Editing Harold Washington (section)

===1983 Chicago mayoral election===
{{main|1983 Chicago mayoral election}}
In the February 22, 1983, Democratic mayoral primary, more than 100,000 new voters registered to vote led by a coalition that included the Latino reformed gang [[Young Lords]] led by [[Jose Cha Cha Jimenez]]. On the North and Northwest Sides, the incumbent mayor [[Jane Byrne]] led and future mayor [[Richard M. Daley]], son of the late Mayor [[Richard J. Daley]], finished a close second. Harold Washington had massive majorities on the South and West Sides.  Southwest Side voters overwhelmingly supported Daley. Washington won with 37% of the vote, versus 33% for Byrne and 30% for Daley. Although winning the Democratic primary was normally considered [[tantamount to election]] in heavily Democratic Chicago, after his primary victory Washington found that his [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] opponent, former state legislator [[Bernard Epton]] (earlier considered a nominal stand-in), was supported by many high-ranking Democrats and their ward organizations, including the chairman of the [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]] Democratic Party, Alderman [[Edward Vrdolyak]].<ref name="davis_19830412">{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-chicagodays-haroldwashington-story,0,1660876.story |title=The election of Harold Washington the first black mayor of Chicago |author=Davis, Robert |date=April 12, 1983 |access-date=February 16, 2008 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |archive-date=February 16, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216023207/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-chicagodays-haroldwashington-story,0,1660876.story |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Epton's campaign referred to, among other things, Washington's conviction for failure to file [[income tax]] returns (he had paid the taxes, but had not filed a return). Washington, on the other hand, stressed reforming the Chicago patronage system and the need for a jobs program in a tight economy. In the April 12, 1983, mayoral general election, Washington defeated Epton by 3.7%, 51.7% to 48.0%, to become mayor of Chicago.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://chicagodemocracy.org/ElectionResults.jsp?election=crdd_general%2Ccrdd_1983_general_election%2Cil_chi_mayor | title=Election Results for 1983 General Election, Mayor, Chicago, IL}}</ref> Washington was sworn in as mayor on April 29, 1983, and resigned his Congressional seat the following day.