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IN MEMORIAM: Mary Ann Smith, Former Alderperson and Chicago Landmark Commissioner

IN MEMORIAM: Mary Ann Smith, Former Alderperson and Landmark Commissioner

“Former Ald. Mary Ann Smith’s fingerprints are all over the 48th Ward.

“From overseeing the creation of the city’s first traffic circles, speed humps and bike lanes to planting dozens of new trees along Broadway Street in Edgewater, she was all-in on environmentally-friendly beautification and making her ward more livable.

“She served on the Chicago City Council from 1989 to 2011. The 48th Ward includes parts of the Edgewater and Uptown.

“‘She was always sending me New York Times stories about great ideas other cities from around the country and world were doing,’ said her friend Thom Greene, an architect.

“‘We had an experimental ward,’ said Bob Remer, former president of the Edgewater Historical Society. ‘And the former mayor (Richard M. Daley), who was known for his beautification efforts, embraced it and he sent her to urban planning conferences to represent the city.’

“One of Mrs. Smith’s favorite stories to tell was how she got arrested in 1993, along with her son and two other friends, for painting over a number of advertising benches that were placed in her ward against the will of the community. The case was dismissed.

“In the early 1980s, dismayed at the city’s infrequent testing for high bacteria levels that could pose a threat to swimmers at city beaches, Mrs. Smith teamed with Kathy Osterman (who later became alderperson before Smith took her City Council seat) and Tom Murphy, a DePaul University chemistry professor who lived in the neighborhood, to test the water themselves.

“Mrs. Smith’s son Matt, a couples therapist, pointed to his mother’s hand in the creation of a park featuring an Abraham Lincoln statue that’s next to Senn High School as an example of how she viewed the importance of public gathering spaces.

“In 1991, during heightened fears and paranoia surrounding the country’s AIDS epidemic, Mrs. Smith hired Greg Harris, who was openly gay and HIV-positive, as her chief of staff.

“‘She thought it was important that the gay community, which was a significant community in her ward, had representation on her staff,’ said Harris. ‘It was a big statement at the time, and that’s how she led. She didn’t make flashy appearances, she led by example and she leaned into science and shared real information about the disease.’

“Mrs. Smith, who helped create affordable housing for people with HIV/AIDS, was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 1997. ‘She created that housing, as well as affordable housing for immigrants and refugees, in the spirit of inclusion and diversity over NIMBYism.

“Mrs. Smith also helped create three federally recognized historic districts in her ward to help preserve the character of its neighborhoods.” (Dudek, Chicago Sun-Times, 8/6/24)

Ward Miller and Preservation Chicago worked closely with Mary Ann Smith for decades. She was a tireless, visionary with the perseverance to get hard things done. She was an extraordinary leader who will be deeply missed.

Read the full editorial at Chicago Sun-Times

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