Robert Shaw (Illinois politician)

Shaw and his identical twin His parents were sharecroppers. Shaw is black. He grew up for a number of his early years in nearby Hope, Arkansas. In Hope, he was neighbours with future U.S. president Bill Clinton. He and his family next moved to St. Louis, Missouri. In 1952, Shaw's family relocated to Chicago, Illinois, settling on the city's West Side. Shaw studied liberal arts at Kennedy–King College. == Early political career ==

Shaw and his brother learned politics from working in the 24th Ward Regular Democratic organization run by Arthur X. Elrod on the city's west side. He got his start at seventeen by working for an assistant precinct captain in the 24th ward. He later worked as a precinct captain for Benjamin F. Lewis, prior to Lewis' 1963 murder. == Chicago City Council ==

Shaw served two tenures as the alderman from Chicago's ninth ward. In 1975, Shaw ran his first campaign for the Chicago City Council, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent 9th ward alderman Alexander Adduci. Shaw used racially charged rhetoric during the campaign. Shaw rose to prominence as a main African American community ally of Mayor Jane Byrne. He would tell the media, "I asked my friends, Ed Vrdolyak and Fred Roti to help me out, and they did". In its obituary for Shaw, the Chicago Crusader credited him with supporting hundreds of ordinances in his two stints as an alderman that had the impact of providing more opportunities for black-owned businesses to do business with the city government. In 1982, Shaw voted against the handgun ban ordinance championed by mayor Byrne. The legislation passed without his support. In 1982, Shaw also introduced an ordinance that would have increased the salary of aldermen from $27,600 to $46,350. After this, Mayor Byrne publicly declared she would veto any pay raise for Chicago aldermen. Shaw lost reelection to Perry H. Hutchison in 1983. Shaw's loss was attributed to his choice to endorse incumbent mayor Byrne over Harold Washington in the Democratic primary for the coinciding mayoral election. Hutchison, however, had supported Washington against Byrne in the mayoral primary. Interregnum between tenures In 1984, Shaw and his brother took up the cause of calling for legislation to be passed to require black history to be taught in public schools. Second tenure (1987–1998) During the Washington and Sawyer mayoralties (1987–1989) In 1987, Shaw defeated Hutchison to regain his old seat on the Chicago City Council. Hutchison had been indicted for taking bribes in a federal sting operation ahead of the election. In 1990, John Kass of the Chicago Tribune noted that Shaw had a penchant for basking in the media attention he received, despite the media largely regarding him as clownish. City documents had once described the high-masted sailing ship on the seal as, "emblematic of the approach of white man's civilization and commerce". Shaw declared, "The ship represents institutionalized racism in this country." Shaw also called for a more thorough investigation into Washington's cause of death. Shaw was a chief backer of Sawyer during his mayoralty. Shaw had a tendency to make racially inflammatory statements. In 1988, Shaw also opposed a measure that would aim to stop the use of racial, ethnic, and sexual insults at committee hearings. He argued that it would infringe on the right of the council to, "protect the public interest." That same year, he also told the Chicago Defender, "A white should not be mayor. When they were mayor, they did not treat blacks and other minorities fairly. They do not know how to be fair." His 1991 reelection saw him defeat Chicago Transit Authority bus driver Johnny J. O'Neal by a mere 37 votes. O'Neal would subsequently, in 1993, attempt to have the legitimacy of the vote count reinvestigated through litigation. In 1989, Shaw opposed legislation championed by Daley to create a watchdog to oversee all of city government. The ordinance later passed, but with revisions that made aldermen exempt from the new inspector general's oversight. In 1990, Shaw proposed an ordinance to ban an AIDS awareness advertisement campaign that had seen posters placed on city transit that included same-sex couples kissing, claiming that the posters were, "promoting a lifestyle, which I object to." In January 1993 Shaw, joined by Dorothy Tillman, offered half-serious criticisms of former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka after Edward M. Burke proposed naming the 7th anniversary of the Bears' Super Bowl XX victory "Mike Ditka Day" in Chicago. In 1993, Shaw opposed Daley's nomination of Thomas Scorza to be appointed Chicago city clerk. Shaw opposed him due to testimony about improprieties in Scorza's office during his tenure as assistant U.S. Attorney. Shaw raised further allegations against Scorza, without providing any evidence publicly. In 1996, as part of Operation Silver Shovel, the U.S. attorney's office subpoenaed financial records from Shaw's campaign and ward funds, as well as telephone records. Before this, federal agents had unsuccessfully sought to interview Shaw. After resigning to serve on the Cook County Board of Review, he backed the candidacy of his son Herbert Shaw in the 1999 election to succeed him. However, Anthony Beale, a political unknown backed by Jesse Jackson Jr. and James Meeks, defeated him in an upset. == Cook County Board of Review ==

