro tempore, or interim mayor.

In the absence of the mayor during meetings of the city council, the president pro tempore of the city council, who is a member of and elected by the city council, acts as presiding officer. Unlike the mayor, the president pro tempore can vote on all legislative matters. If neither the mayor nor pro tempore can preside, the vice mayor presides.[11]

List of mayors

Joseph Medill (#26) was the first foreign-born mayor.
John Patrick Hopkins (#35) was the youngest and the first Catholic mayor.
William Hale Thompson (#41) was the last Republican mayor of Chicago.
Jane Byrne (#50) was the first female mayor.
Harold Washington (#51) was the first African American mayor.
Richard M. Daley (#54) was the longest-serving mayor (22 years).
Lori Lightfoot (#56) was the first African American female and the first openly gay female mayor of Chicago.

Between 1833 and 1837, Chicago was incorporated as a town and headed by town presidents. Since 1837, it has been incorporated as a city and headed by mayors.

The mayoral term in Chicago was one year from 1837 through 1863, when it was changed to two years. In 1907, it was changed again, this time to four years. Until 1861, municipal elections were held in March. In that year, legislation moved them to April. In 1869, however, election day was changed to November, and terms expiring in April of that year were changed. In 1875, election day was moved back to April by the city's vote to operate under the Cities and Villages Act of 1872.

