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Michelle Harris
Member of the Chicago City Council
from the 8th ward
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 13, 2006
Preceded byTodd Stroger
Personal details
Born (1961-12-13) December 13, 1961 (age 63)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationChicago State University (BA)

Michelle A. Harris (born December 13, 1961) is an American politician who is the alderman of Chicago's 8th ward[1] and the chair of the Chicago City Council's rules committee.[2][3]

Early life and education

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Harris was raised on the south side of Chicago where she attended Chicago Vocational High School and Chicago State University.[4]

Aldermanic career

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Harris began her aldermanic career in 2006.[5] She was appointed by mayor Richard M. Daley to fill the vacancy left after Todd Stroger retired to become President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. On December 13, 2006, Michelle Harris was confirmed as Alderwoman by the Chicago City Council and sworn in.[6] Harris has subsequently been reelected in 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019.

In 2014, she had expressed support for a proposed marijuana dispensary on 87th street[7] and by 2015 had changed her opinion on the issue.[8] Also in 2014, she was investigated by the Illinois Attorney General for violating Illinois' Open Meetings Act[9] for failure to give adequate notice that two referendums were to be on a public meetings agenda. In 2015 she "demanded" along with 14 other African-American aldermen,[10] that Mayor Rahm Emanuel fire Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy due to inefficacy in combating murders in her ward.[11]

In an article titled "The Big Spenders—and What They Charged", Chicago magazine lists out the most egregious examples of luxurious spending of campaign contributions by Illinois politicians. Harris, for example, is cited for used her campaign account in the amount of $3,849 for airfare to Turkey in 2012.[12]

In the runoff of the 2019 Chicago mayoral election, Harris endorsed Toni Preckwinkle against her opponent Lori Lightfoot.[13] However, Harris has since served as Mayor Lightfoot's floor leader during her mayoralty,[14] being a City Council ally of Lightfoot.[15][16]

2016 clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County campaign

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In 2016, Harris challenged incumbent Dorothy A. Brown in the Democratic primary for Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County.[17] Harris lost the primary, receiving 307,392 votes (30.53%) to Brown's 477,503 (47.43%), with the remaining 221,921 votes (22.04%) going to Jacob Meister.[18][19]

Electoral history

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2007 Chicago 8th Ward aldermanic election[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Michelle A. Harris (incumbent) 8,446 60.58
Nonpartisan Joseph McAfee 1,260 9.04
Nonpartisan Faheem Shabazz 1,182 8.48
Nonpartisan Cliff Underwood 1,055 7.57
Nonpartisan Derrick T. Prince 768 5.51
Nonpartisan Van B. Newell Jr. 553 3.97
Nonpartisan Dennis Allen 346 2.48
Nonpartisan Sharon Ann Adams 333 2.39
Total votes 13,943 100
2011 Chicago 8th Ward aldermanic election[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Michelle A. Harris (incumbent) 10,395 68.38
Nonpartisan Faheem Shabazz 2,215 14.57
Nonpartisan James L. Daniels 1,879 12.36
Nonpartisan Bertha F. Starks 713 4.69
Total votes 15,202 100
2015 Chicago 8th Ward aldermanic election[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Michelle A. Harris (incumbent) 9,167 68.53
Nonpartisan Faheem Shabazz 2,113 15.80
Nonpartisan Tara F. Baldridge 2,096 15.67
Total votes 13,376 100
2016 Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County Democratic primary[23][24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Dorothy A. Brown (incumbent) 477,503 47.43
Democratic Michelle A. Harris 307,392 30.53
Democratic Jacob Meister 221,921 22.04
Total votes 1,006,816 100
2019 Chicago 8th Ward aldermanic election[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Michelle A. Harris (incumbent) 8,723 64.35
Nonpartisan Linda Hudson 2,356 17.38
Nonpartisan Faheem Shabazz 1,385 10.22
Nonpartisan Jewel Easterling-Smith 1,091 8.05
Total votes 13,555 100

References

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  1. ^ "Ward 8".
  2. ^ "With Chicago City Council watchdog gone, the FBI's sniffing around". Chicago Tribune. 19 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Michelle Harris: Stroger protege who earned the chance to trade council seat for clerk's office - Chicago". Chicago. Archived from the original on 2015-11-23. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  4. ^ "Chicago City Council: Michelle A. Harris". 17 October 2011.
  5. ^ "Chicago City Council: Michelle A. Harris". 17 October 2011.
  6. ^ Del Valle, Miguel (City Clerk) (December 13, 2006). "Regular Meeting on December 13th 2006 Volume 1" (PDF). Journal of Proceedings of the Chicago City Council: 93985–93986. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  7. ^ "Plan Pulled for Medical-Marijuana Dispensary on South Side". 20 November 2015.
  8. ^ "Chatham Pot Clinic Faces City Hearing as Residents, Alderman Fight It". DNAinfo Chicago. Archived from the original on 2015-11-23. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  9. ^ "Is Alderman Playing by the Rules?". Chicago Tonight | WTTW. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  10. ^ "Michelle Harris: Stroger protege who earned the chance to trade council seat for clerk's office - Chicago". Chicago. Archived from the original on 2015-11-23. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  11. ^ "African-American aldermen call on Emanuel to fire top cop". chicagotribune.com. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  12. ^ Bernstein, David (2012-12-14). "The Big Spenders—and What They Charged". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  13. ^ "List of Endorsements in the Race for Chicago Mayor". NBC Chicago. 18 March 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  14. ^ Cherone, Heather (November 9, 2022). "Push to Force Chicago Public Schools CEO to Testify at City Council Committee Hearing Fails". WTTW News. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Emerging 2023 Chicago alderman field not all woke candidates". Nadig Newspapers - Northwest Side Local Newspapers. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  16. ^ Yin, Alice (December 7, 2022). "Chicago Ald. Leslie Hairston says she turned down Mayor Lightfoot's request to serve as ethics chair: 'I am not a product of the machine'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Michelle Harris: Clerk of the Circuit Court Candidate". WTTW News. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Suburban Cook County Election Results March 15, 2016 Presidential Primary Election Clerk of the Circuit Court, Cook County Township & Precinct Results". Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  19. ^ "2016 Primary - DEM - 3/15/16". Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  20. ^ "2007 Municipal General - 2/27/07". Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  21. ^ "2011 Municipal General - 2/22/11". Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  22. ^ "2015 Municipal General - 2/24/15". Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  23. ^ "Suburban Cook County Election Results March 15, 2016 Presidential Primary Election Clerk of the Circuit Court, Cook County Township & Precinct Results". Cook County Clerk's Office. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  24. ^ "2016 Primary - DEM - 3/15/16". Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  25. ^ "2019 Municipal General - 2/26/19". Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
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