photo by steed media service

Long before he was elected senator, Rickey Hendon put on live theater productions to help raise money for politicians like Danny Davis and Ed Smith before they were elected to office. “I would be the person to put on little fundraiser[s], plays and shows to help them raise a little money so we could compete against the regular Democratic Party,” says the man who acted in films until he was selected for the acclaimed role of Democratic ward committeeman. Hendon eventually ran for an alderman seat becoming the youngest African American male to serve as the assistant majority leader in the Illinois state Senate. In his 16 years of service Hendon has passed numerous bills to promote economic development in the city of Chicago. Hendon even resurrected the city’s flailing movie industry, transforming 5,000 jobs annually into 25,000 jobs annually — but he says nothing has made him more proud than his ability to bring life back to the near Westside of Chicago.

“When I first came to be elected [to] office, Madison was the prostitution red-light district,” says the father of five, whose daughter, Wendy, was once propositioned by a man on her way home from school. “It was known throughout the state as the place to come to get a hooker.”

By passing bills that targeted prostitutes’ johns, Hendon has curtailed violence and brought prosperity back to a historic and proud neighborhood. “We were able to get real economic development,” he says. “Everybody’s living over here now — we’re the United Nations of the city of Chicago.” –gavin philip godfrey

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