The 6th Ward is one of the 50 aldermanic wards with representation in the City Council of Chicago, Illinois.
History 19th century At its incorporation as a city in 1837, Chicago was divided into six wards. The 6th ward represented areas north of the Chicago River, and east of North Clark Street. Beginning February 16, 1847 (when the city increased its number of wards to nine), the ward represented areas west of the Chicago River and north of Randolph Street. The Illinois and Michigan Canal was completed in 1848, running through the district.
Beginning February 16, 1857 (when the city increased its number of wards to ten), the ward represented areas of Chicago's West Side that were to the north of West Randolph Street. Beginning in 1863 (when the city increased its number of wards to sixteen) the ward was bounded by Van Buren Street (at its north), Jefferson Street (at its east), and the south branch of the Chicago River (at its south).
Beginning in 1869 (when the city expanded its number of wards to twenty), the "6th ward" numbering was given to a ward which represented much of the area that had been in the previous incarnation of the 7th ward. The ward's northern boundaries were defined by 16th street and the south branch of the Chicago River (including a segment of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal). Its southern boundary was defined by Egan Street (the former 39th Street, which was later renamed Pershing Road). Its eastern boundary was defined by Clark Street. This district was on the South Side. Located within its boundaries were the neighborhoods of Bridgeport, Mt. Pleasant (today known asM McKinley Park), as well as the area that is today home to the Armour Square neighborhood (including the land today occupied by Wentworth Gardens and Rate Field, and Chinatown).
Beginning on March 22, 1876 (when the city decreased the number of wards to 18) the district's boundaries were defined at its north by 16th street as well as the South Branch of the Chicago river (including a portion of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal); at its east by the city limits (the lakeshore), at its south by Pulaski Road/40th Avenue, and at its west by the city limits and the south branch of the Chicago River. This included all of the areas that had been in 1869 incarnation of the district, and also included further territory. The new territory added to the ward included Oakland, the area that is today known as "Douglas", and the Near South Side.
Beginning in 1890 (when Chicago expanded its number of wards to thirty-four) the ward's boundaries were defined at its north by 33rd street and portions of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (along the south branch of the Chicago River); on its east by Halsted Street, on its south by 39th Street (today known as "Pershing Road"); and on its west by Western Boulevard. This contained the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood (today known as McKinley Park) and a portion of the Bridgeport neighborhood.
20th century
21st century
Past alders The current alderperson for the 6th ward is William Hall.
Before 1923 Before 1923, wards were represented by two aldermen.
Aldermen# Council AldermenAldermanTerm in officePartyNotesCiteAldermanTerm in officePartyNotesCite Samuel Jackson 1837–1838 1st Bernard Ward 1837–1838 George W. Dole 1838–1839 2nd Grant Goodrich 1838–1839 John H. Kinzie 1839–1840 Later elected alderman again in 1852 in 9th ward 3rd Buckner Stith Morris 1839–1840 Whig R.J. Hamilton 1840–1841 Democratic Later elected in 1849 in the 9th ward 4th William B. Ogden 1840–1841 Democratic Later elected alderman again in 1947 in 9th ward George F. Foster 1841–1842 Later elected alderman again in 1850 in 8th ward 5th James J.H. Howe 1841–1842 Later elected alderman again in 1855 in 7th ward George O. Bryan 1842–1843 6th George W. Dole 1842–1844 J. Marback 1843–1844 7th Michael Diversey 1844–1845 Later elected alderman again in 1856 in 9th ward 8th Buckner Stith Morris 1844 James H. Rees 1844–1845 Mahlon D. Ogden 1845–1846 Later elected alderman again in 1871 in 19th ward 9th Richard C. Ross 1845–1847 William