Joanne H. Alter

Joanne H. Alter (1927 – November 9, 2008) was an American activist, politician, and the first woman to break the gender barrier in Chicago area politics.^[1]

Biography

Alter was born to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Glencoe, Illinois.^[1][2] Her mother Celia K. Hammerman,^[3] was an immigrant who fled pogroms in Czarist Russia^[1] and a was founder of North Shore chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.^[3] Her father, Sol Hammerman, worked for J.K. Industries in Chicago, a company that was founded by her grandfather. Sol and his brother, Meyer Hammerman, turned the company into one of the nation's largest children's clothing manufacturers at the time. She has one sister, Enid Hammerman who married American diplomat William R. Rivkin.^[4][3] She attended New Trier High School and graduated from Mount Holyoke College where she met Eleanor Roosevelt while serving as a student campus representative. After school, she toured war-torn Europe alone.^[1] In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed her as a delegate to the United Nations Conference on the Status of Women held in Accra, Ghana. Upon her return, she founded the Illinois Women's Political Caucus^[1] and when she exposed that there were no women candidates on the ballot in Cook County, Illinois, then mayor Richard J. Daley invited her to run for office.^[5] In 1972, earning a million votes as the Elected Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, she became the first woman to win a countywide election.^[5] She was reelected twice.^[1] She also unsuccessfully ran for Lieutenant Governor in 1976 and Cook County Clerk in 1990.^[1] She served two terms on the Democratic National Committee.^[1] The Alters remained active in politics and fundraising hosting many politicians and contributors including Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Oprah Winfrey, John F. Kennedy Jr., Dan Rather, Kevin Costner, Adlai Stevenson III, Mayor Harold Washington, Judge Abner Mikva, Sens. Paul Simon and Dick Durbin, and Rep. Rahm Emanuel.^[1] In 2003, the Alters were an early supporter of Barack Obama, hosting a fundraiser for his 2004 Senate campaign.^[1] After she retired from politics, she co-founded WITS (Working In The Schools), a tutoring and mentoring program serving children in Chicago public schools.^[5]

Personal life

In 1952, she married to James M. Alter (1922–2014),^[6] who owned a refrigeration and air-conditioning company. They had four children: journalist Jonathan Alter, Jennifer Alter Warden, Jamie Alter Lynton (married to businessman Michael Lynton), and Dr. Harrison Alter.^[1] Her nephew, Robert S. Rivkin was appointed by President Barack Obama as the 21st General Counsel of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT).^[7][8] Another nephew, Charles Rivkin, was appointed by President Barack Obama as United States Ambassador to France and then Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs.^[9]

References