Joan Barr

Joan W. Barr (née Worthy; later Barr-Smith; November 22, 1939 – March 21, 2015) was an American politician and the first woman elected as mayor of the city of Evanston, Illinois. Barr Smith was elected in 1985 and sworn into her position on April 22, 1985, by Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Toomin. Prior to her election to the role of mayor, she served eight years as an alderman to the city's Second Ward.

Early life and career Joan was the only child of James (a professor at Kellogg School of Management) and Mildred Louise Worthy (née Neritz). The family lived in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago while Barr was young. The family relocated to the North Shore area when Barr was four years old. She continued her education at Syracuse University, where she earned a bachelor's degree. She subsequently earned her MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, then pastor of the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Evanston. Her election marked the first time in Evanston's history that a woman held the role of mayor. Her inaugural address noted burdensome residential real estate taxes as a priority to address. improving the relationship between the city and Northwestern University; street gangs and homelessness were priority areas for her tenure. Stemming from her work in establishing the research park, Barr was called "a consensus builder" by Evanston Inventure (a city-wide development corporation) executive director, Ronald Kysiak. According to the local newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, moderator and consensus builder also describe how Barr saw her own role. She was also viewed by others as non-confrontational in her style of government, focused on forging connections and non-partisanship community building.

Barr was elected for a second mayoral term in 1989 and stepped down from the position in 1992. Following her time as mayor, she worked for the Illinois Department of Revenue and the Illinois Department of Employment Security. She became a deacon in the Episcopal Church in 2008.