No.[12] Portrait Mayor Term start Term end Tenure Election Party Vice Mayor
Town Presidents
1 Thomas Jefferson Vance Owen
(1801–1835)		 August 12, 1833 August 11, 1834 364 days – Nonpartisan Position not yet established
2 John H. Kinzie
(1803–1865)		 1834 May 1837 3 years – Whig
Mayors
1 William B. Ogden
(1805–1877)		 May 1837 March 1838 10 months 1837 Democratic Position not yet established
2 Buckner Stith Morris
(1800–1879)		 1838 1839 1 year 1838 Whig
3 Benjamin Wright Raymond
(1801–1883)
1st time		 1839 1840 1 year 1839 Whig
4 Alexander Loyd
(1805–1872)		 March 9, 1840 March 4, 1841 360 days 1840 Democratic
5 Francis Cornwall Sherman
(1805–1870)
1st time		 March 4, 1841 March 7, 1842 1 year, 3 days 1841 Democratic
6 Benjamin Wright Raymond
(1801–1883)
2nd time		 March 7, 1842 March 7, 1843 1 year, 0 days 1842 Whig
7 Augustus Garrett
(1801–1848)
1st time		 March 7, 1843 April 2, 1844 1 year, 26 days 1843 Democratic
March
1844[a]
8 Alson Sherman
(1811–1903)		 April 2, 1844 March 10, 1845 342 days April
1844		 Independent Democratic
9 Augustus Garrett
(1801–1848)
2nd time		 March 10, 1845 March 3, 1846 358 days 1845 Democratic
10 John Putnam Chapin
(1810–1864)		 March 3, 1846 March 9, 1847 1 year, 6 days 1846 Whig
11 James Curtiss
(1806–1859)
1st time		 March 9, 1847 March 14, 1848 1 year, 5 days 1847 Democratic
12 James Hutchinson Woodworth
(1804–1869)		 March 14, 1848 March 12, 1850 1 year, 363 days 1848 Independent Democratic
1849
13 James Curtiss
(1806–1859)
2nd time		 March 12, 1850 March 11, 1851 364 days 1850 Democratic
14 Walter S. Gurnee
(1813–1903)		 March 11, 1851 March 7, 1853 1 year, 361 days 1851 Democratic
1852
15 Charles McNeill Gray
(1807–1885)		 March 7, 1853 March 15, 1854 1 year, 8 days 1853 Democratic
16 Isaac Lawrence Milliken
(1813–1889)		 March 15, 1854 March 13, 1855 363 days 1854 Democratic
17 Levi Boone
(1808–1882)		 March 13, 1855 March 11, 1856 364 days 1855 American
18 Thomas Dyer
(1805–1862)		 March 11, 1856 March 10, 1857 364 days 1856 Democratic
19 John Wentworth
(1815–1888)
1st time		 March 10, 1857 March 2, 1858 357 days 1857 Republican
20 John Charles Haines
(1818–1896)		 March 2, 1858 March 22, 1860 2 years, 20 days 1858 Republican
1859
21 John Wentworth
(1815–1888)
2nd time		 March 22, 1860 May 6, 1861 1 year, 45 days 1860 Democratic
22 Julian Sidney Rumsey
(1823–1886)		 May 6, 1861 May 5, 1862 364 days 1861 Republican
23 Francis Cornwall Sherman
(1805–1870)
2nd time		 May 5, 1862 May 3, 1865 2 years, 363 days 1862 Democratic
1863
24 John Blake Rice
(1809–1874)		 May 3, 1865 December 6, 1869 4 years, 217 days 1865 Republican
1867
25 Roswell B. Mason
(1805–1892)		 December 6, 1869 December 4, 1871 1 year, 363 days 1869 Citizens
26 Joseph Medill
(1823–1899)		 December 4, 1871 August 22, 1873 1 year, 261 days 1871 Republican
(Dry)
– Lester L. Bond
(1829–1903)
Acting		 August 22, 1873 December 1, 1873 101 days – Republican
27 Harvey Doolittle Colvin
(1815–1892)		 December 1, 1873 July 24, 1876 2 years, 236 days 1873 People's
– Thomas Hoyne
(1817–1883)
Disputed		 Election invalidated;
tenure annulled		 April
1876[b]		 Independent Democratic
28 Monroe Heath
(1827–1894)		 July 24, 1876 April 28, 1879 2 years, 278 days July
1876		 Republican
1877
29 Carter Harrison III
(1825–1893)
