Women and Leadership Archives Loyola University Chicago Maria Pappas Papers, 1976-2016 Preliminary Finding Aid Creator: Maria Pappas (1949- ) Extent: 60 linear feet Language: English Repository: Women and Leadership Archives, Loyola University Chicago Administration Information Access Restrictions: None Usage Restrictions: Copyright for all materials created by Maria Pappas in this collection has been transferred to the Women and Leadership Archives. Preferred Citation: Identification of item, date, box #, folder #, Maria Pappas Papers, Women and Leadership Archives, Loyola University Chicago. Provenance: Maria Pappas donated these materials to the Women and Leadership Archives in February of 2017 (WLA2017.22). Processor: Partially processed by Amela Kalezic, 2018 Processing Information: This collection was partially processed in 2018. Preliminary finding aid was created in 2021. Separations: 1 linear foot of duplicates and extraneous materials were discarded. Biographical History Maria Pappas was born in Warwood, West Virginia on June 7, 1949 to first generation Greek American parents. Pappas graduated from West Liberty State College with a sociology degree in 1970 and earned a master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling from West Virginia University in 1972. She then went on to graduate with a doctorate in Counseling and Psychology in 1976 from Loyola University Chicago. Pappas graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Chicago-Kent Law School in 1982. Maria Pappas gained an interest for public service when she began working at the Adler Institute of Psychology and the Altgeld Gardens public housing project in Chicago. At Altgeld Gardens, she ran a youth drug prevention program called the Day One Drug Abuse Center. After graduating from law school, she opened a law practice with Peter N. Kamberos, who she married in 1991. Pappas ran for Cook County Commissioner in 1990 and was elected. As one of the ten members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners from Chicago, she had a hand in supervising healthcare and law enforcement practices for the North Side of Chicago and the suburbs of the North Shore. In 1994, she ran for Cook County Board President but lost, and she was instead elevated to the position of Commissioner for the 10th district of Chicago. Pappas had Maria Pappas Papers, pg. 1 Women and Leadership Archives Loyola University Chicago a standing rivalry with then Cook County Board President, Richard Phelan. Pappas garnered a reputation for being fiscally responsible, budget-minded, and was noted for her ability to take inefficient government entities and make them more efficient. Maria Pappas ran for Cook County Treasurer in 1998 and won. As Treasurer, she succeeded Edward Rosewell, and discovered that the Cook County Treasurer’s Office was technologically outdated. She also found 30 million dollars in property tax payment checks that had not been deposited. During her first year in office, Pappas was able to increase the interest on deposits from $4.8 million to $19 million by ensuring that all old checks were deposited and that any checks coming in were deposited on the same day that they were received. She worked to make the Treasurer’s office more technologically advanced and was able to create an integrated system that handled collections, deposits, earnings, and refunds. Maria Pappas was reelected as Treasurer five times after running successful campaigns for the 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 election years. She ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004 but lost the democratic nomination to former President Barack Obama. In her tenure as Treasurer, Pappas reduced the staff of the Treasurer’s office from 250 in 1998 to 88 in 2018, offset 90 percent of the budget allocations to the Treasurer’s office, and opened 517 external payment facilities in banks while also closing five Treasurer’s offices, making the payment process more accessible. Maria Pappas created a website where the public can find property tax information easily, and pay and monitor their property taxes online, a step in her goal to make the Treasurer’s office as efficient and paperless as possible. Pappas established the Treasurer’s Outreach Program and Services, or TOPS, to provide brochures and information about property taxes in several languages, embracing the diversity of Chicago. The program ended in 2011 after controversy that the Treasurer’s office was using taxpayer money to host parties and receptions. To make information more accessible, the content on the Treasurer’s website has been translated into 103 languages, and the office’s automated phone system assists callers in English, Spanish, and Polish. Pappas wrote the Debt Disclosure Ordinance in 2016, legislation that has created a system