Be Among the First to Hear Chicago’s City Council Audio Archives

Dario is a devoted Chicagoan with a profound dedication to his city's exploration. Over the past couple of years, he has partnered with Sara to extensively explore all 77 community areas of Chicago. Leveraging his background in comedy, Dario skillfully intertwines history facts with entertainment on their podcast, creating a captivating and informative experience for their audience. With a seasoned eye for artistry, Dario has spent years honing his photography skills, capturing the essence of the city from all its angles. 

Helen Shiller is the author of Daring to Struggle Daring to Win, Five decades of resistance in Chicago’s Uptown Community. Published in November 2022, her memoir received the Midwest Independent Publisher’s Silver award for Nonfiction in history – General category. Today she is the acting Chairperson for the Chicago Board of Appeals and the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Black Ensemble Theater. Every chance Helen gets she is making metal art and or taking pilates classes. 

Helen was the Alderman of the 46th Ward from April 1987 to May 2011. From 1989 to 1995 she served as the Chair of the City Council’s Committee on Human Relations’ Subcommittee on Domestic Violence. In City Council, she sponsored and/or lobbied for many legislative acts that focus on improving the quality of life for the residents of her ward and the entire city with an emphasis on affordability. She fought for the passing of the human rights ordinance, recycling programs and city responsibility for public health and safety in the Chicago Public Schools. She initiated and passed a tough anti-apartheid ordinance in 1990, and her budget amendment tripled the city’s AIDS budget in 1992. Before it was legal for same sex marriages, she co-sponsored the domestic partners ordinance extending benefits for unmarried couples. Throughout her aldermanic career, Alderman Shiller made aggressive affordable housing policy (with a focus on development without displacement) and a city budget that makes Chicago a more affordable place to live top priorities. As a member of the City Council, she was a strong voice for addressing police misconduct, low cost affordable housing, sustainability and green technologies and demanded edits of the police union contract to expand the time files of police conduct must be kept. 

After leaving the Chicago City Council in May 2011, Helen joined her son and his law partner in the founding of the Westside Justice Center that has become a hub for social justice legal rights and activism. 

Helen Shiller received her high school diploma from Woodstock Country School in Vermont in 1965. She attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison as a history major receiving her BA in 1969. In 2005, she has a Master’s Degree from DePaul University’s School for New Learning’s Master’s Program where her focus was public policy.

Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia is a first-generation college graduate a with a focus on accessibility, transparency and equity in government. First sworn into office in January 2017, she oversees one of the largest offices in the City, serving 1.2 million Chicagoans and generating more than $130 million annually. Under Valencia’s leadership, the Office of the City Clerk prioritizes finding new and innovative ways to bring services directly to residents, improve inefficiencies, and collaborate across government in the private and public sectors. 

Under her leadership, Chicago launched its municipal ID program, known as CityKey, and expanded its access by building an online appointment system to guarantee residents a time and opportunity to apply. Clerk Valencia is also leading a first-of-its-kind City Council Modernization effort, which includes an e-voting system for the Chicago City Council, the first major U.S. city to implement e-voting. Additionally, she created the Chicago Status of Women and Girls Working Group, began Fines and Fees reform, and launched the NextGen City Council youth civic engagement program. 

As Clerk, Valencia also serves as a Trustee on the Chicago Fire Pension Board and Chairs the “Chicago With You” taskforce.