Carrie Austin

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 byLemuel Austin
Succeeded byBill Conway
Personal details
Born (1949-05-15) May 15, 1949
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseLemuel Austin (Deceased)
Children7

Chicago City Council

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
  1. Davis, Robert (June 29, 1994). "Daley Tabs Widow For Austin Post". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  2. 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.
  3. Spielman, Fran (17 May 2019). "Lightfoot shakes up the City Council". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  4. "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.
  5. "List of Endorsements in the Race for Chicago Mayor". NBC Chicago. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  6. "Ald. Carrie Austin Indicted for Bribery, Lying to the Feds".
  7. Connolly, Colleen (February 6, 2015). "Get to Know Your Ward: 34th Ward". Chicago, Illinois: WMAQ-TV. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  8. Hinton, Rachel (30 December 2019). "Ald. Carrie Austin drops out of ward committeeperson race". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  9. 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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