in which taxpayers are able to view how much their taxing district is billing them and how much a taxing district owes in debt for operations and pensions, as well as other costs. Pappas’s goal for the new ordinance was to improve government transparency and provide ways for taxpayers to monitor the spending of the local government. Scope and Content The Maria Pappas Papers consist of 60 linear feet and span the years 1976-2016. Some materials are not dated. The papers relate to Pappas’s tenure as Cook County Commissioner and Treasurer, as well as to her various campaigns, including Cook County Board President and Illinois Senator. The collection is a reflection primarily of Pappas’s public works with minimal materials relating to her personal life. The collection reflects her attempts to change the property tax system. The collection is divided into six series. Series 1: Biographical, 1966-2003, undated Maria Pappas Papers, pg. 2 Women and Leadership Archives Loyola University Chicago Contains materials related to the personal life and education history of Maria Pappas. This series contains photographs, VHS tapes, audio cassettes, CDs, a business card, and a school schedule. The series has been separated into two subseries. Subseries 1.1: Photos, 2000-2002, undated This subseries contains photographs of Maria Pappas, as well as her relatives and her dog. Subseries 1.2: VHS, 2003 This subseries includes a VHS tape of Maria Pappas and her dog, Koukla. Series 2: Cook County Commissioner Campaign and Election, 1990-2005 This series includes materials related to the activities of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, sometimes referred to as the CCBOC, including business associations, summit recordings, and advertisements. This collection reflects Pappas’s interest in preventing juvenile pregnancy and providing parenting aid. Materials in this series include newspaper clippings, correspondence, fliers, meeting notes, VHS tapes, audio cassettes, and U-Matic tapes. The WLA does not have technology to play the U-Matic tapes at this time. This series includes one subseries. Subseries 2.1: Audiovisual, 1990-2005 This subseries relates to the audiovisual material detailing the organization of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The materials in this subseries include meeting minutes and advertisements recorded on VHS tapes, audio cassettes, and U-Matic tapes. Series 3: Cook County Board President Campaign, 1991-1997 This series includes documentation regarding Maria Pappas’s campaign for Cook County Board President. The materials included in this series are correspondences, television appearances, advertisements, newspaper clippings, and interviews recorded on VHS tapes. Some documents may extend past the dates of the campaign. This series is subdivided into two subseries. Subseries 3.1: Audiovisual, 1993-1997 This subseries is related to the appearances by Maria Pappas while campaigning for Cook County Board President. Materials included may span years before and after the campaign due to the way the materials were donated and organized. Materials included are television appearances, advertisements, and interviews on VHS tapes. Subseries 3.2: Print media, 1991-1997 The subseries is related to the newspaper reporting of Maria Pappas’s campaign activities. Some newspaper clippings may contain information beyond the campaign. Materials included may span years before and after the campaign due to the way the materials were donated and organized. The materials included are newspaper clippings. Series 4: Treasurer Campaigns, 1994-2006 Maria Pappas Papers, pg. 3 Women and Leadership Archives Loyola University Chicago This series pertains to the campaigns Maria Pappas ran for the Cook County Treasurer’s Office, sometimes abbreviated as CCTO. The materials in this collection include information on the campaigns Maria Pappas ran, information on her opponents, and some of her activities upon election. Materials include newspaper articles, correspondence, brochures, flyers, VHS tapes, magazines, and questionnaires. Subseries 4.1: First Campaign, 1994-1999 This subseries relates to Maria Pappas’s first campaign for the office of Cook County Treasurer. Materials include newspaper and magazine articles and VHS tapes. Materials included may span years before and after the campaign due to the way the materials were donated and organized. Subseries 4.2: Second Campaign, 1998-2006 This subseries relates to Maria Pappas’s second campaign for the office of Cook County Treasurer. Materials include newspaper and magazine articles, pamphlets, correspondence, and VHS tapes. Materials included may span years before and after the campaign due to the way the materials were donated and organized. Subseries 4.3: Third Campaign, 2006 This subseries relates to Maria Pappas’s