Ald. JoAnn Thompson Has Died
By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 10, 2015 3:45PM
Ald. JoAnn Thompson (16th) has died. She recently underwent surgery for a heart ailment and was hospitalized for weeks, and was in a hotly contested race to keep her seat.
Thompson's ward includes parts of Englewood and Gage Park, two neighborhoods that more often make headlines for their violent crime than Thompson's efforts to improve them and spur economic development. She joined City Council in 2007, was re-elected in a runoff election in 2011 and recently received the endorsement of Chicago Forward, the pro-Emanuel Super PAC that is funding the political campaigns of 17 candidates they believe will be strong supporters of Rahm Emanuel's agenda if the mayor is re-elected. The recent ward remap had Thompson in a hotly contested race for her seat against current 15th Ward Ald. Toni Foulkes, a member of the City Council Progressive Caucus.
Thompson listed among her accomplishments co-sponsoring an ordinance banning the sale of synthetic marijuana; scores of neighborhood infrastructure improvements and the groundbreaking on a Whole Foods in Englewood.