In 1998, Shaw was elected in the inaugural election of the newly formed Cook County Board of Review (which was a restructuring of the former Cook County Board of Appeals), Shaw was elected in to as the commissioner from its 3rd district. On occasion, however, he did dissent in a number of cases where Berrios and the board's third member, Maureen Murphy, both voted to lower the tax rates on large properties in downtown Chicago. He was also criticized as handing out political and patronage favors. The Cook County state's attorney's office investigated accusations that Shaw had acted improperly by helping to arrange a property tax reduction for his brother (saving him as much as $1,219), but found no wrongdoing. Additionally, the Board of Review made changes to its policies on reviewing tax cases in response to the fact that several of Shaw's staff members had owned properties which they analyzed themselves in their positions. Cases where Shaw's staff had done this had been flagged by fellow board member Maureen Murphy. == Inspector General of Dolton ==

In 2006, Shaw's brother William, then the mayor of Dolton, Illinois, appointed him to be city's first inspector general, a newly created position that paid $70,000 annually. The position also gave Shaw use of a city-owned car. The Better Government Association criticized this as a, "$70,000 joke on the taxpayers of Dolton". At the time he was appointed to this corruption watchdog position, federal investigators had actually been keeping an eye on Shaw himself for potential involvement in corruption in Dolton. In 2005, federal investigators discovered a practice that existed in Dolton and a number of other Chicago suburbs where politically connected citizens were allowed to carry guns and mimics of police badges. Those benefiting from this practice in Dolton had been individuals that had given notable sums of money to the campaigns of Shaw and his brother. It was discovered that at least two of those benefiting from this were drug smugglers that had used the mimicry police IDs in order to avoid having police search their vehicles. In 2006, Shaw was criticized for flashing a handgun while personally conducting a traffic stop of an alleged drug dealer. Shaw would remain in this position through the launch of his Cook County assessor campaign in late 2009. == Political kingmaker ==

For more than a quarter century, Shaw and his brother William were dominant political "kingmakers" of Chicago's far South Side and southern suburbs. They garnered the support of the African American electorate in the area. Over the years, their main rivals for influence there was the Jackson family, Jesse Jackson and Jesse Jackson Jr. Their influence dissipated greatly in the late 1990s and the early 2000s, with Jesse Jackson Jr. largely beating them out to become the new kingmaker at the time. Their tide first began to change when Jesse Jackson Jr. won election to U.S. congress in 1996, defeating the Shaw brothers-backed candidate Emil Jones in the Democratic primary. In 2004, Jackson backed Larry Rogers Jr.'s successful primary challenge against Shaw for Cook County Board of Review. When the Shaw brothers ran the 9th Ward Regular Democratic Organization, they and their campaign volunteers helped deliver strong voter support for campaigns of African American politicians such as Mayor Harold Washington and Illinois State Senator Emil Jones, and the 1992 U.S. Senate campaign of Carol Moseley Braun. They also helped mobilize support in the area for the 2004 U.S. Senate campaign of Barack Obama. In 2000, Shaw was unseated by Anthony Beale. Among the individuals that got their starts in the political organization run by the Shaw brothers was Mose Jefferson. After Shaw's death, the Chicago Crusader credited him and his brother's political organization with successfully pushing the Illinois State Legislature to establish new Cook County Circuit Court and Illinois Appellate Court sub-circuits located in African American city wards, which the Chicago Crusader wrote had the impact of enabling more than 60 African American individuals to become judges. == Campaigns for other offices ==

