title
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING THE CICELY FLEMING FOR HER SERVICE TO THE EVANSTON COMMUNITY
WHEREAS, Cicely Fleming current 9th Ward Alderwoman for the City of Evanston is stepping down from that position on January 31, 2022. Ald. Fleming was first elected to the City Council in 2017. She is the first African American alderperson to be elected from a non-majority African American ward in the City of Evanston. She was the only council person to run unopposed in the 2021 municipal election; and
WHEREAS, in her role as Alderwoman, Cicely has been a model of transparency and engagement. She has published a monthly newsletter informing residents of issues before the council and services available to residents from the City. She never took a vote, especially on controversial issues, without explaining why she was voting the way she did. Perhaps the most controversial vote during her tenure was her vote against the Evanston Reparations program, which she saw more as a housing support ordinance and not a true reparations model that respected independence of Black residents; and
WHEREAS, in addition to her role on the city council, Cicely has served residents of Evanston in many other ways. She was president of her local PTA, a member of Evanston's Mental Health Board, and a volunteer at Connections for the Homeless. When the pandemic hit in 2020, Cicely almost single-handedly formed a network of neighborhood "food boxes" where people could leave food and other necessities for people in need; and
WHEREAS, Cicely is a fourth-generation activist and influencer in Evanston. Her great-grandfather, Samuel White, Jr., was the Evanston Democratic Party Committeeman who served the 5th Ward as alderman when it was Evanston's only Democratic ward. Her great-aunt, Edna Summers, was Evanston's 5th Ward alderwoman, township supervisor, and past president of the Evanston branch of the NAACP. Her cousins, Michael Summers and Rochelle Whyte-Washington, also both served as 5th War...
Click here for full text