Ed H. Smith was alderman of the 28th ward in

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 1983 to 2010.

Early life

Smith earned his bachelor's degree from

Alcorn State University Alcorn State University (Alcorn State, ASU or Alcorn) is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States. ...

in Lorman,

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and his master's degree from

Northeastern Illinois University Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. NEIU serves approximately 5,000 students in the region and is both a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution and Asian American and Nat ...

. Smith has written two books: ''Love the Town Couldn’t Stop'' and ''Almost to Late''. Smith is also the executive producer of the film, "Love Relations."

Public service

Before becoming an alderman, Smith was a school teacher and worked for the Chicago Economic Development Corporation.

Aldermanic career

Smith was elected alderman in 1983 after he ran unsuccessfully in 1972, 1976, 1979 and 1980. In that 1983 election, running alongside Harold Washington, he ran a progressive campaign publicly committed to smashing the old system of patronage and corruption within Chicago. As alderman, Smith was the main sponsor of Chicago's Smoking Ban, passed in 2005 by a vote of 47–1. He also pushed the state legislature to pass a statewide ban. Smith was remarkably free of scandal in the City Council; at twenty-seven years, he had the longest tenure of any elected African-American official in Cook County, and he was never mentioned or implicated in any of the city council's corruption scandals. Smith was also Chicago's representative on the Transportation, Infrastructure and Service Steering Committee to the

National League of Cities The National League of Cities (NLC) is an American advocacy organization that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a membership organization provi ...

. The National League of Cities works towards "strengthening and promoting cities as centers of opportunity, leadership, and governance." Smith was Chairman of the Health Committee, where he led campaigns to promote awareness about sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Smith was vice-chairman on the Zoning committees, and served on five additional committees: Budget and Government Operations; Finance, Buildings; Committees, Rules and Ethics; and Aviation. Smith ran in the Democratic primary for

Cook County recorder of deeds The Cook County Recorder of Deeds was the recorder of deeds of county government in Cook County, Illinois, prior to the position's abolishment in 2020. History of office An early incarnation of a dedicated county recorder of deeds was establish ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, but did not win, losing to the incumbent recorder of deeds Eugene Moore. He announced his retirement from the city council in November 2010, effective at the end of that month.

References

External links

Chicago Reader profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ed Alcorn State University alumni Northeastern Illinois University alumni Chicago City Council members Living people Year of birth missing (living people) African-American people in Illinois politics