M. Larrabee 1846–1847 10th Asahel Pierce 1847–1849 Previously served in 4th ward 11th Henry Smith 1847–1849 12th 13th G.W. Wentworth 1849–1851 Daniel Richards 1849–1851 14th Daniel Elston 1851–1852 15th James M. Hannah 1851 Read A. Williams 1851–1852 A.C. Ellithorpe 1852 16th Henry Smith 1852–1853 Thomas B. Dywer 1852–1854 17th William Carpenter 1853–1855 William Wayman 1854–1856 18th 19th A.C. Ellithorpe 1855–1857 Henry Greenbaum 1856–1858 Republican 20th 21st George Sitts 1857–1859 John Van Horn 1858–1860 22nd 23rd C.A. Reno 1859–1861 James W. Cobb 1860–1862 24th 25th Edward S. Salomon 1861–1863 Republican Francis C. Brown 1862–1863 Redistricted to 9th ward in 1863 26th Malcolm McDonald 1863–1864 Previously served in 10th ward 27th David Walsh 1863–1865 John Wallwork 1864–1868 28th 29th Thomas C. Hatch 1865–1867 30th 31st David Walsh 1867–1869 Michael Keeley 1868–1869 32nd 33rd Mark Sheridan 1869–1870 Redistricted from 5th ward; later elected alderman again in 1876 in 5th ward 34th William Tracy 1869–1873 Daniel Heenan 1870 Michael Schmitz 1870–1874 35th 36th 37th 38th Phillip Reidy 1873–1976 < Fred Sommer 1874–1876 Redistricted to 5th ward in 1876 39th Edward Cullerton 1876–1888 Democratic Redistricted from 7th ward, redistricted to 9th ward in 1888 40th Fred Lodding 1876–1879 41st 42nd 43rd John J. Altpeter 1879–1883 Socialist Labor 44th 45th Republican and Socialist Labor 46th 47th Charles F. L. Doerner 1883–1887 Democratic 48th 49th 50th 51st Charles A. Monear 1887–1888 Independent Democrat Redistricted in 1888 to 8th ward Edward P. Burke 1888–1892 Previously served as alderman in the 5th ward 52nd George Emmerich 1888–1889 53rd William H. O'Brien 1889–1893 54th 55th Henry Stuckart 1892–1894 later represented same ward again 56th 57th Thomas Reed 1893–1895 Charles Martin 1894–1901 Democratic Redistricted to 5th ward in 1901 58th 59th Henry Stuckart 1895–1897 previously had represented the same ward; later represented the 4th ward 60th 61st William H. O'Brien 1897–1899 62nd 63rd James J. McCormick 1899–1901 Later elected alderman again in 1904 in the 5th ward 64th William Mavor 1901–1904 Republican Redistricted from 32nd ward; Died in office 65th Linn H. Young 1901–1909 Republican 66th 67th Edward C. Potter 1904–1906 Independent Republican 68th 69th Arthur S. McCoid 1906–1910 70th 71st 72nd 73rd Theodore K. Long 1909–1915 William R. Parker 1910–1912 74th 75th Willis O. Nance 1912–1918 Republican 76th 77th 78th 79th Alexander A. McCormick 1915–1921 Republican 80th 81st 82nd 83rd Charles S. Eaton 1919–1923 Republican Continued as alderman after 1923, but redistricted to 5th ward 84th 85th 86th
Since 1923
Since 1923, wards have been represented by a single alderman. Elections have also been nonpartisan, though officeholders often still publicly affiliate with parties.
AldermanTerm in officeCouncils served inPartyNotesCite Guy Guernsey Republican Redistricted from the 7th ward John F. Healy Democratic Patrick Sheridan Smith Francis J. Hogan David R. Muir 1951-1955 Sydney A. Jones Jr. 1955-1959 Robert H. Miller 1959-1967 A. A. Rayner Jr. 1967–1971 98th Retired after one term Eugene Sawyer February 28, 1971 – December 2, 1987 98th-103rd Democratic Resigned after appointment as 53rd Mayor of Chicago after the death of Harold Washington. Subordination Or Empowerment?: African-American Leadership and the Struggle By Richard A. Keiser Ronald Robinson 1987–1989 103rd Democratic Appointed as Sawyer's successor by Sawyer himself John O. Steele 1989–December 1997 103rd-105th Democratic Elected in a special election; resigned after being appointed an associate judge for the Cook County Circuit Court in December 1997 n Freddrenna Lyle February 8, 1998 – May 16, 2011 105th–109th Democratic Appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley in 1998; subsequently elected to three full terms; lost re-election in 2011 Roderick Sawyer May 16, 2011 – May 15, 2023 110th–113th Democratic Son of former seatholder Eugene Sawyer, resigned in 2023 to run for mayor William Hall May 15, 2023–present 114th, 115th Democratic
Demographics
Electoral history
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