By Dwight A. Weingarten
Medill Reports
When Chicago’s first Mayor William B. Ogden took office in 1837, he along with two alderman crafted the city seal.
The city’s motto, “Urbs in Horto,” or City in a Garden, that appears at the bottom of the seal, quickly lost much of its literal meaning even with huge parks left amid all the development. Ogden himself, upon leaving office, helped transform the city into one of the nation’s leading railway hubs over the course of the next decade.
As the world discusses the impacts of climate change, Chicago mayors have taken role in that conversation. Take a look back at Chicago mayors key moments in the environment and development of the city.
Photo at top: Chicago’s city seal, collaged here, pays homage to the natural landscape when the city was established. The next mayor, with candidates debating at a recent forum, will inherit a mixed legacy of environmental action taken by mayors, city and civic leaders and citizens groups. (Photo: http://www.chicagob2b.net/ [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
