Toni Foulkes facts for kids

Toni Foulkes is a former alderman in Chicago, a big city in the United States. An alderman is like a local leader who helps make decisions for a specific part of the city, called a 'ward'. Toni Foulkes served as an alderman for two different wards: first the 15th ward, and then the 16th ward. She is an African American politician.

Toni Foulkes's Time as an Alderman

Toni Foulkes first became an alderman in 2007. She was elected to represent Chicago's 15th Ward. This was an 'open race' because the previous alderman, Theodore Thomas, was not running again. Voters chose her to take his place. She was elected again for the 15th Ward in 2011.

Later, the city changed the boundaries of the wards. This is called redistricting. Because of this change, Toni Foulkes then ran for alderman in the 16th Ward in 2015. In that election, she ran against the person who was already the alderman for the 16th Ward, JoAnn Thompson, and other candidates. Sadly, JoAnn Thompson passed away shortly before the election. Toni Foulkes eventually won the election after a special second vote, called a runoff election, against Stephanie Coleman.

In 2019, Toni Foulkes ran for alderman again, but she was not re-elected. Stephanie Coleman, who she had beaten in the 2015 election, won the 16th Ward alderman position this time.

Supporting Workers' Rights

In 2014, Toni Foulkes supported a new rule. This rule would make sure that all workers in Chicago received sick leave that was paid. This means if they got sick, they could still get paid for their time off.