Women and Leadership Archives Loyola University Chicago Marion Kennedy Volini, 1956-1993,n.d. Bulk 1979-1988 Creator: Volini, Marion Kennedy (November 1934-May 2018) Extent: 23.5 linear ft. Location: Processor: Jeanelle Bergen, BVM, and Carole Heath, with contribution from Adrienne Sage. Updated by Elizabeth A. Myers, April 2007. Updated by Emily Muszynski, June 2019. Administration Information Access Restrictions: None Usage Restrictions: Copyright for all materials created by Marion Kennedy Volini in this collection has been transferred to the Women and Leadership Archives. Preferred Citation: Loyola University of Chicago. Women and Leadership Archives. Marion Kennedy Volini Papers. Box #. Folder #. Provenance: Marion Kennedy Volini donated these materials to the Women and Leadership Archives on 21 January 1997 (WLA1996.28, WLA1996.29). Separations: Two linear feet of duplicates and a constituent card file were discarded. Biographic History Marion Jean Kennedy was born on November 27, 1934, the daughter of Marion Mitchell and Edward Kennedy. Growing up on the south side of Chicago, she attended Maria High School, but came to the north side of the city to attend and graduate from Mundelein College. She married Camillo Volini, and they raised their five children in the Lakewood-Balmoral neighborhood of Chicago. Until she entered politics, she was a teacher and speech therapist in the Chicago Public Schools. Marion Kennedy Volini was formally inducted into her office as Alderman of Chicago’s 48th Ward on July 7, 1978. That comparatively short ritual in the City Council chambers gave no indication of the years of groundwork, which singularly adapted her for political office. Ten years earlier she had collaborated in the formation of a neighborhood organization—the Lakewood Balmoral Residents Council—to upgrade what at that time was known as a deteriorated area, characterized by a transient population, many unskilled or unemployed, housing shortages, negligent property owners, and store closings. This area included Edgewater and Uptown, which had become a refuge for many unlicensed alcoholic treatment centers as well half-way houses for state-released mental patients. Her first venture into city politics presented itself when 48th Ward Alderman Marilou Hedlund announced that she would not run for re-election. Marion Volini—the wife of lawyer Camillo, the mother of five—with no money, no experience, and no campaign organization—ran against Arnold Levy and Dennis Block—and lost. However she had won recognition as a community leader. She was asked to run for President of the Edgewater Community Council—which she won in an uncontested election. Volini, pg. 1 Women and Leadership Archives Loyola University Chicago When Alderman Dennis Block resigned after two years, a Special Election was announced with a primary and a run-off. Again Volini was on the ballot as an Independent who had the support of both the Democratic and Republican organizations. This campaign became a family affair—with Volini family members, large and small, participating in precinct work—making calls, stuffing envelopes. And when the votes were tallied on election night, Marion Volini was the new Alderman of the 48th Ward—to finish the unexpired term of the former Alderman. The 48th Ward, with its 59 precincts, has a population of 60,000, and extends from Lake Michigan west to Clark St. and from 4700 North to 6200 North. Citing personal and informal demographics, Alderman Volini described the diversity of her area: “My community, on the very far north side lakefront, consists of the very rich and the very poor, the very old and the very young. We have families with children, and we have young couples and singles. The residents of my community are black, white, Hispanic, and Asian-American, and compose one of the few stable integrated communities in Chicago...The housing in the 48th ward includes high-rise condominiums, elegant Victorian homes, and beautiful re-habbed walk-up apartments. But we also have large common- corridor buildings, subsidized high-rise structures, and a number of deteriorated vacant buildings.” Her appreciation of the 48th Ward’s ethnic cultural mix she described from another perspective: “a real richness of our community is the many-ness of our people. Six p.m. mixes the combined cooking aromas of the Far East - of Bangkok - and the haciendas of Mexico. Dining out here includes a choice of restaurants offering home-made specialties like shrimp tempura, Swedish meatballs, Mexican enchiladas, Peruvian pastry, gyros on pita bread, and some of the best deep-dish pizza anywhere.” Immediate problems confronted Volini. The 48th Ward included the Uptown and Edgewater areas - scenes of many unsafe abandoned buildings, dirty streets, and