1st time		 April 28, 1879 April 18, 1887 7 years, 355 days 1879 Democratic
1881
1883
1885
30 John A. Roche
(1844–1904)		 April 18, 1887 April 15, 1889 1 year, 362 days 1887 Republican
31 DeWitt Clinton Cregier
(1829–1898)		 April 15, 1889 April 27, 1891 2 years, 12 days 1889 Democratic
32 Hempstead Washburne
(1851–1918)		 April 27, 1891 April 17, 1893 1 year, 355 days 1891 Republican
33 Carter Harrison III
(1825–1893)
2nd time		 April 17, 1893 October 28, 1893[†] 194 days 1893 Democratic
34 George Bell Swift
(1845–1912)
Pro tempore
1st time		 November 9, 1893 December 27, 1893 48 days – Republican
35 John Patrick Hopkins
(1858–1918)		 December 27, 1893 April 8, 1895 1 year, 102 days 1893 special Democratic
36 George Bell Swift
(1845–1912)
2nd time		 April 8, 1895 April 15, 1897 2 years, 7 days 1895 Republican
37 Carter Harrison IV
(1860–1953)
1st time		 April 15, 1897 April 10, 1905 7 years, 360 days 1897 Democratic
1899
1901
1903
38 Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne
(1853–1937)		 April 10, 1905 April 15, 1907 2 years, 5 days 1905 Democratic
39 Fred A. Busse
(1866–1914)		 April 15, 1907 April 17, 1911 4 years, 2 days 1907 Republican
40 Carter Harrison IV
(1860–1953)
2nd time		 April 17, 1911 April 26, 1915 4 years, 9 days 1911 Democratic
41 William Hale Thompson
(1869–1944)
1st time		 April 26, 1915 April 16, 1923 7 years, 355 days 1915 Republican
1919
42 William Emmett Dever
(1862–1929)		 April 16, 1923 April 18, 1927 4 years, 2 days 1923 Democratic
43 William Hale Thompson
(1869–1944)
2nd time
Campaign		 April 18, 1927 April 9, 1931 3 years, 356 days 1927 Republican
44 Anton Cermak
(1873–1933)		 April 9, 1931 March 6, 1933[†] 1 year, 331 days 1931 Democratic
45 Frank J. Corr
(1877–1934)
Acting		 March 15, 1933 April 8, 1933 24 days – Democratic
46 Edward Joseph Kelly
(1876–1950)		 April 17, 1933 April 15, 1947 13 years, 363 days App. Democratic
1935
1939
1943
47 Martin H. Kennelly
(1887–1961)		 April 15, 1947 April 20, 1955 8 years, 5 days 1947 Democratic
1951
48 Richard J. Daley
(1902–1976)		 April 20, 1955 December 20, 1976[†] 21 years, 244 days 1955 Democratic
1959
1963
1967
1971
1975
49 Michael A. Bilandic
(1923–2002)		 December 20, 1976 April 16, 1979 2 years, 117 days App. Democratic Casey Laskowski
1977 special
50 Jane Byrne
(1933–2014)		 April 16, 1979 April 29, 1983 4 years, 13 days 1979 Democratic Richard Mell
51 Harold Washington
(1922–1987)		 April 29, 1983 November 25, 1987[†] 4 years, 210 days 1983 Democratic
1987 David Orr
52 David Orr
(born 1944)
Acting
[13]		 November 25, 1987 December 2, 1987 7 days – Democratic Himself
53 Eugene Sawyer
(1934–2008)		 December 2, 1987 April 24, 1989 1 year, 143 days App. Democratic David Orr
Terry Gabinski
54 Richard M. Daley
(born 1942)		 April 24, 1989 May 16, 2011 22 years, 22 days 1989 special Democratic
1991
1995
1999 Nonpartisan[c]
(Democratic)		 Bernard Stone
2003
2007
55 Rahm Emanuel
(born 1959)		 May 16, 2011 May 20, 2019 8 years, 4 days 2011 Nonpartisan[c]
(Democratic)		 Ray Suarez
2015 Brendan Reilly
56 Lori Lightfoot
(born 1962)		 May 20, 2019 May 15, 2023 3 years, 360 days 2019 Nonpartisan[c]
(Democratic)		 Tom Tunney
57 Brandon Johnson
(born 1976)		 May 15, 2023 Incumbent 2 years, 170 days 2023 Nonpartisan[c]
(Democratic)		 Walter Burnett Jr.

