Mayor of Chicago

The mayoral term in Chicago was one year from 1837 through 1863, when it was increased to two years. In 1907 it was again lengthened to four years, the present duration.

Until 1861, municipal elections were held in March.  In that year, legislation changed them to April. In 1869, however, election time was changed to November, and terms expiring in April of that year were lengthened.

In 1875, the election day was moved back to April by the city's vote to operate under the Cities and Villages Act of 1872. Lester L. Bond was the acting mayor when Joseph Medill left to a tour around Europe. Thomas Hoyne won election as mayor, but could not become the mayor so the election became a void. As of 1995, no mayor can run for a political party, they are considered as nonpartisans.

## List of mayors

|#No.|Image|Name|Term start|Term end|Terms|Years|class=unsortable||style="border-left-style:hidden;padding:0.1em 0em"|Party|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|align=center colspan=8|**Town presidents**||||||||||||
|align=center|||Thomas Jefferson Vance Owen||August 11, 1834|align=center|1|align=center|1|bgcolor=||None|
|align=center|||John H. Kinzie||May 1837|align=center|3|align=center|3 years||Whig||
|align=center colspan=8|**Mayors**||||||||||||
|align=center|||William B. Ogden|May 1837|March 1838|align=center|1|align=center|10 months||Democratic||
|align=center|||Buckner S. Morris|1838|1839|align=center|1|align=center|1||Whig||
|align=center|||Benjamin W. Raymond|1839|1840|align=center|1|align=center|1||Whig||
|align=center|||Alexander Loyd|March 9, 1840|March 4, 1841|align=center|1|align=center|1||Democratic||
|align=center|||Francis C. Sherman|March 4, 1841|March 7, 1842|align=center|1|align=center|1||Democratic||
|align=center|||Benjamin W. Raymond|March 7, 1842|March 7, 1843|align=center|1|align=center|1||Whig||
|align=center|||Augustus Garrett|March 7, 1843|April 2, 1844|align=center|1|align=center|1 year, 1 month||Democratic||
|align=center|||Alson Sherman|April 2, 1844|March 10, 1845|align=center|1|align=center|11 months||Independent Democratic||
|align=center|||Augustus Garrett|March 10, 1845|March 3, 1846|align=center|1|align=center|1||Democratic||
|align=center|||John P. Chapin|March 3, 1846|March 9, 1847|align=center|1|align=center|1||Whig||
|align=center|||James Curtiss|March 9, 1847|March 14, 1848|align=center|1|align=center|1||Democratic||
|align=center|||James H. Woodworth|March 14, 1848|March 12, 1850|align=center|2|align=center|2||Independent Democratic||
|align=center|||James Curtiss|March 12, 1850|March 11, 1851|align=center|1|align=center|1||Democratic||
|align=center|||Walter S. Gurnee|March 11, 1851|March 7, 1853|align=center|2|align=center|2||Democratic||
|align=center|||Charles McNeill Gray|March 7, 1853|March 15, 1854|align=center|1|align=center|1||Democratic||
|align=center|||Isaac L. Milliken|March 15, 1854|March 13, 1855|align=center|1|align=center|1||Democratic||
|align=center|||Levi Boone|March 13, 1855|March 11, 1856|align=center|1|align=center|1||American (Know Nothing)||
|align=center|||Thomas Dyer|March 11, 1856|March 10, 1857|align=center|1|align=center|1||Democratic||
|align=center|||John Wentworth|March 10, 1857|March 2, 1858|align=center|1|align=center|1||Republican||
|align=center|||John C. Haines|March 2, 1858|March 22, 1860|align=center|2|align=center|2||Republican||
|align=center|||John Wentworth|March 22, 1860|May 6, 1861|align=center|1|align=center|1 year, 1.5 months||Democratic||
|align=center|||Julian S. Rumsey|May 6, 1861|May 5, 1862|align=center|1|align=center|1||Republican||
|align=center|||Francis C. Sherman|May 5, 1862|May 3, 1865|align=center|2|align=center|3||Democratic||
|align=center|||John B. Rice|May 3, 1865|December 6, 1869|align=center|2|align=center|4 years, 6 months||Republican||
|align=center|||Roswell B. Mason|December 6, 1869|December 4, 1871|align=center|1|align=center|2||Citizens||
|align=center|||Joseph Medill|December 4, 1871|August 22, 1873|align=center|1|align=center|2||Republican (Dry)||
|align=center|||Lester L. Bond (acting)|August 22, 1873|December 1, 1873|align=center|--|align=center|3 months||Republican||
|align=center|||Harvey Doolittle Colvin|December 1, 1873|July 24, 1876|align=center|1|align=center|2 years, 8 months||Republican (Wet)||
|align=center|||Monroe Heath|July 24, 1876|April 28, 1879|align=center|2|align=center|2 years, 7 months||Republican||
|align=center|||Carter Harrison III|April 28, 1879|April 18, 1887|align=center|4|align=center|8||Democratic||
|align=center|||John A. Roche|April 18, 1887|April 15, 1889|align=center|1|align=center|2||Republican||
|align=center|||DeWitt C. Cregier|April 15, 1889|April 27, 1891|align=center|1|align=center|2||Democratic||
|align=center|||Hempstead Washburne|April 27, 1891|April 17, 1893|align=center|1|align=center|2||Republican||
|align=center|||Carter Harrison III **†**|April 17, 1893|October 28, 1893|align=center|1|align=center|6 months||Democratic||
|align=center|||George Bell Swift (interim mayor)|November 9, 1893|December 27, 1893|align=center||align=center|||Republican||
|align=center|||John P. Hopkins|December 27, 1893|April 8, 1895|align=center|1|align=center|1 year, 4 months||Democratic||
|align=center|||George Bell Swift|April 8, 1895|April 15, 1897|align=center|1|align=center|2||Republican||
|align=center|||Carter Harrison IV|April 15, 1897|April 10, 1905|align=center|4|align=center|8||Democratic||
|align=center|||Edward F. Dunne|April 10, 1905|April 15, 1907|align=center|1|align=center|2||Democratic||
|align=center|||Fred A. Busse|April 15, 1907|April 17, 1911|align=center|1|align=center|4||Republican||
|align=center|||Carter Harrison IV|April 17, 1911|April 26, 1915|align=center|1|align=center|4||Democratic||
|align=center|||William H. Thompson|April 26, 1915|April 16, 1923|align=center|2|align=center|8||Republican||
|align=center|||William E. Dever|April 16, 1923|April 18, 1927|align=center|1|align=center|4||Democratic||
|align=center|||William H. Thompson|April 18, 1927|April 9, 1931|align=center|1|align=center|4||Republican||
|align=center|||Anton Cermak †|April 9, 1931|March 6, 1933|align=center|1|align=center|1 year, 11 months||Democratic||
|align=center|||Frank J. Corr (acting mayor)|March 15, 1933|April 8, 1933|align=center|--|align=center|24 days||Democratic||
|align=center|||Edward J. Kelly|April 17, 1933|April 15, 1947|align=center|3|align=center|14||Democratic||
|align=center|||Martin H. Kennelly|April 15, 1947|April 20, 1955|align=center|2|align=center|8||Democratic||
|align=center|||Richard J. Daley †|April 20, 1955|December 20, 1976|align=center|6|align=center|21 years, 8 months||Democratic||
|align=center|||Michael A. Bilandic|December 20, 1976|April 16, 1979|align=center|1|align=center|2 years, 4 months||Democratic||
|align=center|||Jane Byrne|April 16, 1979|April 29, 1983|align=center|1|align=center|4||Democratic||
|align=center|||Harold Washington †|April 29, 1983|November 25, 1987|align=center|2|align=center|4 years, 7 months||Democratic||
|align=center|||David Orr (acting mayor)|November 25, 1987|December 2, 1987|align=center|--|align=center|7 days||Democratic||
|align=center|||Eugene Sawyer|December 2, 1987|April 24, 1989|align=center|1|align=center|1 year, 4.5 months||Democratic||
|align=center|||Richard M. Daley|April 24, 1989|May 16, 2011|align=center|6 (5 elected)|align=center|22 years, 1 month||Democratic<sup>1</sup>||
|align=center|||Rahm Emanuel|May 16, 2011|May 20, 2019|align=center|2|align=center|8||Democratic<sup>1</sup>||
|align=center|||Lori Lightfoot|May 20, 2019|May 15, 2023|align=center|1|align=center|4||Democratic<sup>1</sup>||
|align=center|||Brandon Johnson|May 15, 2023|incumbent|align=center|1|||Democratic<sup>1</sup>|||

