48th Ward Ald. Mary Ann Smith Announces Retirement

By Kevin Robinson in News on Aug 6, 2010 2:00PM

48th Ward Alderman Mary Ann Smith told Fran Spielman at the Sun-Times yesterday that she would not be seeking re-election in the upcoming municipal elections. “You have to be vigilant about crime, buildings enforcement and education. Everything within the borders of the community [is] your responsibility. Flooding, business development, beautification, schools, clinics and so on. If you do it right, it’s an enormous responsibility. I’ve loved doing, but it’s also 24/7,” Smith told Spielman, acknowledging that she was tired of being "all things to all people." Smith joins 46th Ward Alderman Helen Shiller in retirement this year, leading what could be as many as eight-to-ten of the city's aldermen retiring this year.

Smith got her start in ward politics as part of the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO), working with Edgewater activists Marion Volini and Kathy Osterman. Volini won the aldermanic seat in a special election in 1978, and Osterman (who worked as an aide in Daley's State's Attorney's office) won a contentious race to replace her in 1989. When Daley picked Osterman to the head high-profile Mayor's Office of Special Events, Daley appointed Smith to the seat in 1989. She won her first election in 1991, and has since claimed that she's “never lost a precinct.”

Citing a desire to "focus more on environmental action and the arts,” SMith also acknowledged that health played a role in her decision. “Every week, I have to take a day off and do nothing to protect my energy level,” she said. Smith, who is 63, is a breast cancer survivor, and her husband suffers from leukemia.