Washington, Harold, 1922-1987

Materials in the U.S. Congressionals Records were created by Harold Washington and his staff (and volunteers) during his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1981-1983. He served the First District, Ill., during the 97th and 98th Congresses. He was inaugurated on Jan. 5, 1981. In Nov. 1982 he was re-elected to a second term and served until his inauguration as Mayor of Chicago on Apr. 29, 1983.

Development Sub-cabinet staff were the Mayor's link to several Commissioners' Departments, including the Dept. of Economic Development, Dept. of Planning, Dept. of Housing, Mayor's Office of Employment and Training, Dept. of Cultural Affairs, and the Chicago Housing Authority. Through these links the Liaison and his staff were able to work on projects involving neighborhood development and economic development.

Material in the Press Office Series represents the records created by the Press Secretary, Deputy Press Secretary and their administration within the Harold Washington Mayoral Administration, 1983-1987.

Harold Washington was sworn into the Illinois House of Representatives on Jan. 6, 1965, representing the 26th District of Illinois and served there until 1976. The collection reflects Washington's activities in the early to mid 1970's.

The Community Services Sub-cabinet files focus on the "people-oriented" departments of City government. The separate series on AIDS and education reflect the importance of these issues to the Washington Administration. The Chicago Public Library series is mainly concerned with the design-build competition for the new central library, which was named after Mayor Washington. Mostly, these documents date from the years 1983-1987 although there is a substantial portion that carries over into 1988, after the death of Mayor Washington.

The files by Dobbins and Price are primarily concerned with the general supervision of a number of important economic initiatives of the Washington administration, including the Chinatown Basin Project, renovation of the Chicago and Regal Theatres, North Loop Development projects and the yearly city budget and financial planning process. Because Dobbins and Price worked together on many projects, there is considerable overlapping in each series. Mostly the documents date from 1983-1987, although there is a small portion that predates Washington's election in 1983 or postdates his death in 1987.