ML - Michigan Avenue

2014 - Issue 3 - May/June

Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATRINA WITTKAMP to shift it from a "physician-focused system to a patient-focused system," she says; and the ambi- tious Next Century Conservation Plan, intended to improve and add to the 69,0 0 0 acres of open space in Cook Count y's Forest Preser ve Dist rict, the largest in the US. Preckwinkle's upbringing may explain both her pull-no-punches style and her enthusiasm for pub- lic ser vice. Orig inally from St. Paul, Minnesota, she grew up the eldest of four children in what she calls a "loud and rowdy" household. Having par- ents who were public servants—her mother was a librarian and her father worked in the veterans affairs office as a real estate appraiser—was a "big inf luence," adds Preckwinkle, a high school athlete in basketball, volley- ball, softball, and track. As a youngster she emulated her grandmother, "a very feisty person" who spoke her mind and "didn't care much about what people thought." When Preckwinkle was 16, a high school teacher invited her to work on the campaign of Katie McWatt, the first African American woman to run for City Council in St. Paul. "Unfortunately, Katie didn't win," Preckwinkle says, "but I decided I really liked politics." After high school, she moved to Hyde Park to attend the University of Chicago, where she earned bachelor's and master's degrees, and has been in the cit y ever since. Prior to winning election as Cook Count y Board president—t he f irst woma n to do so —in November 2010, Preckw ink le spent a decade teach ing high school histor y, then served 19 years as alder- ma n of t he 4t h Wa rd, where she fought for g reater funding for edu- cat ion a nd a f fordable housi ng a nd sponsored t he L iv i ng Wage a nd Affordable Housing Ordinances. As an alderman, she also supported Barack Obama's run for State Senate in 1996 and his unsuccessful bid for a seat in the US House of Representatives in 2000. Eight years later she was an Obama delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Recently divorced and a mother of two grown children, Preckwinkle wa s of ten at odds w it h Mayor R icha rd M. Da ley a nd ha s been a voca l opponent of Mayor R a h m E ma nuel on ma ny issues, including la st yea r's ma ssive public school closings. I ndeed, it is Preckw ink le's w ill- ingness to serve as an outspoken critic that has earned her a dedicated following on the city's notorious political scene. "As a society, we have a lot of tough challenges," she says, "and if you don't tell people the truth—both the nature of the problems we face and the difficulty of solving them—it's a disser v ice. So I t r y to be a s honest a nd for t h r ight a s I possibly ca n." Preckw ink le, who ca lls for mer US represent at ive Ba rba ra Jorda n one of her heroes, adds, "T he tempt at ion is t here to a lways say what 's soot hing or what people f ind comfor t able to hea r, but t hat often is not t he t r ut h." MA Preckwinkle, the first woman ever elected president of the Cook County Board, at a meeting in March. continued from page 74 "As a society, we have a lot of tough challenges, and if you don't tell people the truth... it's a disservice." TONI PRECKWINKLE *soul sister "I like blues, jazz, and R&B. The musicians I love best are all deceased: Dinah Washington, Sam Cooke and Brook Benton, Jackie Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald." *inspiring views "I live on the South Side, so coming into the city from the south, the skyline is beautiful. The best place to look at the skyline is by the Adler Planetarium, in the summer across the boats." *favorite presidents "Lincoln, because he was president of the United States at one of the most critical junctures in our history… and I've always liked Truman because he was an ordinary guy who worked his way up." *on her success "There aren't a lot of places in the world where women of color could have the same success in life that I've had. I try to remem- ber that, and that a lot of people have helped me along the way." MADAME PRESIDENT Personal insights from one of Chicago's most influential politicians. 76 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM THOUGHT LEADER 074-076_MA_SP_ThoughtLeader_May/June_14.indd 76 4/14/14 6:04 PM

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