Notes

^† Died in office
    1. ↑ The March 1844 mayoral election was voided by the Common Council on the grounds that clerks in wards had been unqualified to vote. See here for more information.
    2. ↑ The April 1876 mayoral election (and thus Hoyne's tenure as mayor) was annulled after it was ruled by the Circuit Court of Cook County that the election had been illegitimate. See here and here for more information.
    3. 1 2 3 4 Since 1999, mayoral elections have officially been nonpartisan. A 1995 Illinois law stipulated that "candidates for mayor ... no longer would run under party labels in Chicago". However, Daley, Emanuel, Lightfoot, and Johnson are known to be Democrats.[14]

    Vice mayor

    Vice mayor of Chicago
    Incumbent
    Vacant
    since August 7, 2025
    Inaugural holderCasey Laskowski
    Formation1976
    Salary$0[15]

    In accordance with Illinois law, the city council elects a vice mayor who serves as interim mayor in the event of a vacancy in the office of the mayor or the inability of the mayor to serve due to illness or injury, until the city council elects one of its members acting mayor or until the mayoral term expires. The vice mayoralty is currently vacant following the resignation of Walter Burnett Jr. on August 7, 2025.

    The position was created by a state law that was passed in response to the power struggle that took place over succession following Richard J. Daley's death in office.[9][15][16]

    If neither the mayor nor president pro tempore can preside over a City Council meeting, then the vice mayor presides.[11]

    The position was long considered to be largely ceremonial.[17][18][19] However, in 2023, Mayor Brandon Johnson successfully championed a resolution that gave the office a $400,000 budget. He also had his vice mayor, Burnett, act as an official community liaison for the mayoral administration.[20]

