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Rename Chicago Cultural Center After Lois Weisberg, North Side Aldermen Say

By Mina Bloom | February 11, 2016 1:08pm
 Two aldermen want to rename the Chicago Cultural Center after Lois Weisberg, the city's first cultural affairs commisoner (inset)
Two aldermen want to rename the Chicago Cultural Center after Lois Weisberg, the city's first cultural affairs commisoner (inset)
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LINCOLN PARK — A pair of aldermen want to rename the Cultural Center after Lois Weisberg, the city's first cultural affairs commissioner, who died at age 90 in January. 

Ald. Michele Smith (43rd) and Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) introduced an ordinance in the City Council on Wednesday calling for the renaming of the cultural center, 78 E. Washington St., which is more than 100 years old. Neither Tunney nor Smith immediately responded to requests for comment.

As the city's first commissioner of cultural affairs under Mayor Richard M. Daley, Weisberg was a force. She helped spearhead a number of cultural attractions still popular today like the Chicago Blues Festival, the Chicago Gospel Festival and a student art program, which would later become the lauded After School Matters. Weisberg also was a big proponent of "Cows on Parade," which she brought to Chicago from Zurich and which was so successful here that countries around the world copied the idea.

For her work in the arts, Weisberg was the recipient of many awards, including "Public Official of the Year" by Governing magazine, "Chicagoan of the Year" by the Tribune and the League of Women Voters' "Civic Contribution Award," to name a few.

"We would encourage the Chicago Cultural Center, located at 78 East Washington Street, be renamed in Lois Weisberg's honor, in recognition of the achievements of Lois Weisberg, and as a symbol of the esteem in which Lois Weisberg is held by the Mayor, the City Council and residents of the City of Chicago," the proposed ordinance reads.

Much has been written about Weisberg over the years, but perhaps the most compelling account came from author Malcolm Gladwell, who penned a piece titled, "Six Degrees of Lois Weisberg," for The New Yorker in 1999.

"If you connect all the dots that constitute the vast apparatus of government and influence and interest groups in the city of Chicago you’ll end up coming back to Lois again and again. Lois is a connector," Gladwell wrote.

The Tribune called her a "tireless champion of the city's cultural life."

Weisberg died Jan. 13 at age 90.

She was born on the city's West Side in Austin and attended Austin High School, the University of Illinois and Northwestern's School of Speech, according to the ordinance.

As a young professional, Weisberg founded several organizations, including South Shore Recreation, Friends of the Park and the Chicago Lawyer newspaper. She worked as the executive director for the Chicago Council of Lawyers and director of business and professional development for Public Interest. 

It wasn't until 1983 that Mayor Harold Washington appointed her the head of the city's event planning. After four years in that role, Weisberg was appointed to the role she is most known for: commissioner of cultural affairs, a position she held for two decades. 

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