David Orr

David Duvall Orr (born October 4, 1944) is an American Democratic politician who served as the County Clerk of Cook County from 1990 to 2018. Orr previously served as alderman for the 49th ward in Chicago City Council from 1979 to 1990. He briefly served as acting Mayor of Chicago from November 25 to December 2, 1987, following the death of Mayor Harold Washington.[2] Orr retired from the office of Cook County Clerk in 2018, opting not to run for an eighth term.

For other people named David Orr, see David Orr (disambiguation).

David Orr
County Clerk of Cook County
In office December 11, 1990 – December 10, 2018
Preceded by	Stanley Kusper
Succeeded by	Karen Yarbrough
52nd Mayor of Chicago
Acting
In office November 25, 1987 – December 2, 1987
Preceded by	Harold Washington
Succeeded by	Eugene Sawyer
Vice Mayor of Chicago
In office 1987–1988
Mayor	Harold Washington Eugene Sawyer
Preceded by	Richard Mell
Succeeded by	Terry Gabinski
Member of the Chicago City Council from the 49th Ward
In office February 23, 1979 – December 10, 1990
Preceded by	Homer Johnson[1]
Succeeded by	Robert Clarke
Personal details
Born	David Duvall Orr (1944-10-04) October 4, 1944 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Children	4
Education	Simpson College (BA)
Website	Official website

Early life

Born in Chicago, Orr is a graduate of Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. He was an instructor at Mundelein College in 1979, when he first decided to run for alderman.[3]

Chicago City Council (1979-90)

Orr entered politics as an "independent Democrat", opposed to the official Democratic Party organization. The party organization was then controlled by the "Machine" created by Mayor Richard J. Daley, who died in December 1976. In February 1979, Orr was elected alderman from the 49th Ward, which covered most of the Rogers Park neighborhood in the far northeastern corner of Chicago.

Orr joined with other white "independent" aldermen from the "Lakefront" and black dissident aldermen from the south side and west side in opposing the corruption and racism of the Machine. Orr was re-elected in February 1983 and 1987.

In February 1983, with the Machine divided between supporters of Jane Byrne and Richard M. Daley, black independent Harold Washington became Mayor. Washington was opposed by 29 aldermen who tried to paralyze city government for three years in what was dubbed "Council Wars." Orr backed Washington, one of only five white aldermen to do so. After the Washington coalition won the majority in 1986, after special aldermanic elections were held, Orr was elected by the City Council in 1987 to serve as the city's Vice Mayor.[4]

In 1986, Orr, with the assistance of fellow alderman Bernard Stone, successfully pushed an ordinance through City Council that declared Chicago a "nuclear-free zone".[5]

In May 1988, the City Council voted to oust Orr from his position as Vice Mayor as retribution for his attempts to make reforms that would have held the council's committees more accountable for the budgets they manage.[4][6]

When Orr was elected County Clerk in 1990, then-mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Robert Clarke as his replacement. In the 1991 aldermanic election, Clarke was defeated by Joe Moore, whom Orr had endorsed.[7][8]

Acting Mayor of Chicago (1987)

When Mayor Washington died of a heart attack on November 25, 1987, Orr, as Vice Mayor, became actor mayor.[9][10] He took office on November 25 and served for a week until the Council elected a permanent replacement mayor. Orr was suggested as the obvious choice, but as a reformer, he was vehemently opposed by the remaining Machine aldermen, and many black Chicagoans wanted a black replacement for Washington. Alderman Eugene Sawyer, who was black, and before 1983 had been a Machine loyalist, was chosen instead on December 2, 1987. Orr chaired Council meetings as mayor on December 1, a memorial meeting for Washington, and on December 2, when Sawyer was selected as his replacement.[10][11]

County Clerk (1990-2018)

In 1990, the office of County Clerk was vacated by Stanley T. Kusper, Jr. who ran unsuccessfully for Cook County Board President. Orr ran for the office, and won the Democratic primary handily with 56% of the vote against two opponents.[12] He also won easily in the general election, receiving more votes than any other candidate for county office.[13] He was re-elected in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014. In 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010, he was unopposed for renomination, and faced only token opposition in the general election.

