William Shaw

William "Bill" Shaw (July 31, 1937 – November 26, 2008) was an American politician. Shaw is noted as the first African American to serve as mayor of Dolton, Illinois from 1997 until his death in 2008. He also served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1983 through 1993 and the Illinois State Senate from 1993 through 2003.

For many years, Shaw and his twin brother Robert were dominant political "kingmakers" of Chicago's far South Side and southern suburbs. However, their influence dissipated greatly by the early 2000s, with Jesse Jackson Jr. largely beating them out to become the new kingmaker in what had been their territory. Both Shaw and his twin brother were controversial figures. were born on July 31, 1937 in Fulton, Arkansas. His parents were sharecroppers. He grew up for a number of his early years in Hope, Arkansas, Arkansas. In Hope, his family was neighbors with future U.S. president Bill Clinton.

Shaw and his twin brother became involved in the African American civil rights movement. He represented the district until 1993. Shaw served for a decade until losing election to James T. Meeks in 2002. Meeks had been encouraged to run by the Shaw Brothers' political rival, Jesse Jackson Jr. Shaw also co-sponsored legislation to create the Illinois organ donor program in the secretary of state's office. In 2001, he traded this position for deputy minority caucus whip, under minority caucus whip Debbie Halvorson.

After his 2002 loss for reelection to the state senate, lame duck governor George Ryan (a Republican) named Shaw to the position of Small Business Utility Advocate for a term that would have started March 1, 2003. The position's mandate was to protect and promote the interests of small business utility customers; provide information and assistance regarding utility conservation measures; notify small business community regarding proceedings before state and federal regulatory commissions and courts. The position required confirmation by the Illinois Senate. Ultimately, in February 2003, Governor Rod Blagojevich (a Democrat) chose not to put anyone forward for the position as a cost saving measure.

Committee assignments as state senator While a state senator, Shaw was assigned to the following committees: Agriculture & Conservation (1995–1996) Environment & Energy (1993–2002) Executive (1993–1994) Licensed Activities (2001–02) Local Government & Elections (1997–99)/ Local Government (1999–2002) Transportation (1993–1996)

He was also assigned to the following joint committees: Legislative Reference Bureau (1995–2002) served as co-chair (1997–2002) Legislative Research Unit (1993–2002)

Mayor of Dolton, Illinois (1997–2008) Shaw was elected mayor of Dolton, Illinois in April 1997, becoming the city's first black mayor. He succeeded Donald Hart, who had not sought reelection. Shaw served five terms as mayor until his death on November 26, 2008. After Shaw's death, Ronnie Lewis was named by the village board of trustees (city council) to serve as interim mayor.

Soon after taking office, Shaw proposed the idea of using retired police officers as marshals to be deployed in emergencies or if gang violence in the village increased. The village board of trustees approved a resolution for this in a 4-2 vote on May 19, 1997.

In 2005, the Village of Dolton filed a lawsuit against a taser manufacturer alleging that it had not sufficiently tested a product it marketed as being nonlethal.

In 2006, Shaw appointed his brother Robert to the newly created position of Dolton inspector general, which paid $70,000 annually. This move angered some in the village, who saw it as blatant nepotism. The Better Government Association criticized this as a, "$70,000 joke on the taxpayers of Dolton".

In 2006, the village's former police chief sued the village, alleging that Shaw had fired him for trying to expose corruption within the police force. In 2010, a lawsuit against the Village of Dolton alleged that, in 2007, Shaw had rigged the results of a police sergeant's exam in order to favor two officers for promotion.

Political kingmaker For more than a quarter century, Shaw and his brother Robert were dominant political "kingmakers" of Chicago's far South Side and southern suburbs. They built a political machine that garnered the support of the African American electorate in the area. Over the years, their main rivals for influence there was the Jackson family, Jesse Jackson and Jesse Jackson Jr. Their influence dissipated greatly in the late 1990s and the early 2000s, with Jesse Jackson Jr. largely beating them out to become the new kingmaker at the time. Their tide first began to change when Jesse Jackson Jr. won election to U.S. congress in 1996, defeating the Shaw brothers-backed candidate Emil Jones in the Democratic primary. In 2004, Jackson backed Larry Rogers Jr.'s successful primary challenge against Robert Shaw for Cook County Board of Review. Also in 2004, the Shaw brothers denied involvement with two challengers running against Jackson for congress, who each filed challenges to the younger Jackson's petition signatures (which, if successful, would have seen Jackson removed from the ballot in the Democratic primary). The two challengers to Jackson worked for Dolton (where Shaw was mayor), and used the village's attorney as their lawyer. As mayor, Shaw utilized the trappings of his office to attack political enemies. By 2006, the Shaw brothers were using a public-access television program in Dolton to regularly assail Jesse Jackson Jr. and other political foes.

From 1988 until 1996, Shaw served as Democratic committeeman for Chicago's 9th ward, an elected Democratic Party position. In 1996, Shaw's brother, Robert, succeeded him as 9th ward committeeman. However, he would only hold the office for a single term, being unseated in 2000 by Anthony Beale, an ally of Jesse Jackson Jr.

In 2002, Shaw ran for Democratic committeeman for Thornton Township, challenging Frank Giglio (who had served as committeeman for 29 years). Also challenging Giglio was Frank Zuccarelli, the superintendent of the township. At the time, the township's Democratic Party had fractured into three camps: those loyal to Shaw, those loyal to Giglio, and those loyal to Zuccarelli. Shaw and Zuccarelli remained friendly, which led to some speculation that they had both run in order to split the vote away from Giglio so that one of them would beat him. They both denied that that was the case. Zuccarelli won, while Shaw placed second.

Among the individuals that got their starts in the political organization run by the Shaw brothers was Mose Jefferson.

In 2022, after Robert Shaw's death, The Chicago Crusader credited the Shaw brothers' political organization with successfully pushing the Illinois State Legislature to establish new Cook County Circuit Court and Illinois Appellate Court sub-circuits located in African American city wards, which The Chicago Crusader wrote had the impact of enabling more than 60 African American individuals to become judges.

Personal and death Shaw was married to Shirley Shaw, His battle against his cancer had been four-years long.

At the peak of their political careers, Shaw and his brother were recognizable-looking for both wearing similar hairpieces.

Electoral history State House 1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

State Senate 1992

1996

2000

2002

Mayor of Dolton 1997

2005

Democratic Committeeman (9th ward)

Democratic Committeeman (Thornton township)