1984 congressional In 1984, Shaw was one of four individuals who challenged incumbent U.S. congressman Gus Savage in the Democratic primary for Illinois's 2nd congressional district. Other challengers included state senators Glenn Dawson and James C. Taylor. Savage won renomination, with Shaw placing fourth. 2005 South Holland village president In October 2004, Shaw announced that he would be challenging incumbent village president (mayor) Don DeGraff in the April 2005 South Holland, Illinois, election. Shaw had moved from the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago to the southern suburb in 1999, shortly after he left the Chicago City Council. During his campaign, Shaw pledged to bring more business and job opportunities to the village, if elected. The village had a 10% unemployment rate at the time. Shaw proposed making residency in the village a requirement for all village employees. Shaw tried to characterize DeGraff as an "ultraconservative". Shaw claimed that DeGraff was a supporter of heavily conservative politician Alan Keyes, who had been the Republican Party nominee who ran against Democrat Barack Obama in the 2004 United States Senate election in Illinois. DeGraff refuted this by pointing out that he had supported Obama's campaign for the United States Senate. Shaw charged that DeGraff practiced nepotism as mayor. DeGraff denied that the allegations were true. Numerous businesses which Shaw alleged DeGraff had personally profiting from awarding contracts to either did not have any connection to DeGraff, or had not even received municipal contracts in South Holland. A victory by Shaw would have helped to reestablish the Shaw brothers' declining political influence in the southern part of the Chicago area. Ahead of the election, commenting on Shaw's campaign in South Holland and his brother's coinciding reelection campaign in neighboring Dolton, Jennifer Shalka of the Chicago Tribune wrote, "a double win would give the Shaws their own fiefdom. Dolton and South Holland have a total of about 50,000 residents." He was unsuccessful, losing to Miller by 70.88% to 29.12%. The campaign was seen as another effort by Shaw to stop the decline of his and his brother's political power in Chicago's suburbs. Political observers saw Shaw as unlikely to succeed, however. This was another saga in the Shaw brothers' political rivalry with Jesse Jackson Jr., as Miller was considered Jackson's "point man" in the Illinois House of Representatives on matters such as education reform and the proposed Chicago south suburban airport. During the campaign, Shaw trained his criticisms at opponent Joseph Berrios, and largely ignored his other opponent, Raymond A. Figueroa. Since soon after incumbent assessor James Houlihan announced that he would not seek reelection, Berrios had been considered the front-runner in the race to succeed him. Shaw had placed first in 19 of the 20 wards in Chicago with the most sizeable black populations. 2015 Chicago mayoral In December 2013, Shaw moved from South Holland, Illinois, where he had lived since 1999, to the Hyde Park–Kenwood area of Chicago. In the previous 2011 mayoral election, Shaw had been an advisor to the campaign of Carol Moseley Braun. He criticized Emanuel for public school closures. He also voiced concern of the city's ability to fund pension programs for municipal employees, Shaw's campaign had very low funds. After dropping out, Shaw endorsed Willie Wilson in the election. Shaw would go on to again support Wilson in his 2019 mayoral campaign as well, taking part in his March 2018 campaign announcement. 2016 and 2018 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago board Shaw was a candidate in 2016 in the Democratic primary for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago board. He withdrew his candidacy before the election, however. He declared again to run in 2018, but was ultimately disqualified from appearing on the ballot. 2021 Dolton mayoral In 2021, Shaw ran unsuccessfully for the mayoral office once held by his brother in Dolton, Illinois. He placed last out of four candidates in the Democratic Party primary, receiving six percent of the vote. His opponents were incumbent mayor Riley Rogers and village trustees Tiffany Henyard and Andrew Holmes. Shaw endorsed the primary's victor, Henyard, in the general election. Henyard won the general election. == Personal life ==

Shaw fathered two sons and four daughters. In 1997, Shaw's 27-year-old son John was murdered by gunshots near his South Side Chicago house. From 1999 until 2013, Shaw lived in South Holland, Illinois. In December 2013, he moved to the Hyde Park–Kenwood area of Chicago. The assault charges against Rogers were dismissed by a Cook County judge on February 18, 2009. In February 2012, Shaw was hospitalized after he fell and injured himself in his house. His injuries included a fractured nose. Shaw contracted COVID-19 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, managing to overcome the viral infection. == Electoral history ==

Chicago City Council elections Cook County Board of Review elections ;1998 ;2002 ;2004 9th Ward Democratic committeeman elections Cook County assessor election Illinois House of Representatives election South Holland village president election Dolton mayoral election United States House of Representatives election == References ==