Recently, 48th Ward Alderman Mary Ann Smith surprised many by announcing that she is stepping down at the end of her current term. Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Smith as alderman in 1989 to replace Kathy Osterman, and she was first elected in 1991. In 2007, she was elected to her fifth term in office.
Windy City Times talked with Smith about her reasons for retirement, her future and her choice for a successor.
Windy City Times: Many were stunned upon hearing that you were stepping down. How hard a decision was this?
Mary Ann Smith: It was actually a pretty hard decision because we all know that, as much as do, you know that there's always more to do, no matter how good something may look to other people. So it's really been thrilling to build capacity by developing special service areas and chambers of commerce and so forth; it's also really been thrilling to create school additions and campus parks, and to nurture and empower the community. But at the same time, I want to finish this bridge, I want to do more public art. You just want to make sure that you've done your very best on your watch.
WCT: You just listed a lot of accomplishments. Is there anything there you're really proud of?
MAS: It has to be public safety, first and foremost. When my children were growing up here, crime was rampant. It used to be that people didn't want to go north of Irving Park, and real estate maps and tourism maps never went north of there. I felt it was an outrage.
I built on what my predecessors accomplished. It's been a continuum since Marion Volini was elected in the '70s. So that part of the job has been thrilling, because it's involved community-based decision-making. But the job of public safety is never done; it means building enforcement, crime stats, community initiatives with the police, working with the state's attorney's office—it means everything that comes under the umbrella of "public safety."
And, of course, there was a fair amount of gay-bashing going on here, too. [ I remember a ] Molotov cocktail thrown at the front door of [ the now-closed bar ] Different Strokes [ at 4923 N. Clark ] . There was commotion and confrontations going on Clark Street south of Foster.
WCT: I find it very interesting that you, Alderman [ Helen ] Shiller and Alderman Vi Daley are all leaving office. I think if it had been three men, I wouldn't have noticed. [ Editor's note: Since talking with Smith, 19th Ward Alderman Virginia Rugai announced that she is also stepping down. ]
MAS: [ Laughs ] Well, we're all basically from the same vintage. We might have seemed distinctly different from each other but we share history, and we shared a geographic situation. I don't know if it's more than that—but there might be common threads.
WCT: I've learned to never say never—so is this a permanent goodbye or more like a sabbatical?
MAS: Oh, that's an interesting question. Well, one of my goals is the slow-down time because time goes by so fast; the 21 years that I've held office have flown by in an instant. Plus, I want more focus; in this job, you have to be a responder and try to do what the people want. Instead of doing a thousand things, I'd like to focus primarily on the Great Lakes and the arts. I'm passionately in love with the fine arts, which can open a child up; after all, [ children ] are all gifted.
As for leaving [ permanently ] , absolutely. We're very fortunate that there is so much homegrown talent here. It would be very difficult to step down if I weren't confident that community-bound talent would step up to the plate.
WCT: Do you have a successor in mind?
MAS: I do, but I'm just one vote. I very much would love to see Harry Osterman take the alderman's spot. He's so committed to the community. Regardless of what skills you bring to the job, you have to be committed to the community. You can't just say, "The public schools aren't important."
WCT: What would you like your legacy to be?
MAS: I don't know because I'm not done yet. [ Laughs ] I'm still focused on what's not finished. We have been waiting decades for a new library, for example. So I'm thrilled to have seven more months to wrap up things.
You know how you feel that nothing's good enough for your family? That's how I feel about my community.
