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Toni Preckwinkle Highlight
Show up. Be somebody that people can count on.
About Toni
- Growing up, I always knew I wanted to become a teacher.
- I discovered another interest in politics when I was 16 years old—I worked on the campaign for Katie McWatt, the first Black woman to run for city council in St. Paul, Minnesota, where I grew up.
- I moved to Chicago, Illinois, for college, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in teaching from the University of Chicago.
- After college, I taught high school history and continued to be very involved in politics in the Hyde Park-Kenwood neighborhood in Chicago.
- I spent many years working for other great people in politics before I was elected into office myself as alderman of Chicago’s 4th Ward—this was after two prior unsuccessful campaigns.
- After five terms as an alderman in the Chicago City Council, I was elected as the first female president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 2010—I’ve held the office ever since!
