Harold Washington

Chicago's first Black mayor, elected in 1983, Washington spent his first term blocked by a white machine majority on the council, the 'Council Wars'. Court-ordered redistricting gave him a majority in 1986. He signed an executive order ending most patronage hiring, issued a freedom of information order opening city records, and spread spending to neglected neighbourhoods. He died in office in 1987, and the machine quickly reasserted itself, which is why his reforms are judged as much by their difficulty as their durability.