On June 21, 2017, he announced that he would not run for reelection to an eighth term.[14] Karen Yarbrough, the then-Cook County Recorder of Deeds, succeeded Orr as the Clerk.[15]

Subsequent career and activity

In 2013, Orr was appointed as a Senior Fellow at the Harris School of Public Policy Studies in the University of Chicago.[16][17]

In June 2018, Orr founded a political action committee called Good Government Illinois, with the goal of supporting election reform, campaign finance reform, and candidates with shared goals.[18][19][17] He supported several candidates in the 2019 Chicago aldermanic election, including Maria Hadden (who ran for his old 49th ward seat), Michael Rodriguez, Andre Vasquez, Matt Martin, Susan Sadlowski Garza, David Moore, and Scott Waguespack.[20]

Orr considered running for mayor of Chicago in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election after incumbent mayor Rahm Emanuel declared in early September 2018 that he would no longer be seeking a third term.[21][22] However, he ultimately did not run. In the week prior to the first round of the election, Orr publicly endorsed the candidacy of Lori Lightfoot.[23]

Accolades

In 2012, Orr was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame as a Friend of the Community.[24]

References

1. "Chicago Tribune - Historical Newspapers".
2. Chicago's Loop By Janice A. Knox, Heather Olivia Belcher
3. Thomas, Mike (December 12, 2018). "David Orr, Newly Retired, Unloads on the Machine". Chicago magazine. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
4. Simpson, Dick (2018). Rogues, Rebels, And Rubber Stamps: The Politics Of The Chicago City Council, 1863 To The Present. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-97719-0. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
5. Levinsohn, Florence Hamlish (24 June 1993). "Either/Orr". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
6. Dold, R. Bruce (26 May 1988). "COUNCIL REPLACES ORR AS VICE MAYOR". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
7. Javorsky, Ben (March 21, 1991). "Politics by proxy: it's Clarke vs. Moore (Daley vs. Orr) in the 49th Ward". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
8. McClell, Edward. "The Next Alderman of the 49th Ward ..." NBC Chicago. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
9. "Chicago Mourns Mayor Washington, Council Picks New Mayor Next Week", Chicago Tribune, p. 1, 1987-11-27
10. Fremon, David K. (January 1, 1998), Chicago Politics Ward by Ward, Indiana University Press, p. 343, ISBN 978-0-253-20490-5
11. Galvan, Manuel (1987-12-02), "Memorial Gives Way to Politics", Chicago Tribune, p. 1
12. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-11-30. Retrieved 2009-01-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
13. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-11-30. Retrieved 2009-01-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
14. Michael Sneed and Rachel Hinton (June 21, 2017). "After 39 years in politics, Clerk David Orr won't seek re-election". Chicago Sun-Times.
15. Dardick, Hal (June 21, 2017). "Cook County Clerk David Orr won't seek 8th term". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
16. "David Orr Appointed Senior Fellow at University of Chicago". David Orr, Cook County Clerk. October 10, 2013. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
17. "David Orr | Harris Public Policy". harris.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
18. Illinois Sunshine. "Good Government Illinois". Illinois Sunshine. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
19. "Home". Good Government Illinois. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
20. "Post-Election Highlights". Good Government Illinois. 2019-04-01. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
21. Dardick, Hal (September 5, 2018). "Cook County Clerk David Orr considers run for Chicago mayor: 'The city needs to go in a different direction'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
22. Byrne, John; Pratt, Gregory (September 11, 2018). "Aldermen consider City Council chaos when Mayor Rahm Emanuel leaves office: 'Darth Vader is now gone'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
23. "Lori Lighfoot picks up endorsements in week before Chicago mayoral election". abc7chicago.com. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
24. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-10-17. Retrieved 2016-01-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Political offices
Preceded by Harold Washington	Mayor of Chicago November 25 – December 2, 1987	Succeeded by Eugene Sawyer