Former Evanston Mayor Joan Barr Dies at 75

Joan Barr, the first woman to ever be elected Mayor of Evanston, died Saturday at age 75.

Barr, who served as Mayor from 1985 to 1993, was previously the city’s 2nd Ward alderman - holding that position from 1977 to 1985.

Born in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, Barr came to Evanston in the early 1960s, according to information published to the Evanston Public Library database.

She owned a catering business and later becoming governmental affairs director for the American Dental Hygienists Association. Barr was active in many civic organizations, including the Dewey Community Conference.

In a 1988 article published to the Illinois Periodicals Online library, Barr was described by Robert McClory as a “laid-back” mayor.

She was a “slight, energetic, bright-eyed woman, whose glasses are usually perched on top of her head (a la Gloria Steinem),” McClory wrote. “Barr has the task of satisfying the often divergent demands of her various constituencies. She does this with a leadership style that can best be described as moderating and laid back. Definitely not an imitator of Chicago’s mercurial former Mayor Jane Byrne, Barr prefers to let issues work themselves out through dialogue and debate rather than to settle them by mayoral edict.”

Public library records indicate the former mayor worked to address many issues, including downtown redevelopment, the city’s landfill problem and the need for a new public library.

Arrangements are pending.

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