View source for John Pope (alderman)

{{Short description|Chicago City Council alderman}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name        = John Pope
|image = John Pope.png
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<!-- political -->
|office      = [[Chicago City Council|City of Chicago Alderman]]<br>from the [[10th ward, Chicago|10th ward]]
|term_start = {{start date|1999|05}}
|term_end = {{end date|2015|05}}
|predecessor = [[John J. Buchanan]]
|successor   = [[Susan Sadlowski Garza]]

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|party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
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|residence    = [[Hegewisch, Chicago|Hegewisch, Chicago, Illinois]]
|alma_mater  = [[Wabash College]] {{small|([[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]])}}
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|profession   = Politician
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'''John Pope''' is a former [[Chicago City Council]] alderman from the [[10th ward, Chicago|10th ward]] of the City of [[Chicago]]. He was first elected in 1999 and served four terms, the last of which ended in 2015 when he lost an election to Alderman [[Susan Sadlowski Garza]] in 2015.

==Early life==
A lifelong resident of the 10th Ward, Pope attended [[Mount Carmel High School (Chicago)|Mount Carmel High School]].<ref name=bio>{{cite web | url = http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/city/en/about/wards/10/alderman_john_a_pope.html | title = Alderman John A. Pope | publisher = City of Chicago | accessdate = 1 April 2012 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120511010036/http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/city/en/about/wards/10/alderman_john_a_pope.html | archivedate = 11 May 2012 }}</ref> He earned his undergraduate degree in Economics, from [[Wabash College]] in [[Indiana]].{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}

==Career==
Pope worked for several years in Chicago's budget department, serving also as Director of Demolition in the Building Department and Director of Conservation, before later joining Mayor [[Richard M. Daley]]'s staff as Daley's assistant.<ref name=bio/>

===Aldermanic career===
Pope was first elected in 1999 after defeating business owner Robert Wisz to succeed the retiring John Buchanan.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/01/28/10th-ward-race-gets-nasty/|last=Garza|first=Melita Marie|title=10th Ward Race Gets Nasty|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|location=[[Chicago, Illinois]]|date=January 28, 1999|access-date=February 27, 2017}}</ref> Pope was elected to his second term in 2003, when he ran unopposed, and again in 2007.<ref name=bio/> He was again reelected in 2011. Pope lost reelection to Susie Sadlowski Garza in [[2015 Chicago aldermanic elections#10th Ward|2015]].

As an alderman, Pope served on a number of committees: Buildings; Economic & Capital Development; Energy, Environmental Protection and Public Utilities; Housing and Real Estate; and Police and Fire.<ref name=bio/>

In January 2008, Pope hired a former Streets and Sanitation worker, using a payroll account available to aldermen with no scrutiny, who was on a list of employees who should not be re-hired, as he had resigned after the city recommended firing him for allegations of sexually harassing a co-worker.  Pope defended the hiring, explaining that the worker had resigned without admitting guilt and that he was a hard worker with knowledge about the area. Pope also hired the mother of Al Sánchez, leader of the [[Hispanic Democratic Organization]] which helped get Pope elected.<ref name=Tribune/> Sánchez was a former Commissioner of the City of Chicago's Department of Streets and Sanitation who in 2008 had been convicted for rigging city hiring so that Mayor Daley's supporters would be rewarded.<ref name="Tribune">{{cite news | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-aldermen-payroll19nov19,0,1560541,full.story | title=Friends & family fund for Chicago aldermen; Shadowy $1.3 million payroll helps them get around ban on patronage hiring | work=[[Chicago Tribune]] | date=2009-11-19 | accessdate=2009-11-19 | first1=Hal | last1=Dardick | last2=Gabler | first2=Ellen}}</ref>

===Post-aldermanic career===
In August 2015, mayor [[Rahm Emanuel]] appointed Pope as a deputy commissioner in the city's Department of Water Management.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pratt |first1=Gregory |title=Former Ald. John Arena resigns as senior adviser in Mayor Lori Lightfoot's planning department |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-john-arena-resignation-lightfoot-20200103-7toymrhod5abdovl3ewgzvsr6m-story.html |publisher=Chicago Tribune |accessdate=23 January 2020 |date=30 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Spielman |first1=Fran |title=Former alderman lands six-figure job on city payroll |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/2015/8/5/18485167/former-alderman-lands-six-figure-job-on-city-payroll |publisher=Chicago Sun-Times |accessdate=23 January 2020 |language=en |date=5 August 2015}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/home.do?BV_SessionID=@@@@2101403124.1153947708@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccfaddiglhljkicefecelldffhdfhg.0&logObsToolBar=true&topChannelName=Exploring City of Chicago]{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

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[[Category:Chicago City Council members]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Wabash College alumni]]