Burton Natarus
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Burton F. "Burt" Natarus (November 7, 1933 – June 11, 2020) was
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 42nd
Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
from 1971 to 2007.


Early life

Natarus was born in
Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Wisconsin River and had a population of 39,994 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the core city of the Wausau ...
. He graduated from
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
in 1956 and
University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...
in 1960. Natarus continued his education at the
John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
at
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
. He was admitted to the Wisconsin bar in 1960 and practiced law in Chicago. Later, he taught at Chicago's
Loyola University Loyola University is one of several Jesuit Universities named for St. Ignatius of Loyola. Loyola University may refer to: Democratic Republic of the Congo *Loyola University of Congo, Kinshasa, Congo Spain * Loyola University Andalusia, Sevilla ...
on the subject of local government. Natarus also served in the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
and the U.S. Army Reserves, earning paratrooper's "jump wings".


Public service

Natarus was active in a number of community groups: City Club of Chicago, Streeterville Organization of Active Residents, Central Michigan Association, North Dearborn Association, and River North Association.


Aldermanic career

Natarus was a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...
. Natarus was a protégé of longtime 42nd Ward Democratic
Committeeman In the United States, a political party committee is an organization, officially affiliated with a political party and registered with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which raises and spends money for political campaigning. Political party c ...
and Cook County Board President
George Dunne George W. Dunne (February 20, 1913 – May 28, 2006) was an American politician within the Democratic Party from Chicago, Illinois. He was president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from 1969 to 1991; the longest service of anyone ...
. Natarus was first elected Alderman of the 42nd Ward in 1971. He was re-elected eight times, serving for thirty-six years. The 42nd Ward encompasses some of Chicago's wealthiest neighborhoods, including
Streeterville Streeterville is a neighborhood in the Near North Side, Chicago, Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, north of the Chicago River. It is bounded by the river on the south, the Magnificent Mile portion of Michigan ...
, the Gold Coast, the
Magnificent Mile The Magnificent Mile (sometimes locally abbreviated to the Mag Mile) is the approximately one-mile-long stretch of Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue from the Chicago River to Oak Street (Chicago), Oak Street on the Near North Side ...
,
River North River North is a Chicago neighborhood located north of the Chicago River, south of Division Street, and west of Wabash Avenue. It is adjacent to the Magnificent Mile retail and tourism corridor. River North has become one of Chicago's top n ...
, and the Loop. Natarus was Chairman of the Traffic and Safety Committee. He also served on six other committees: Finance; Zoning; Committees, Rules and Ethics; License and Consumer Protection; Budget and Government Operations; and Housing and Real Estate. In addition, he was a member of the Chicago Plan Commission, the Central Area Planning Task Force, and the Regional Transportation Task Force. Natarus' pushed "good government" projects that appealed to his predominantly liberal constituents, such as arts funding, park expansion, and gun control. He became known as the Council's most skilled author of legislation, and was dubbed "the Master of the Ordinance." Natarus avoided challenging then-
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Chicago from 1955, and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party from 1953, until his death. He has been called "the last of ...
and the Party on issues such as corruption, favoritism, racism, and police brutality. He was a reliable vote in favor of the Mayor's budget, and of any zoning changes requested by other Aldermen. The ordinances he crafted often included language that allowed the Mayor to give tax breaks, subsidies, and sweetheart deals to favored business interests. He was consistently supportive of property developers in his ward, and pointed to the vast array of big new buildings there as his accomplishment. In turn developers donated heavily to his campaign fund. Natarus always supported Democratic Party endorsed candidates for state and county office in Democratic primaries. This continued under Daley's successors, Bilandic and
Byrne Byrne is an Irish surname and less commonly a given name. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Ó Broin'' or ''Ó Beirn'', which are also linked to the surname O'Byrne. There are two Irish surnames which have Byrne as their English spelling; the mos ...
. However, after
Harold Washington Harold Lee Washington (April 15, 1922 – November 25, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician who was the 51st mayor of Chicago. In April 1983, Washington became the first African American to be elected as the city’s mayor at the age of ...
won the Democratic nomination for Mayor, and subsequently the Mayoralty itself, in 1983, Natarus supported Washington (who was
black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
) in the racially charged "
Council Wars The Council Wars were a racially polarized political conflict in the city of Chicago from 1983 to 1986, centered on the Chicago City Council. The term came from a satirical comedy sketch of the same name written and performed by comedian and jou ...
" that followed. After Washington's death and eventual replacement by
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 ...
, Natarus was as loyal to the son as he had been to his father. When Dunne finally retired as Ward Committeeman in 2003 precinct captains selected Natarus as his replacement. Natarus' son owns an architectural metal company that was among the vendors for the build-out of the
Park Grill The Park Grill is the only full-service restaurant included in Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois. Its outdoor seating area is the largest al fresco dining area in Chicago. It has placed among the leaders in citywide best-of competitions for ...
restaurant in
Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Chicago Loop, Loop Community areas of Chicago, community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in July 2004, is a prominent civic center near t ...
. In 1989, he opposed legislation championed by Daley to create a watchdog to oversee all of city government. He argued that the fact that aldermen had previously been charged with felonies, "indicates the system works as is." The ordinance later passed, but with revisions that made alderman exempted from the new inspector general's oversight.


Defeat

By 2006, Natarus had developed hostile relations with some members of the press. At times he responded to criticism with vulgar language or angry harangues. He had also lost the support of important
labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
s, notably the SEIU. In 2007, Natarus sought re-election for a tenth term. Observers noted that Natarus barely campaigned, missing several events at which he was to share a podium with challenger Brendan Reilly. The SEIU and other unions backed Reilly. Natarus was defeated in the General Election of February 27 by 8.6%. In 2007, Natarus had a
red light camera A red light camera (short for red light running camera ) is a type of traffic enforcement camera that photographs a vehicle that has entered an intersection after the traffic signal controlling the intersection has turned red. By automatically pho ...
installed "near his condo in an intersection that had virtually no accidents". In 2019, the
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
inadvertently reported Natarus as dead.


Personal life

Natarus had two children, Jill, Ellen, and Michael, and one grandchild, Jacob. He died on June 5, 2020, at the age of 86.


References


External links


Aldermanic website Neighbors Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Natarus, Burton Chicago City Council members Illinois Democrats Harvard Kennedy School alumni Lawyers from Chicago Wisconsin lawyers Military personnel from Wisconsin Politicians from Wausau, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Loyola University Chicago faculty 1933 births 2020 deaths