Esther Richman Saperstein (October 22, 1901 – May 17, 1988) was an American legislator, women's rights advocate and mental health activist. Saperstein was born in

Chicago, Illinois 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 ...

, to Jewish immigrants, Ellis Richman from Russia and Mary Dresser from Poland. Saperstein went to Chicago public schools and

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. Saperstein was active in the Parent-Teacher Association. In 1955, Saperstein ran for the

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the Law and government of Chicago, government of the Chicago, City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 Wards of the United States, wards to serve four-year t ...

and lost the election. Saperstein 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 ...

. In 1957, Saperstein served in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

and served until 1967. Saperstein then served in the

Illinois State Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under th ...

from 1967 until 1975 when she resigned from the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in ...

. In 1975, Saperstein was elected to the Chicago City Council and served until 1979. Saperstein died at her home in Chicago, Illinois.'Esther Saperstein, 86, pioneer woman senator,' Chicago Tribune, May 18, 1988, section 2, pg. 10

Notes

* S.v. "Saperstein, Esther Richman" in Schultz, Rima Lunin and Adele Hast, eds., ''Women Building Chicago 1790 - 1990: a Biographical Dictionary'' (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001, pp. 778–80. 1901 births 1988 deaths Jewish women politicians Northwestern University alumni Women state legislators in Illinois Chicago City Council members Democratic Party Illinois state senators Democratic Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Women city councillors in Illinois 20th-century American women politicians Jewish state legislators in Illinois 20th-century American Jews Jewish women activists Jewish American women in politics 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-Democratic-stub

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