    List of vice mayors

    No. Vice Mayor Took office Left office Party Mayor(s) served under
    1 Casey Laskowski
    (1918–2003)
    [21][22]    		 1976 1979 Democratic Michael A. Bilandic
    2 Richard Mell
    (born 1938)
    [23]    		 April 16, 1979 April 24, 1987 Democratic Jane Byrne
    Harold Washington
    3 David Orr
    (born 1944)
    [8][24][25]    		 April 1987 May 1988 Democratic Harold Washington
    Himself (acting)
    Eugene Sawyer
    4 Terry Gabinski
    (born 1938)
    [24][26]    		 1988 1998 Democratic Eugene Sawyer
    Richard M. Daley
    5 Bernard Stone
    (1927–2014)
    [25][27][28]    		 1998 2011 Democratic Richard M. Daley
    6 Ray Suarez
    (born 1946)
    [17][18]    		 May 16, 2011 May 20, 2015 Unknown Rahm Emanuel
    7 Brendan Reilly
    (born 1971)
    [29][30]    		 May 18, 2015 May 20, 2019 Democratic Rahm Emanuel
    8 Tom Tunney
    (born 1955)
    [7]    		 May 20, 2019 May 15, 2023 Democratic Lori Lightfoot
    9 Walter Burnett Jr.
    (born 1963)
    [31]    		 May 15, 2023 August 7, 2025 Democratic Brandon Johnson

    See also

    References

    1. ↑ "Daley now Chicago mayor 1 day longer than father" Archived 2011-01-01 at the Wayback Machine Associated Press December 26, 2010
    2. ↑ Pratt, Gregory (May 22, 2018). "Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announces key hires for her new administration, some Rahm Emanuel appointees will stay". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 22, 2019 – via MSN.
    3. ↑ "Government, City of Chicago". Encyclopedia of Chicago. Archived from the original on August 15, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
    4. ↑ Shepard, Steven (February 26, 2019). "Black women make history in Chicago mayoral election". Politico. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
    5. ↑ "65 ILCS 20/21-5.1". Illinois General Assembly. Government of Illinois. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
    6. 1 2 "About City Government & the Chicago City Council". City Clerk of Chicago. September 21, 2015. Archived from the original on March 5, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
    7. 1 2 Spielman, Fran (May 17, 2019). "Lightfoot shakes up the City Council". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
    8. 1 2 Pratt, Gregory (May 7, 2018). "Wilson Frost remembered: 'He should've been Chicago's first black mayor'". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
    9. 1 2 King, Seth S. (December 29, 1976). "Bilandic, Lawyer and Daley Friend, Named Acting Mayor of Chicago". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
    10. ↑ Harold, the People's Mayor: The Biography of Harold Washington by Dempsey Travis, Agate Publishing, Dec 12, 2017
    11. 1 2 Krebs, Timothy B. "MONEY AND MACHINE POLITICS An Analysis of Corporate and Labor Contributions in Chicago City Council Elections" (PDF). Retrieved April 15, 2020.
    12. ↑ "Chicago Mayors". Chicago Public Library. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
    13. ↑ "Chicago Mayors, 1837-2007". Encyclopedia of Chicago. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
    14. ↑ Hardy, Thomas (July 7, 1995). "Gov. Edgar To End City Partisan Votes". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
    15. 1 2 Devlin, Hugh (March 29, 2010). "Another City Council Stealth Budget". Chicago Talks. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
    16. ↑ "65 ILCS 20/21-5.1". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
    17. 1 2 Spielman, Fran (May 20, 2015). "City Council shuffle rewards Emanuel allies". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015.
    18. 1 2 Dumke, Mick (May 18, 2011). "The first meeting of the new mayor and City Council is nothing if not efficient". Chicago Reader. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
    19. ↑ Dumke, Mick (January 5, 2006). "A Million Here, a Million There . . ". Chicago Reader. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
    20. ↑ Multiple sources
    21. ↑ "CASIMIR LASKOWSKI, 84". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. August 18, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
    22. ↑ Colby, Peter W.; Peter W. Colby and Paul Michael Green, Paul Michael (February 1979). "The vote power of Chicago Democrats from Cermak to Bilandic The consolidation of clout". Illinois Issues: 20. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
    23. ↑ "Chicago City Council: Richard Mell". NBC Chicago. November 11, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
    24. 1 2 Dold, R. Bruce (May 26, 1988). "COUNCIL REPLACES ORR AS VICE MAYOR". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
    25. 1 2 Simpson, Dick (2018). Rogues, Rebels, And Rubber Stamps: The Politics Of The Chicago City Council, 1863 To The Present. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-97719-0. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
    26. ↑ Tribune, Chicago (May 5, 1988). "GABINSKI'S TOP AIDE LIKELY TO SUCCEED HIM". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
    27. ↑ "Chicago's Vice Mayor". Chicago Tonight. WTTW. April 10, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
    28. ↑ Geiger, Kim; Washburn, Gay (December 22, 2014). "Former Chicago Alderman Bernie Stone dead at 87". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
    29. ↑ Sullivan, Emmet. "What Would Actually Happen if Rahm Resigns". ChicagoMag.org. Chicago Magazine. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
    30. ↑ Pratt, John Byrne, Juan Perez Jr, Gregory. "Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot aces first test of her power: City Council overhaul approved". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved May 29, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    31. ↑ Spielman, Fran (June 1, 2023). "Inside the political survival of Chicago City Council dean". Chicago Sun-Times.

