After graduating from University of Chicago Law School in 1929, Leon
M. Despres took up numerous liberal causes: he represented labor
unions and handled civil liberties cases, and served as counsel for
the American Civil Liberties Union's Illinois Division. Despres helped
to form the Americans for Democratic Action, and was chairman of the
Independent Voters of Illinois, its Illinois affiliate.
In 1955, Robert Merriam, Hyde Park's alderman, left his position to
run for Mayor of Chicago. Leon Despres chaired a committee whose task
was to find an independent replacement. When no one accepted the
committee's endorsement, Despres ran for alderman himself, with Robert
Merriam's endorsement. Additional support came from unions and the
Independent Voters of Illinois. Despres won the election by 3,700
votes. Merriam, however, was defeated in the mayoral election by
Richard Daley.
During in his first year as Alderman of the Fifth Ward, Despres was a
tireless reformer, although many of the ordinances he introduced were
buried in committee. Despres was instrumental in giving Chicago meter
maids and in banning discrimination in hospitals. He assisted in the
creation of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, and in the drafting
of Chicago's fair housing ordinance.
After twenty years of service, Leon M. Despres retired from the
Chicago City Council in April 1975. Since that time, he has been the
recipient of many awards, including the Massachusetts Arborists'
Association Vista Award, the Distinguished Public Service Award of the
Public Interest Law Initiative, the Columbia Celebration of Artists in
Human Service Award, and the Clarence Darrow Award. He serves as a
Director of Business and Professional People for the Public Interest,
a public interest law and policy center. Chicago Jewish News has named
Despres one of "Chicago's Top 100 Jews of the 20th Century."
Business and Professional People for the Public Interest
http://www.bpichicago.org/news_events/awards.html
Chicago Jewish News: Chicago's Top 100 Jews
http://www.chicagojewishnews.com/lists_chijews.jsp
In a 1995 interview with Evergreen magazine, Despres shared memories
of the early years of the Hyde Park Co-Op, with which he had been
actively involved since the early 1930s, and also discussed his early
attraction to socialist causes. Despres contributed a memoir to the
Chicago Sun-Times publication "20th Century Chicago: 100 Years, 100
Voices," which brought one hundred writers together to give their
personal views of Chicago's history.
IGC: Leon Despres remembers Co-op History
http://www.igc.org/hpcoop/pages/coophistoryDespres.html
Chicago Sun-Times: 20th Century Chicago
http://www.suntimes.com/century/intro.html
In recent years, Despres has remained active both physically and in
civic affairs. The University of Chicago Magazine published an
interview with Leon Despres and his wife, Marian Alschuler Despres, in
December 1999, in which Leon Despres (then 91 years of age) made this
comment: "As I've grown older, my goals have been trimmed. I have come
to terms with the fact that the world cannot achieve perfection. I
think there are lots of things you can do, and it's a disgrace not to
try."
University of Chicago Magazine: Coming of Age
http://magazine.uchicago.edu/9912/features/9912_age-despres.html
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"robert merriam"
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