Jeanette Beatrice Taylor (born May 16, 1975) is an American politician and

community organizer Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. Unlike those who promote more-consensual community buil ...

. Taylor is the alderman of Chicago, Illinois' 20th ward, taking office as a member of 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 ...

in May 2019. She won an open race to succeed outgoing alderman

Willie Cochran Willie B. Cochran (born 1953) is an American politician and former Chicago Police Department officer. Cochran served as alderman of Chicago, Illinois' 20th Ward from 2007 until 2019. Early life, education and career Cochran was born one of ten c ...

in the 2019 Chicago aldermanic elections. She is a member of the

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a political organization in the United States and the country's largest Socialism, socialist organization. Sitting on the Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left of the politic ...

Early life and career

Taylor was born in Chicago on May 15, 1975. Her parents were a clerk at

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...

and a taxi driver. For high school, Taylor attended

Dunbar Vocational High School Dunbar Vocational High School (also known as Dunbar Vocational Career Academy, or DVCA) is a public 4–year vocational high school located in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Dunbar opened in 19 ...

. At age 19, Taylor was elected as a member of the local school council for Mollison Elementary School, where her son attended school, and served in that position for over 20 years. She has been an organizer at Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, and is a member of People United for Action and United Working Families. In 2015, Taylor led a hunger strike that successfully protested the proposed closure of Dyett High School.

Chicago City Council (2019–present)

Taylor took office as a member of Chicago City Council on May 20, 2019. In July 2019, Taylor and fellow alderman Leslie Hairston introduced a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) ordinance aimed at protecting affordable housing near the proposed

Barack Obama Presidential Center The Barack Obama Presidential Center is a planned museum, library, and education project in Chicago to commemorate the presidency of Barack Obama, the List of presidents of the United States, 44th President of the United States, president of the ...

development. The ordinance gained the support of nearly 30 aldermen, but in January 2020, the Lightfoot administration announced that it would support a scaled-back version. Taylor opposed the scaled-back version and reiterated support for the initial CBA ordinance. In July 2020, a compromise ordinance was formulated after negotiations between Lightfoot's administration, aldermen Taylor and Hairston, and community groups. Taylor called the compromise ordinance a "step in the right direction" and called for further action. In November 2019, Taylor was one of eleven aldermen to vote against Mayor

Lori Lightfoot Lori Elaine Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962) is an American politician and attorney who was the mayor of Chicago#List of mayors, 56th mayor of Chicago from 2019 until 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she ...

's first budget. She joined all five other members of the Socialist Caucus in signing a letter to Lightfoot which criticized her budget for "an over-reliance on property taxes" and "regressive funding models" that are "burdensome to our working-class citizens, while giving the wealthy and large corporations a pass."

References

1975 births 20th-century African-American women 20th-century American women 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century Illinois politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American city council members in Illinois Chicago City Council members Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from Illinois Dunbar Vocational High School alumni Living people Women city councillors in Illinois {{Illinois-politician-stub