Economic Development in American Cities: The Pursuit of an Equity Agenda

2. EQUITY POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF THE HAROLD WASHINGTON ADMINISTRATION: LESSONS FOR PROGRESSIVE CITIES

CHAPTER TWO EQUITY POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF THE HAROLD WASHINGTON ADMINISTRATION: LESSONS FOR PROGRESSIVE CITIES Stephen J. Alexander INTRODUCTION Like a literary gem that is too young to be a classic and too old to be seen as relevant for the rush of the present, many urban observers wonder whether there is really anything more to be learned from the mayoral administration of Harold Washington in Chicago (1983–87). A spate of enthusiastic writing about the promise and accomplishments of Harold Washington in the early 1990s was matched by an equally critical and dismissive literature by skeptical academics who argued that the change under Washington was ephemeral , piecemeal, and contradictory at best. Perhaps the major obstacle to appreciating Harold Washington has been making sense of what followed him—the economic transformation of Chicago into becoming a global city and the nearly two-decade reign of Mayor Richard M. Daley and his designation as “progressive” by The New Republic (Beinhart, 1997; Madigan, 2004). Daley combines the patronage skills of the past with a commitment to investing in “urban amenities” and putting Chicago on the world stage. At the same time, he has taken on such tough issues as reforming public education and transforming public housing while being an innovator in launching citywide campaigns promoting benefits for working families like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Even the most trenchant of urban critics have 51 52 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN AMERICAN CITIES been charmed by this bold and incoherent mayor who has survived endless scandals and defanged political opposition while planting trees and transforming Chicago into a green city. But all is not well in Chicago, even though many progressive activists cannot imagine anyone doing a better job than Daley. Besides the diminution of citizenship and democracy in the face of Daley’s reign, major social and economic disparities remain for Chicago communities of color as Chicago becomes less affordable and less a city where one can get a good job. The path to becoming a global city does not seem to have within its vision a place for working Chicagoans to set down roots and have a stable future. It is this lack of attention to who is benefiting and who is losing from Chicago’s ascendancy to a global city that makes remembering the values, strategies, and leadership of Harold Washington so important for today’s Chicago and beyond. Harold Washington’s tenure as mayor of Chicago is a significant event in the history of American cities (Clavel and Wiewel, 1991; Betancur and Gills, 2000). While Washington is famous as Chicago’s first African American mayor, many Chicagoans admire him because of his efforts to reform city government and implement equity policies in the face of enormous opposition from Chicago’s Democratic machine (Mier, 1993; Betancur and Gills, 2000). Several authors have named the impediments, limits, and challenges faced by Washington as political because his campaign promised to dismantle Chicago’s infamous “machine,” and racial because of the fear in white neighborhoods that an African American mayor could not run Chicago’s government (Gills, 1991; Travis, 1987). These impediments challenged Washington’s election and governance and his ability to implement an equity agenda. This chapter discusses Mayor Washington’s efforts to implement a social equity agenda for Chicago centered on the issue of jobs. A Chicago case study is important for this book about responses to tight labor markets in the 1990s and in the future for two reasons. First, the Washington administration developed a comprehensive equity agenda anchored in grassroots and civic constituencies, alternative economic ideas, and extraordinary mayoral leadership. As a consequence, Chicago is a baseline frame of reference for examining cities during the 1990s and an inspiration for twenty-first century cities. Second, Chicago is the best example of a municipality that formulated an equity agenda around jobs and economic development, the focus of our inquiry about cities in the 1990s. Nevertheless, the Washington administration experienced strong political resistance when pressuring the private sector for economic change, made its own mistakes, and failed to solidify a viable electoral and governing political coalition that could overcome Washington’s untimely death and institutionalize his equity agenda. This chapter expands the literature on Harold Washington and his social equity agenda. First, the chapter summarizes the existing literature 53 EQUITY POLICIES about the mayoral administration of Harold Washington and focuses on jobs and economic development. More is offered about his...