Dorothy Tillman
Encyclopedia
Dorothy J. Tillman is a former Chicago
alderman
in the 3rd Ward (map). A member of the Democratic Party
, she represented part of the city's South Side in the Chicago City Council
. As an Alderman, Tillman was a strong advocate of reparations for slavery
. In April 2007, she was defeated in a runoff election by challenger Pat Dowell
. Tillman defeated Dowell in 2003. Prior to her career as an alderman, Tillman was active in the civil rights
movement, working for Martin Luther King's
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC) as an activist.
Tillman was known for wearing large hats and has cultivated this image as her trademark
in 1947. She joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC) as a trainee and field staff organizer in 1963. Tillman marched with King and was among the SCLC Field Staff to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge
in Selma, Alabama
in the Selma to Montgomery marches
on 7 March 1965.
She had her first involvement in Chicago politics later in 1965 when King sent her there to campaign for better housing, education and employment conditions for blacks. This campaign marked the start of King's effort to improve socio-economic conditions for blacks. Tillman was involved in organizing King's move into a Chicago tenement in early 1966 and the launch of his campaign in July 1966.
While in Chicago, Tillman met her husband, blues drummer Jimmy Lee Tillman. The Tillmans moved to San Francisco shortly after their marriage and became involved in a successful campaign to improve public transport services to their neighborhood.
The Tillmans later returned to Chicago where Dorothy Tillman became involved in educational issues. She founded the Parent Equalizers of Chicago, which eventually became active in 300 schools across the city, setting the groundwork for school reform in Chicago. The momentum created by several successful grassroots campaigns Tillman help organize led to the election of Chicago’s first African American mayor, Harold Washington.
In 2000, Tillman requested that two waiters at the Palmer House hotel in Chicago be replaced with African-American waiters for a banquet hosted by Alderman Tillman. Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley
delivered a strongly worded rebuke in the media.
Tillman was an advocate of reparations for slavery
and was successful in having a number of resolutions passed in support of the concept. She authored a bill, passed unanimously in 2002, forcing companies who perform contracts with the council to declare any past ties with slavery. In early 2005, Tillman led a campaign against a $500 million refinancing deal with the Bank of America
because of its alleged links with slavery. In the case of the Bank of America, these links are allegedly through FleetBoston Financial
, a company which it acquired in 2004. Providene, a predecessor of Fleet Boston, was supposedly founded by a slave owner in 1791.
During one loud session of the City Council, Tillman gained the attention of the entire floor when she produced a pistol from her handbag and brandished it about. This led calls by some aldermen and Chicago citizens to call for a censure on Tillman's professional ethics, and possible mandatory gun safety
training."
Tillman has been involved in the Harold Washington Cultural Center (HWCC) since its inception. A 2006 three-part investigative report by the Chicago local paper Lakefront Outlook reported accounting irregularities and conflicts of interest by Tillman and her family. Despite the controversy and his stand on ethics
reform, U.S. Senator Barack Obama
endorsed Tillman in her 2007 election noting she was an early supporter of his.
Although she had the backing of Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley, Tillman was not able to achieve a majority of votes in Chicago's non-partisan aldermanic election in February, 2007. As a result, Tillman stood in in a runoff election against challenger Pat Dowell
. Dowell took 54 percent of the vote to 46 percent for Tillman. During a heated debate between Tillman and Dowell on April 3, 2007, Dowell charged Tillman with failing to produce business growth beyond the street corner where her ward office was located and stated "I will be the change agent," after which Tillman's daughter (and political staffer) shouted out "A white man agent!"
In October 2008 Tillman was convicted for criminal trespassing at an Alabama hospital in March 2008. A dispute over medical records escalated and the police were called. Tillman claims she was brutalized by the police. She was fined and received a suspended sentence. Her lawyer stated that an appeal is planned.
The charge was eventually dropped as part of a settlement with the hospital.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
in the 3rd Ward (map). A member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, she represented part of the city's South Side in the Chicago City Council
Chicago City Council
The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 aldermen elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms...
. As an Alderman, Tillman was a strong advocate of reparations for slavery
Reparations for slavery
Reparations for slavery is a proposal that some type of compensation should be provided to the descendants of enslaved people in the United States, in consideration of the coerced and uncompensated labor their ancestors performed over several centuries...
. In April 2007, she was defeated in a runoff election by challenger Pat Dowell
Pat Dowell
Pat Dowell is an alderman in the Chicago City Council representing 3rd ward of the City of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. Dowell was elected in April 2007 in a runoff election against incumbent Dorothy Tillman. Dowell had lost to Tillman in 2003....
. Tillman defeated Dowell in 2003. Prior to her career as an alderman, Tillman was active in the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
movement, working for Martin Luther King's
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African-American civil rights organization. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
(SCLC) as an activist.