    Further reading

    Secondary sources

    • Banfield, Edward C. (1961). Political Influence. – covers major public issues 1957 to 1958 in Chicago
    • Becker, Richard Edward. Edward Dunn, Reform Mayor of Chicago: 1905-1907 (PhD thesis). The University of Chicago.
    • Bennett, Larry (2011). "The Mayor among His Peers: Interpreting Richard M. Daley". In Judd, Dennis R.; Simpson, Dick (eds.). The City, Revisited: Urban Theory from Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. University of Minnesota Press. pp. 242–272. ISBN 978-0-8166-6575-4. JSTOR 10.5749/j.cttts735.14.
    • Biles, Roger (2018). Mayor Harold Washington: Champion of Race and Reform in Chicago. University of Illinois Press. doi:10.5406/j.ctvvnhdn. ISBN 978-0-252-05052-7.
    • Biles, Roger (1984). Big City Boss in Depression and War: Mayor Edward J. Kelly of Chicago.
      • Biles, William Roger (1981). Mayor Edward J. Kelly of Chicago: Big City Boss in Depression and War (PhD thesis). University of Illinois at Chicago.
    • Bradley, Donald S.; Zald, Mayer N. (1965). "From commercial elite to political administrator: The recruitment of the mayors of Chicago". American Journal of Sociology. 71 (2): 153–167. doi:10.1086/224030. JSTOR 2774548.
    • Bradley, Donald S. (1963). The historical trends of the political elites and metropolitan Central City: the Chicago mayors.
    • Bukowski, Douglas (1998). Big Bill Thompson, Chicago, and the Politics of Image.
    • Bukowski, Douglas (1978). "William Dever and Prohibition: The mayoral election of 1923 and 1927". Chicago History. 7 (2): 109–118.
    • Carl, Jim (2009). "'Good Politics Is Good Government': The Troubling History of Mayoral Control of the Public Schools in Twentieth-Century Chicago". American Journal of Education. 115 (2): 305–336. doi:10.1086/595666.
    • Cohen, Adam; Taylor, Elizabeth (2001). American pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley, his battle for Chicago and the nation. Little, Brown. ISBN 0316834890.
    • Fehrenbacher, Don E. (1957). "Lincoln and the Mayor of Chicago". Wisconsin Magazine of History. 40 (4): 237–244. JSTOR 4633136. – about Long John Wentworth
    • Gottfried, Alex (1962). Boss Cermak of Chicago: A Study of Political Leadership. University of Washington Press.
    • Green, Paul M.; Holli, Melvin G. (2013). The Mayors: The Chicago Political Tradition (4th ed.). – scholarly biographies about Medill, Harrison II, Dunne, Busse, Thompson, Dever, Cermak, Kelly, Kennelly, both Daleys, Bilandic, Byrne, Washington, and Emanuel. [) online
    • Holli, Melvin G., and Paul M. Green. A View from Chicago's City Hall: Mid-Century to Millenium (Arcadia Publishing, 1999). online
    • Holli, Melvin G.; Jones, Peter d'A., eds. (1981). Biographical Dictionary of American Mayors, 1820-1980. Greenwood Press. – short scholarly biographies each of the city's mayors 1820 to 1980; see index at p. 408 for list
    • Holli, Melvin G., ed, The American Mayor: The Best & The Worst Big-City Leaders (Penn State Press, 1999), compares all mayor of major cities online.
    • Johnson, Claudius O. (1928). Carter Henry Harrison I: Political Leader.
    • Jones, Gene Delon (1974). "The Origin of the Alliance Between the New Deal and the Chicago Machine". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 67: 253–274.
    • Kleppner, Paul (1985). Chicago Divided: The Making of a Black Mayor.
    • Lydersen, Kari (2013). Mayor 1%: Rahm Emanuel and the Rise of Chicago's 99%. Haymarket Books.
    • Koeneman, Keith (2013). First Son: The Biography of Richard M. Daley. University of Chicago Press.
    • McCarthy, Michael P. (1974). "Prelude to Armageddon: Charles E. Merriam and the Chicago Mayoral Election of 1911". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 67 (5): 505–518. JSTOR 40191143.
    • Mangeu, Xolela, et al. Chicago’s Modern Mayors: From Harold Washington to Lori Lightfoot (University of Illinois Press, 2024) online.
    • Mantler, Gordon K. (2023). The Multiracial Promise. Harold Washington's Chicago and the Democratic Struggle in Reagan's America. University of North Carolina Press.
    • Marshall, Jon; Connor, Matthew (2019). "Divided Loyalties: The Chicago Defender and Harold Washington's Campaign for Mayor of Chicago". American Journalism. 36 (4): 447–472. doi:10.1080/08821127.2019.1683405.
    • Morton, Richard Allen (1997). Justice and Humanity: Edward F. Dunne, Illinois Progressive. SIU Press.
      • Morton, Richard Allen (1988). Justice and humanity: The politics of Edward F. Dunne (PhD thesis). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
    • O'Malley, Peter Joseph. "Mayor Martin H. Kennelly of Chicago: A Political Biography" (PhD Dissertation. University of Illinois at Chicago; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses,  1980. 8023247).
    • Pacyga, Dominic A. Clout City: The Rise and Fall of the Chicago Political Machine (U of Chicago Press, 2025) online
    • Preston, Michael B. (1983). "The Election of Harold Washington: Black Voting Patterns in the 1983 Chicago Mayoral Race". PS. 16 (3): 486–488. doi:10.2307/418606. JSTOR 418606.
    • Rex, Frederick (1947). The mayors of the city of Chicago from 1837 to 1933.
    • Schottenhamel, George (1952). "How Big Bill Thompson Won Control of Chicago". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. 45 (1): 30–49. JSTOR 40189189.
    • Schmidt, John R. (1989). The Mayor Who Cleaned up Chicago: A Political Biography of William E. Dever.
    • Shipps, Dorothy (2009). "Updating Tradition: The Institutional Underpinnings of Modern Mayoral Control in Chicago's Public Schools". In Viteritti, Joseph P. (ed.). Brookings Institution Press. Brookings Institution Press. pp. 117–147. ISBN 978-0-8157-9044-0. JSTOR 10.7864/j.ctt6wphgm.11.
    • Simpson, Dick (2018). Rogues, Rebels, and Rubber Stamps: The Politics of the Chicago City Council, 1863 to the Present.
    • Simpson, Dick; Mouritsen, Melissa; O'Shaughnessy, Betty (2014). "Chicago: The Election of Rahm Emanuel". Local Politics and Mayoral Elections in 21st Century America. Routledge. pp. 99–115.
    • Spirou, Costas (2016). Building the City of Spectacle: Mayor Richard M. Daley and the Remaking of Chicago. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-1-5017-0683-7. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctt20d8b1h.
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    Primary sources

    • Byrne, Jane (2004). My Chicago. Northwestern University Press.
    • Harrison, Carter Henry (1935). Stormy Years: The Autobiography of Carter H. Harrison, Five Times Mayor of Chicago.
    • Simpson, Dick (2017). The Good Fight: Life Lessons from a Chicago Progressive. Golden Alley Press. ISBN 978-0998442945.