Joan Barr

Joan W. Barr (née Worthy; later Barr-Smith; November 22, 1939 – March 21, 2015) was an American politician, and the first woman elected as mayor to the city of Evanston, Illinois.[1] Barr Smith was elected in 1985 and sworn into her position on April 22, 1985 by Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Toomin.[2] Prior to her election to the role of mayor, she served eight years as an alderman to the city's Second Ward.[3]

Early life and career

Joan was the only child of James (a professor at Kellogg School of Management) and Mildred Louise Worthy (née Neritz).[4] The family lived in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago while Barr was young.[5] The family relocated to the North Shore area when Barr was four years old.[3]

Barr attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois.[6] She continued her education at Syracuse University, where she earned a bachelor's degree. She subsequently earned her MBA from Kellogg School of Management,[3] becoming part of the class of 1996.[3][7]

She moved to Evanston in 1962, before serving two years as president of the Dewey Community Conference. In 1977, she was elected alderman from Evanston's Second Ward.[5] She served out her aldermanic term and was reelected for a second one in 1981.[5]

In 1985, she made a successful bid for the position of mayor against two individuals: the retiring alderman Donald Borah,[2] and Rev. John Frederick Norwood,[2][8] then pastor of the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Evanston. Her election marked the first time in Evanston's history that a woman held the role of mayor.[2][9] Her inaugural address noted burdensome residential real estate taxes as a priority to address.[2] The amount of tax-exempt properties in the city was seen by the community as contributing to what was then one of the highest real estate taxes in the Chicagoland area.[2] She also noted economic development,[10] improving the relationship between the city and Northwestern University;[11] street gangs and homelessness were priority areas for her tenure.[2][3]

Mayoral tenure

While mayor, Barr remained active in numerous civic organizations. She served as President of the Northwest Municipal Conference, and was a member of the Executive Committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. She served that organization as chair of the Woman Mayors group.[5]

During her tenure, she became known for fostering improved town gown relations, partnering with Northwestern University on building a $400 million dollar research park in Evanston, and vetoing a proposed tuition tax on students at the University.[9][12] Stemming from her work in establishing the research park, Barr was called "a consensus builder" by Evanston Inventure (a city wide development corporation) executive director, Ronald Kysiak.[13] According to local newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, moderator and consensus builder also describe how Barr saw her own role. She was also viewed by others as non-confrontational in her style of government, focused on forging connections and non-partisanship community building.[7]

Barr was elected for a second mayoral term in 1989, and stepped down from the position in 1992.[14] Following her time as mayor, she worked for the Illinois Department of Revenue and the Illinois Department of Employment Security. She became a deacon in the Episcopal Church in 2008.[9][7]

References
  1. Latham, Tori (2015-03-24). "First female Evanston mayor dies after battle with leukemia". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  2. Enstad, Robert. "EVANSTON SWEARS IN FIRST WOMAN MAYOR". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  3. "Joan Barr Smith: Kellogg Grad, Former Evanston Mayor Dies". news.northwestern.eduaccess-date=2019-05-20.
  4. "UNCAP: Guide to the James C. Worthy (1910-1998) Papers 1930/1999". uncap.lib.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  5. "Obituary for Joan Barr Smith - SKOKIE, IL". www.donnellanfuneral.com. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  6. "Joan Barr Smith". DailyNorthShore. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  7. Seidenberg, Bob. "Evanston's first female mayor managed through consensus". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  8. reporter, Vikki Ortiz, Tribune staff. "John Fredrick Norwood: 1926 - 2007". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  9. "Passings: Northwestern Magazine - Northwestern University". Northwestern Magazine. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  10. Smith, Bill (2015-03-22). "Former mayor Joan Barr dies". Evanston Now. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  11. Page, Marissa (2015-10-20). "Aldermanic library dedicated to Evanston's first female mayor". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  12. Rosenthal, Brian (2009-03-02). "Town-gown relations see change on horizon". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  13. McCrory, Robert (July 1988). "Illinois Issues". Illinois Issues. 17.
  14. "Lorraine Morton, Longest Serving Mayor Of Evanston, Dies At 99". Evanston, IL Patch. 2018-09-10. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
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