Eugenia S. Chapman

Eugenia S. Chapman
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 3rd district
In office 1965 (1965)–1983 (1983)
House Minority Whip
In office 1981 (1981)–1983 (1983)
Personal details
Born	(1923-01-10) January 10, 1923 (age 101) Fairhope, Alabama
Died	September 30, 1994(1994-09-30) (aged 71)
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Chicago Teachers College
Occupation	Educator Politician

Eugenia Sheldon Chapman (January 10, 1923 – September 30, 1994) was an American educator and politician.

She was the first woman to hold a leadership position in the Illinois House of Representatives.^[1]

Known to fight tirelessly for her favorite causes, such as education, social and women’s issues, regardless of the likelihood of a bill’s legislative passage—she often told those who said these were impossible causes `It’s better to light a candle, than sit and curse the dark.’

She was teacher, nationally recognized children’s and youth advocate and historic state politician. Chapman was the president and charter member of the Arlington Heights, IL League of Women’s Voters, Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives 1965-1983.

Eugenia Sheldon was born in Fairhope, Alabama, on January 10, 1923. Her father passed 5 months before she was born. They moved to Chicago in 1930, where her mother became a live in maid while Eugenia was passed around to live with various relatives.

She earned a Bachelor of Education from Chicago Teachers College in 1944, during which time she worked as a maid for one of her high school teachers for room and board while attending school. She graduated valedictorian.

She then took jobs teaching in Cicero, Illinois and at Chicago Public Schools. During the 1940s, she was also active as a counselor and director of children's summer camps.^[2][3]

She taught schools in Chicago and Skokie, Illinois. In 1952, Chapman moved to Arlington Heights, Illinois. She was a president and charter member of the Arlington Heights chapter of the League of Women Voters. She served on the Township High School District 214 Board of Education from 1961 to 1964.^[2]

Chapman served as a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1965 to 1983.^[2] In 1970, she was a delegate to White House Conference on Children and Youth.

In 1965, the first year she was in the house she was the primary sponsor of House Bill No. 1710 - Illinois Public Junior College Act - that would become the law to fund community colleges and helped to created the Illinois Community Colleges system. She would go on to help found Harper College in 1969 and would remain on the Board of Trustees until her death. After her passing, the Women's Center of Harper was renamed after her. Now there is also a Eugenia S. Chapman Memorial Endowment Scholarship for women. Harper was the first community college to create a women’s program that helped 42,000 women by her dead in 1994.

From 1973 to 1975, she was a legislative member of the Illinois Commission on the Status of Women and chaired its Legislative Action Committee.^[3] She was a chief Illinois sponsor of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment, and of the Illinois Public Junior College Act. She chaired the Committee on Human Resources from 1975 to 1979 and chaired the Appropriations II Committee in 1980. She served as Democratic Whip from 1981 to 1983 making her the first woman to hold an Illinois House leadership position in state history.^[4][2][5] During her legislative career, she was awarded the best legislator award from Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization multiple times.^[3]

In the 1982 United States House of Representatives elections, Chapman ran for Congress losing to John Porter receiving 41% of the vote.^[6] In 1983, Neil Hartigan named Chapman the Chief of the Division of Senior Citizen Advocacy and Coordinator for Community Education in Office of Illinois Attorney General. She served there until her retirement in 1989.^[2]

She served as a committeewoman from the 10th district on the Illinois Democratic Central Committee from 1983 until her death.^[7][8] Chapman died at the Northwest Community Continuing Care Center in Arlington Heights, Illinois.^[4][9]

She was a chief sponsor of the ERA . She led the measure to be passed in the Illinois House although it failed in the senate due to not meeting the three fifths requirement. ^[10]

She often worked together with Giddy Dyer, a Republican from Hinsdale.

In 1972, Illinois faced a pivotal moment in the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), closely linked to the efforts of Representative Eugenia Chapman, a key proponent and chief sponsor of the ERA. During this period, Illinois did not pass the ERA, an outcome influenced by significant political events at the Democratic National Convention.

That year, the convention was marked by the nomination of George McGovern, who ran on a progressive platform. Amidst the political maneuvering, a group of Illinois progressives successfully challenged the authority of Mayor Richard J. Daley, leading to his and his affiliates' removal from the state's delegation. Eugenia Chapman played a central role in this political upheaval, contributing to the unseating of Daley.

The ramifications of these events were significant for Chapman's legislative career. It is speculated that Daley harbored a strong resentment towards Chapman, impacting her subsequent legislative initiatives. This personal and political conflict likely played a role in the continuous obstruction of the ERA's passage in Illinois as long as Daley remained influential.

The first vote on the ERA in the Illinois Senate took place in late May 1972, by which time 18 other states had already ratified the amendment. Despite Chapman's efforts, the political climate, shaped by her confrontation with Daley, posed a significant barrier to the ERA's progress in Illinois. By the following year, the number of ratifying states had increased to 30, underscoring a growing national support for the amendment, even as Chapman's advocacy faced challenges at the state level.^[11]

In the FX / Hulu mini series Mrs. America, the character Rep. Ginny Chapman was based on Eugenia Chapman.

"In the show, as Schlafly is celebrating back home in Alton, her sister-in-law reads from a newspaper. 'It looks like we should also be toasting Mayor Daley,' the woman says.

“What do you mean?” Schlafly asks.

“It says here Rep. [Eugenia] Chapman, the woman who sponsored the ERA, says the mayor had an ax to grind with her, so he went and told his people to vote against it. That’s why seven Democrats from Chicago switched their votes from yes to no. Lucky.”

"A win's a win," Schlafly says.

That’s pretty much how it went down. Rep. Chapman, a suburban do-gooder Democrat from Arlington Heights, had alienated Da Mare by supporting Adlai Stevenson III over him to head the Illinois delegation at the 1972 DNC. Daley got back at her by pulling just enough votes to sink ERA. The final vote was 82-76 in favor, but it needed 89 votes to achieve the three-fifths majority Illinois requires to pass a constitutional amendment.

Daley’s desire to punish a political opponent trumped his desire to see the ERA passed. Like Schlafly, the mayor was a devout Catholic. According to the Tribune, some legislators worried the amendment would give way to gay marriage and adoptions (which ended up happening anyway, even without the ERA). Nonetheless, a number of Chicago Machine Democrats voted for it, including current House Speaker Michael Madigan."^[12]

• Eugenia S. Chapman at Find a Grave

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