Editing Harold Washington (section)

=== First term and Council Wars ===
During his tenure as mayor, Washington lived at the [[Hampton House (Chicago, Illinois)|Hampton House]] apartments in the [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]] neighborhood of Chicago. He created the city's first environmental-affairs department under the management of longtime Great Lakes environmentalist [[Lee Botts]]. Washington's first term in office was characterized by conflict with the city council dubbed "[[Council Wars]]", referring to the then-recent ''[[Star Wars]]'' films and caused Chicago to be nicknamed "[[Beirut]] on the [[Lake Michigan|Lake]]". A 29-alderman City Council majority refused to enact Washington's legislation and prevented him from appointing nominees to boards and commissions. First-term challenges included city population loss and a massive decrease in ridership on the [[Chicago Transit Authority]] (CTA).{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}} Assertions that the overall crime rate increased were incorrect.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/84/harold|title=Harold|work=This American Life|access-date=November 25, 2017}}</ref>

The 29, also known as the "Vrdolyak 29", were led by Vrdolyak (who was an Alderman in addition to Cook County Democratic Party chairman) and Finance Chair, Alderman [[Edward M. Burke|Edward Burke]]. Parks superintendent Edmund Kelly also opposed the mayor. The three were known as "the Eddies" and were supported by the younger Daley (now State's Attorney), U.S. Congressmen [[Dan Rostenkowski]] and [[William Lipinski]], and much of the Democratic Party. During his first city council meeting, Washington and the 21 supportive aldermen walked out of the meeting after a quorum had been established. Vrdolyak and the other 28 then chose committee chairmen and assigned aldermen to the various committees. Later lawsuits submitted by Washington and others were dismissed by [[Supreme Court Justice]] [[James C. Murray]]<ref name="sheppard_19830517">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/17/us/rebels-win-court-decision-in-chicago-council-dispute.html |title=Rebels Win Court Decision in Chicago Council Dispute |author=Sheppard |date=May 17, 1983 |access-date=March 6, 2021 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> because it was determined that the appointments were legally made. Washington ruled by veto. The 29 lacked the 30th vote they needed to override Washington's veto; female and African American aldermen supported Washington despite pressure from the Eddies. Meanwhile, in the courts, Washington kept the pressure on to reverse the redistricting of city council wards that the city council had created during the Byrne years. During special elections in 1986, victorious Washington-backed candidates in the first round ensured at least 24 supporters in the city council.  Six weeks later, when [[Marlene Carter]] and [[Luis Gutiérrez|Luís Gutiérrez]] won run-off elections, Washington had the 25 aldermen he needed. His vote as president of the City Council enabled him to break 25–25 tie-votes and enact his programs.