Carrie Austin is alderman of the 34th ward on Chicago's far south side. The predominantly African-American ward includes portions of Morgan Park, Roseland, Washington Heights and West Pullman.
Carrie Austin | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Chicago City Council from the 34th ward | |
| In office August 5, 1994 – March 1, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Lemuel Austin |
| Succeeded by | Bill Conway |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 15, 1949 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Lemuel Austin (Deceased) |
| Children | 7 |
Chicago City Council edit
Austin was appointed by Richard M. Daley to the seat of her late husband Lemuel Austin. She officially took office on July 13, 1994.[1] She has been reelected in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019.
As a member of the Chicago City Council, she serves on six committees: Budget and Government operations; Energy, Environmental Protection and Public Utilities; Finance; Health; Housing and Real Estate; and Zoning.
Austin served as a delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention.[2]
Austin was an ally of mayors Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel.[3]
In 2016, Austin was a presidential elector from Illinois.[4]
In the runoff of the 2019 Chicago mayoral election, Austin endorsed Lori Lightfoot.[5]
On May 17, 2019, Austin publicly admitted that she had hired family members as interns on her committee payroll, refusing to apologize for it.[3] The same day, mayor-elect Lightfoot announced that she would be naming Pat Dowell to supplant Austin as the City Council's budget chairman.[3] Austin publicly took offense to this move by Lightfoot.[3]
On July 1, 2021, Austin was indicted for allegedly taking bribes from a private development firm.[6]
Austin previously served as the Democratic Committeewoman for the 34th ward.[7] In late 2019, she withdrew from the race to remain the ward's committeewoman.[8]
Austin's tenure on the Chicago City Council ended when she resigned from office effective March 1, 2023.[9]
References edit
- ^ Davis, Robert (June 29, 1994). "Daley Tabs Widow For Austin Post". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ Newman, Craig (2012-09-02). "Who are the Illinois delegates to the Democratic National Convention?". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2013-05-02. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- ^ a b c d Spielman, Fran (17 May 2019). "Lightfoot shakes up the City Council". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ "Who Will Sit On The Electoral College From Illinois | NPR Illinois". nprillinois.org. Archived from the original on 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
- ^ "List of Endorsements in the Race for Chicago Mayor". NBC Chicago. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
- ^ "Ald. Carrie Austin Indicted for Bribery, Lying to the Feds".
- ^ Connolly, Colleen (February 6, 2015). "Get to Know Your Ward: 34th Ward". Chicago, Illinois: WMAQ-TV. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
- ^ Hinton, Rachel (30 December 2019). "Ald. Carrie Austin drops out of ward committeeperson race". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
- ^ Spielman, Fran (March 7, 2023). "Indicted Ald. Carrie Austin gets head start on political retirement". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
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