## Vice Mayor

The city council elects a vice mayor who is interim mayor in the event of a vacancy in the office of the mayor or the inability of the mayor to serve due to illness or injury.

Past holders of this office have included Walter Burnett Jr. (2023–2025), Tom Tunney (2019–2023), Brendan Reilly (2015–2019) Ray Suarez (2011–2015), and David Orr.

||colspan="2"|Vice Mayor|Took office|Left office|colspan="2"|Party||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||**Casey Laskowski**|||style="background-color:;"||Democratic|Michael A. Bilandic|
||**Richard Mell**|||style="background-color:;"||Democratic|Jane Byrne Harold Washington|
||**David Orr**|||style="background-color:;"||Democratic|Harold Washington _Himself_ Eugene Sawyer|
||**Terry Gabinski**|||style="background-color:;"||Democratic|Eugene Sawyer Richard M. Daley|
||**Bernard Stone**|||style="background-color:;"||Democratic|Richard M. Daley|
||**Ray Suarez**|||colspan="2"|_Unknown_|Rahm Emanuel||
||**Brendan Reilly**|||style="background-color:;"||Democratic|Rahm Emanuel|
||**Tom Tunney**|||style="background-color:;"||Democratic|Lori Lightfoot|
||**Walter Burnett Jr.**|||style="background-color:;"||Democratic|Brandon Johnson|

## Notes

<sup>1</sup> Rahm Emanuel is a Democrat, but he and all other candidates in the 2011 election officially ran as nonpartisans.  Under a 1995 Illinois law, "candidates for mayor . . . no longer would run under party labels in Chicago."

## Infobox (political post)

- **post**: Mayor
- **body**: Chicago
- **insigniasize**: 100px
- **insigniacaption**: Seal of City of Chicago
- **image**: Brandon Johnson 2024.jpg
- **incumbent**: Brandon Johnson
- **incumbentsince**: May 15, 2023
- **termlength**: 4 years
- **formation**: 1837
- **inaugural**: William Butler Ogden
- **website**: [http://mayor.cityofchicago.org/mayor/en/about_the_mayor.html Office of the Mayor]