high crime rates including arson, muggings, drugs, and rape. As Alderman, with her seat on the City Council, she was empowered to focus on improving neighborhood safety, housing rehabilitation, commercial revitalization, traffic congestion, as well as the prevention of lakefront erosion. She sponsored legislation concerning playground safety and prostitution. As Chairperson of the City Council’s Committee on Aging and Disabled, her efforts worked toward improving services and accessibility for senior citizens and the physically handicapped. During her three terms as Alderman (1978-1987), Volini served under two first’s for Chicago mayors - Jane Byrne, the first woman mayor, and Harold Washington, the first African American mayor. In a confrontation during an April City Council meeting, Mayor Washington adjourned the session, but his opponent Alderman Edward Vrdolyak continued the meeting after Washington and his supporters left the chambers. Volini was the only one of Washington’s supporters to remain. The next day Volini presented a compromise proposal for City Council Committee chairmanships to the Mayor - and later faced down the Vrdolyak 29 - authorizing herself a negotiator. Later the Mayor appointed Volini as the only woman on the Washington six-member negotiating team. Her warning to the City Council was quoted in Time Magazine (May 23): “This is chaos. The sooner we get it under control, the better.” For more than four weeks city government was in a stalemate. Only after four meetings did both sides of the negotiating team reach consensus. It was from this chaos that Volini emerged in a position of Council leadership. Later she said that her motivation in Volini, pg. 2 Women and Leadership Archives Loyola University Chicago assuming a leading role in this City Council dispute was her belief that power should be distributed equally - that no one should be excluded from the governmental process because of race or political ideology. At the conclusion of her third term as Alderman, Volini opened her own real estate company, Lakefront Group. She continued to serve the City as a mayoral appointee to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which has under its jurisdiction Navy Pier and McCormick Place. In her later years, she continued to live in the Lakewood-Balmoral neighborhood. Marion Kennedy Volini passed away May 21, 2018 at the age of 83. Scope and Content Marion Kennedy Volini’s papers pertaining primarily to her tenure as Alderman of the 48th Ward have been divided into fourteen series with multiple subseries and subcategories denoted by either bold or italics. Series 1: Election Materials, 1975-1987, n.d. Boxes 1-7 These records contain election materials. Primarily they are the records of Marion Volini’s election campaigns. However, there are materials that pertain to the election campaigns of other candidates. The series has been separated into five subseries. Subseries 1A: Campaign Scrapbooks, 1975-1986, Box 1. Materials include two Scrapbooks of campaigns – one bound scrapbook, 1975 –86; one book enclosed in folder to which is added memorabilia, 1975 Subseries 1B: 1975 Election (Lost) and Special Election, June 6, 1978, Box 2. Materials include statements of candidacy and audiocassettes of the Volini City Council Inauguration. Subseries 1C: Election Coverage - 1979 – 1983, Boxes 3 - 5 Materials reflect Volini’s participation in alderman election campaigns. Materials include voter registration materials, ward canvassing, volunteer campaign workers, Election Day tallies and results. Subseries 1D: Fundraising Events, 1979 – 1987, Box 6. The contents of this subseries cover the separate events used for campaign fundraising as well as advertising and campaign expenses. Subseries 1E: Other Political Candidates.1975 – 1987, n.d., Box 7. This subseries includes campaign and election materials from other political candidates in the Chicago area. There are multiple entries for Mayor Harold Washington, Richard M. Daley, and Alderman Kathy Osterman, which comprise the bulk of this subseries. Additional material for local politicians is also included. Series 2: Framed Certificates, 1978, Box 8 Volini, pg. 3 Women and Leadership Archives Loyola University Chicago This subseries contains framed certificates of Volini’s swearing in and oath of office. Series 3: Chicago City Council Government Materials, 1961 – 1987, Boxes 9 & 10 This subseries contains Chicago City Council government materials. Materials include Rules of Order, resolutions, ordinances, various amendments, municipal code, meeting materials, correspondence, committee lists, mayoral appointments, and complaints/suits against the city government are followed by Comptroller’s annual reports, 1977, 1979, and 1981-1985. Series 4: City Council