For the second installment of a multi-part series profiling each of the Institute of Politics’s (IOP) Pritzker Fellows for the winter and spring quarters, The Maroon spoke with Robin Rue Simmons, the former Fifth Ward Alderman in Evanston, about her professional experiences in the Chicago political sphere and her personal mission to draw awareness to the need for reparations.

Simmons is the founder and executive director of FirstRepair, a nonprofit organization founded in 2021 that works to spread information about reparations at the local level across the nation.

In describing her decision to become an IOP fellow, Simmons said, “I first became aware of IOP fellowship opportunities as a guest at the Harvard IOP, and in considering that, I learned about University of Chicago and how much more appropriate [it is] in proximity to our work at FirstRepair in helping shape and inform the reparations discussion in Chicago proper, thought that it was a great opportunity.”

Simmons has been driven by a deep concern about the wealth disparities and concentrated poverty in historically segregated areas such as Evanston’s Fifth Ward, where she served as alderman from 2017 to 2021. In her role, she passionately advocated for reparations that would directly empower young Black adults to attain financial stability through homeownership.

Simmons was deeply familiar with the Fifth Ward because she was born and raised in the area, seeing firsthand how such injustices stem from segregated housing policies. Her experience working as a Fifth Ward real estate broker in 1998 further highlighted the prevalence of such racial divisions within the community and ultimately cemented her political emphasis on homeownership and reparations.

“Before I started working on reparations, I was concerned about the life circumstances of the folks in my community, the community that I grew up in, and I was a longtime advocate for economic inclusion and overall wellbeing for my neighborhood, which is predominantly Black,” Simmons said. “I prioritize the Black experience in my business. Through my public service, volunteer roles, and board work, I evolved into thinking [that] being an elected official would give me even more ability to transform our community, and I did that, and I ran and won. It was absolutely the most satisfying experience, professionally or civilly, that I’ve ever had to be able to serve my direct community.”

Simmons’s motivation to run for the alderman position went beyond improving the housing policies in her neighborhood; it was also rooted in her hope “to be a voice for so many that are not included: Black residents, women, younger elected, single mothers.” Simmons emphasizes that the very communities that have been historically excluded are precisely those that have to overcome the highest barriers to homeownership in order to enjoy a standard of livability. “I wanted to be that voice for so many that had been excluded, and enjoyed my opportunity to do that, along with my community, and we had great successes,” she said.

As an alderman, Simmons chaired several communities with a strong emphasis on improving the lives of Black residents and broadening their opportunities in the city. The local reparations program is primarily funded by the first $10 million in adult-use cannabis sales tax revenue collected by the city. The initial stage of the program is focused on homeownership as a means of redress.

“Reparations is what is most notable because it’s internationally recognized at this point, but before that, we were able to bring support to our business, our local business community, to pass some important environmental justice legislations to have oversight on monitoring air quality. With there being a waste transfer station in our community, we were able to create more jobs and more procurement opportunities for local minority and women businesses, and I was able to inspire other people from my community to run for office, school board, and even City Council as well. And it’s all been worth it. I served a term at Evanston, and I was able to accomplish the things that I thought were my assignment in four years, and [now I can] move on to do the work of reparations full time.”

Simmons also played a key role in the passage of the first-ever municipal legislation for reparations for Black residents. This legislation was passed in collaboration with other stakeholders and became effective in January 2022, with disbursements initiated at that time.

In addition to political work, Simmons has a strong entrepreneurial background, having launched and managed several businesses. Her ventures include the creation and ownership of the Grace and Truth Christian Bookstore in the Fifth Ward from 2003 to 2006, which provided complimentary afterschool programs, and the Signature Group construction firm in Evanston, which employed Black tradespeople and built numerous affordable homes funded by the Illinois Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

Simmons applied her expertise in the entrepreneurial landscape by serving as the director of innovation and outreach at a South Side nonprofit named Sunshine Enterprises, a position she held from 2015 to 2021. The organization has provided support to more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, who were mostly Black and 75% of whom were women, to start or expand their businesses.

When asked about the possible challenges that she had faced during her time in the political sphere as a woman of color, Simmons recalled that although she was not the first Black woman to serve for the Fifth Ward, she still struggled with challenges due to her intersectional identity.

“I did come in office after another Black woman that served for a long time, but then even getting in that role, no matter how qualified and capable we are, you deal with the challenges of being a woman and also a woman of color, to my case a Black woman, and I even deal with it still daily. I could be in the midst of a conversation with my colleagues and be the one not to be included in the conversation or addressed or even acknowledged at times.”

Through her experience, Robin has learned to firmly assert herself in a workplace often dominated by white men.

“I say, ‘Hello, I’m Robin,’ you know, nice, firm handshake [that says] ‘I will be included in this discussion,’ ‘I will be considered as well.’ As women of color, we have to really power through. I have to really get myself prepared to engage in political spaces where I know there will be some discrimination, exclusionary practices, comments, and microaggressions that we power through, and we do it so that the next generation has more opportunity and more inclusion and so that we can get our message out, so that we can speak on behalf of those that believe in us to lead.”

When asked about her definition of what the ingredients of a “good politician” are, Simmons said that leadership requires a balance of confidence and modesty.

“Characteristics of a good politician or elected official are definitely going to be a collaborative leadership style. I will say it’s going to be very important [to have] a balance of humility and unwavering confidence at the same time, [while] making sure that ego is not creeping up into the leadership. So definitely humility, by understanding that none of us is as smart as all of us, and making sure that you’re being inclusive.”

Simmons then added to her definition of this ideal by sharing her own methods that have allowed her to successfully serve as a steadfast and well-balanced politician herself. “Whether in my case, it’s my lived expertise, and you know, business, leadership, government, or education, just being fully confident in your ability and not so much an ego or having something to prove. So, I never lead as though I have something to prove. I lead focused on the goal and sure that I’m going to reach that goal,” she said. “In my case, my assignment is to fight for race, justice, and reparative justice for Black people.”

In her appointment as an IOP fellow, Simmons hopes to share her experience with the student body at the University of Chicago while simultaneously learning from the new generation of young minds who engage her during her office hours and seminars.=

“While I’m here, I’m hoping that I’m challenged, that I’m able to expand my thinking, and that I’m able to develop an intellectual community that can help me and those that I collaborate with [and] strengthen the case and the remedies for reparations for people of African descent, not just in the communities that I serve directly, but in communities all across the nation. I also hope that I inspire our students to take up reparations as interest in their career paths. It doesn’t have to be law or even public policy. But there is a reparative justice need in education, business, and so on. So, I hope that I leave here having inspired UChicago students to consider reparations as a priority.”