Tillman was known for wearing large hats and has cultivated this image as her trademark
Civil rights activities
Dorothy Tillman was born in Montgomery, AlabamaMontgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
in 1947. She joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African-American civil rights organization. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
(SCLC) as a trainee and field staff organizer in 1963. Tillman marched with King and was among the SCLC Field Staff to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge
Edmund Pettus Bridge
The Edmund Pettus Bridge is a bridge that carries U.S. Highway 80 across the Alabama River in Selma, Alabama. Built in 1940, it is named for Edmund Winston Pettus, a former Confederate brigadier general and U.S. Senator from Alabama. The bridge is a steel through arch bridge with a central span of...
in Selma, Alabama
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
in the Selma to Montgomery marches
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League...
on 7 March 1965.
She had her first involvement in Chicago politics later in 1965 when King sent her there to campaign for better housing, education and employment conditions for blacks. This campaign marked the start of King's effort to improve socio-economic conditions for blacks. Tillman was involved in organizing King's move into a Chicago tenement in early 1966 and the launch of his campaign in July 1966.
While in Chicago, Tillman met her husband, blues drummer Jimmy Lee Tillman. The Tillmans moved to San Francisco shortly after their marriage and became involved in a successful campaign to improve public transport services to their neighborhood.
The Tillmans later returned to Chicago where Dorothy Tillman became involved in educational issues. She founded the Parent Equalizers of Chicago, which eventually became active in 300 schools across the city, setting the groundwork for school reform in Chicago. The momentum created by several successful grassroots campaigns Tillman help organize led to the election of Chicago’s first African American mayor, Harold Washington.
Chicago Alderman tenure
Dorothy Tillman was elected as an alderman representing Chicago's Third Ward in 1985, being the first woman elected for that ward. Tillman pioneered the first TIF to be used in the black community, with the construction of the 55th and Dan Ryan shopping center. She helped to found the African American Home Builders Association and advocated for a 70/30 plan to make certain that African Americans received the majority of the contracts.In 2000, Tillman requested that two waiters at the Palmer House hotel in Chicago be replaced with African-American waiters for a banquet hosted by Alderman Tillman. Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley
Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
delivered a strongly worded rebuke in the media.
Tillman was an advocate of reparations for slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
and was successful in having a number of resolutions passed in support of the concept. She authored a bill, passed unanimously in 2002, forcing companies who perform contracts with the council to declare any past ties with slavery. In early 2005, Tillman led a campaign against a $500 million refinancing deal with the Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
because of its alleged links with slavery. In the case of the Bank of America, these links are allegedly through FleetBoston Financial
FleetBoston Financial
FleetBoston Financial was a Boston, Massachusetts–based bank created in 1999 by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston. In 2004 it merged with Bank of America; all of its banks and branches were given the Bank of America logo.-History:...
, a company which it acquired in 2004. Providene, a predecessor of Fleet Boston, was supposedly founded by a slave owner in 1791.
During one loud session of the City Council, Tillman gained the attention of the entire floor when she produced a pistol from her handbag and brandished it about. This led calls by some aldermen and Chicago citizens to call for a censure on Tillman's professional ethics, and possible mandatory gun safety
Gun safety
Gun safety is a collection of rules and recommendations that can be applied when handling firearms. The purpose of gun safety is to eliminate or minimize the risks of unintentional death, injury or damage caused by improper handling of firearms....
training."
Tillman has been involved in the Harold Washington Cultural Center (HWCC) since its inception. A 2006 three-part investigative report by the Chicago local paper Lakefront Outlook reported accounting irregularities and conflicts of interest by Tillman and her family. Despite the controversy and his stand on ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
reform, U.S. Senator Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
endorsed Tillman in her 2007 election noting she was an early supporter of his.
Although she had the backing of Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley, Tillman was not able to achieve a majority of votes in Chicago's non-partisan aldermanic election in February, 2007. As a result, Tillman stood in in a runoff election against challenger Pat Dowell
Pat Dowell
Pat Dowell is an alderman in the Chicago City Council representing 3rd ward of the City of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. Dowell was elected in April 2007 in a runoff election against incumbent Dorothy Tillman. Dowell had lost to Tillman in 2003....
. Dowell took 54 percent of the vote to 46 percent for Tillman. During a heated debate between Tillman and Dowell on April 3, 2007, Dowell charged Tillman with failing to produce business growth beyond the street corner where her ward office was located and stated "I will be the change agent," after which Tillman's daughter (and political staffer) shouted out "A white man agent!"
In October 2008 Tillman was convicted for criminal trespassing at an Alabama hospital in March 2008. A dispute over medical records escalated and the police were called. Tillman claims she was brutalized by the police. She was fined and received a suspended sentence. Her lawyer stated that an appeal is planned.
The charge was eventually dropped as part of a settlement with the hospital.