Harold Washington Archives and Collections. Mayoral Records. Chief of Staff Records

The Chief of Staff reported directly to the Mayor. When Harold Washington took office in 1983 he formed five sub-cabinets that were responsible for the coordination, development and implementation of the mayor’s policies which cut across departmental boundaries. A Mayoral Liaison was appointed to head each sub-cabinet and they in turn reported to the Chief of Staff. The sub-cabinets were Community Services, Development, Finance, Infrastructure, and Public Safety/Regulatory. The Harold Washington Archives and Collections have been processed in such a way as to retain this organization.

William "Bill" Ware was appointed Harold Washington’s Chief of Staff on May 1, 1983. Ware, who grew up on Chicago’s South Side, graduated from the University of Chicago’s Law School in 1975 and was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1976. After moving to Washington, D.C. in 1977, Ware worked as legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and later became Director of the Office of Congressional Affairs at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In 1981, Ware joined Harold Washington’s U.S. Congressional staff as an administrative assistant, staying in this position until he was appointed Washington’s Mayoral Chief of Staff. As Chief of Staff, Ware was responsible for the overall operation of the mayor’s office, supervise the department heads, and was in charge of the City’s 40,000 employees.

Ware was often criticized as Chief of Staff for failing to move quickly. In order to remove some of the pressure from Ware, Mayor Washington hired Ernest Barefield in August 1984 as Deputy Chief of Staff. In the first few months of 1985, Ware decreased his workload due to illness. On May 9, 1985, he was admitted to a hospital and died on May 25, 1985, at the age of 37.

In July 1985, Washington appointed Ernest G. Barefield Chief of Staff and Brenda Gaines Deputy Chief of Staff. Barefield graduated from Southern University in 1969, finished graduate school at Atlanta University in 1971, worked for Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson; and as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer under Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young before joining the Washington Administration.

Brenda Gaines was a Deputy Regional Administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from 1980 to 1981, then moved on to become special assistant to the Regional Administrator at HUD. Gaines was appointed Chicago Commissioner of Housing in September 1983 where she remained until joining the Chief of Staff’s Office in July 1985. Gaines grew up in North Chicago, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Roosevelt University.

Susan Annable served as Assistant to the Chief of Staff, 1983-1987.

Harold Washington was the first African American mayor of Chicago, elected in 1983.

Harold Washington was born on April 15, 1922, at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. His parents, Roy Lee and Bertha Jones Washington, divorced when he was young, and he lived with his father in Chicago and attended boarding school in Milwaukee. Washington entered Chicago’s DuSable High School in 1939, served in the Civilian Conservation Corps for six months, enlisted in the military from 1943 to 1946, and returned to DuSable High School to graduate in 1946. After earning a bachelor degree at Roosevelt University in Chicago and a law degree at Northwestern University in Evanston, Washington enjoyed a career as a practicing attorney before he turned to politics.

Washington’s political career encompassed roles at the municipal, state and national levels of government. He served as Illinois State Representative for the 26th District from 1965 to 1976. He then became Illinois State Senator for the 26th District from 1976 to 1980. Washington ran for mayor of Chicago in 1977, but lost. In 1980, he became a U.S. Congressman for the 1st District and served in that post until 1983. Washington again ran for mayor in 1983, winning the Democratic primary election in February of that year and the general election in April. He was inaugurated on April 29, 1983 and was re-elected in 1987. Harold Washington died at 1:36 PM on November 25, 1987 of a cardiac arrest, just a few months into his second term as mayor. He is buried in Chicago’s Oak Woods Cemetery.